A bus driver shortage could exacerbate the two-week transport ‘nightmare’, which will effectively cut off Melbourne’s west from the city.
The West Gate Tunnel Project will shut down trains and block major roads linking Melbourne’s west with the CBD.The Transport Workers’ Union says a bus driver shortage could hamper replacement services.
Transport Workers’ Union Victoria branch assistant secretary Mem Suleyman said bus operators were experiencing a driver shortage, one which left them struggling to deliver enough replacement services earlier this year. Eastern suburbs commuters experienced long delays to board buses when part of the Lilydale/Belgrave line was shut for level-crossing removal work between February and May this year. Lines of passengers stretched almost 150 metres along Spring Street from thePublic Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said the failure to provide enough replacement buses was a recurring issue.
The combination of road and rail disruption had been specifically scheduled to take place during the school holidays, while fewer people were driving or using public transport, a Department of Transport and Planning spokesperson said.But the impact will still be felt: almost 32,400 passengers catch trains along the affected Sunbury, Williamstown and Werribee lines every weekday during school holidays, according to state government data.
“The crazy thing is how close Newport is to Port Melbourne but the way it has to be done could take me two hours. I know it’s only two weeks but oh my gosh.” Monash University’s Professor Graham Currie, an expert in public transport planning, said the traffic disruptions were a necessary evil. Trung Luu, the Liberal Party member for Western Metropolitan Region, said the rail and road disruptions were compounding the existing problems caused by a lack of bus services in the western suburbs.
Corr, who remembers the traffic chaos following the floods in Maribyrnong last year, plans to leave for work 90 minutes early.“Normally I take my massage trolley and table on the train but obviously, I can’t do that on the bus so I have to drive,” she said. Her employer has offered to pay for parking.
Elena Brooks, who lives in Altona Meadows and normally catches the train to work in the city, is stressed about making it home on time to pick up her toddler from childcare. Elena Brooks is concerned the travel delays may make it difficult for her to pick her toddler up from childcare.“Long story short, I don’t actually have a plan. I’m just hoping it all falls into place and that there’s a day where my husband can work from home or I can work from home, but I’m also cognisant that not everybody has that luxury,” she said.
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