Our second Bus Marathon for Better Buses in Mt. Atkinson (Truganina!)
On 21 May 2023, we met with local residents in Mt. Atkinson for the Bus Marathon to campaign for Better Buses for the West!
Together we took a solidarity walk on a footpath at the estate, that ends at a 70km/h highway... and not even halfway to the bus stop! We did this to show politicians that it is impossible for Mt. Atkinson residents to access any form of public transportation.
A high proportion of residents in the area are young migrant families with school-age children, not having public transport means that most families need at least two cars to get to essential needs such as work and school drop-offs. People who don't drive, teenagers and the elderly are completely isolated at the estate and have to rely on other people to drive them around.
One resident shared that she has to walk 25 minutes to the main road to carpool with her colleague to get to work, her shifts are dependent on the days that her colleague goes to work, and in a few months, her colleague will move back to India, so she soon will be out of a job again.
Another resident was forced to buy two cars for the household, paying more than $100 on petrol for each car which adds significantly to their weekly spending in the middle of a cost of living crisis.
Residents are asking for the bare minimum, they want a bus service to get to the closest train station so that they can safely get around the city, and be able to do the things that they enjoy. Providing better buses is one of the quickest, cheapest and easiest things that the Victorian government can do to ensure that communities across the West are no longer left behind.
Councillors from the City of Melton and local MPs were invited - unfortunately, none of them attended. The Mt. Atkinson residents and communities in the West will continue to campaign until they get the buses and transport they deserve.
The Sustainable Cities collective will continue to stand in solidarity with communities in Melbourne's West who are being ignored by the state government when it comes to public transport. We want to see a reform of the network in this term of government, with prioritisation of the West so that these hardworking communities have equitable access to public transport.
If you want to join the fight for better buses, join us at a collective meeting, held fortnightly on Wednesdays at 6pm.