Melbourne rally calls for better public transport

Written by: By Bill F. on 19 June 2026

(Photo supplied)

On the 18 June, residents and commuters from the western suburbs of Melbourne rallied together outside Parliament House around the demand for ‘Better Buses for the West’.

The west of Melbourne, with a large working class population, has always been poorly served by public transport when compared to the more affluent east, which enjoys a whole network of tramlines in addition to numerous rail services. People without cars, young workers, the poor, the elderly, people with wheelchairs and walking frames, all depend on public transport to get around, to make medical appointments, to shop, to visit relatives.

This rally was focused on bus transport, calling for improvements in the frequency and reliability of bus services and their extension into areas not currently served, as well as better community consultation over routes. There was also comment on the aging quality of many buses and the need to increase the number of new cleaner and quieter electric buses.

With Public Transport Victoria (PTV) granting franchises, western suburbs buses are operated by several private companies, such as CDC Melbourne, Kinetic Melbourne (also owns Skybus to the airport), and Transit Systems Victoria.

Even during school times and peak hours service is poor on most routes, even those connecting to shopping centres or railway stations. With the rising cost of living really biting into family budgets, the State Labor government has introduced periods of free travel and then half-fare travel, but only to woo voters in an election year. Yet there has been no improvement in the frequency of services, nor any new routes developed, nothing to really challenge the domination of multinational car manufacturers and oil monopolies, the finance and insurance industries, all those with vested interest in maximum motor vehicle sales and minimal public transport.

Nevertheless, whenever there is a major breakdown or an accident that disrupts regular train services, there is suddenly no shortage of buses and bus drivers to shuttle commuters between stations, in addition to running the usual bus services. This reserve capacity to boost service delivery at short notice is dictated solely by the profit motive, the compulsion to weigh costs against income/government bonuses. The concept of “serve the people” is alien to capitalism, where services are provided and operate only to the extent that profits can be realised.

From the rally it was apparent that there was clear interest in further activities, hopefully in a public space with more connection to the people than the windswept steps of Melbourne’s Parliament House.

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