The Victorian Greens has announced an ambitious plan to boost the frequency of public transport in Melbourne, enabling commuters to catch a train or tram every 10 minutes or less, on most of the network.
The election pledge would see trains run every five to 10 minutes, seven days a week, on every line except the Cranbourne, Williamstown and Upfield lines.
The frequency of trains would double on the Dandenong, Pakenham, Clifton Hill, Mernda, Hurstbridge, Werribee, Craigieburn, Sunbury, Newport and Glen Waverley lines, with commuters only having to wait for a maximum of 10 minutes for a train, between 7am and 7pm.
The party's flagship transport policy has been independently costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office at $821.5 million, over the next four years.
The minor party will not form government after the election but carries power in the crossbench and has pledged to use whatever influence it holds in a future parliament to advance the proposal.
"Making commuters wait up to 20 minutes for a train or tram is not acceptable in a world-class city like Melbourne," Greens MP for Prahran Sam Hibbins said.
"What we are trying to do is encourage people to make the shift to public transport and away from petrol cars."
Under the proposal, trams would also run at peak-hour frequency all day from 7am to 7pm, instead of from 9am–4pm and every 10 minutes during off-peak times.
Transport is shaping up to be a key issue at the November state election, with the Opposition promising to scrap the government's multi-billion-dollar Suburban Rail Loop and divert that money into the struggling hospital system.
"There is a big push for major transport projects, but this is about making sure we get the most out of our existing infrastructure," Mr Hibbins said.
"These are easy wins for any government, currently there is plenty of excess capacity on our train and tram network throughout the day and evening. This investment would make sure those trains and trams run more frequently, employ some more train and tram drivers and encourage more people to make the switch to public transport."
Trains on the Hurstbridge and Sunbury lines currently run every 20–40 minutes and under the Greens' new plan, would come every 10 minutes.
The frequency of trains on the Glen Waverley line would be boosted from 20 minutes to every 7.5 minutes.
The Premier Daniel Andrews dismissed the Greens' election pledge, saying it was "Labor investments that matter".
"The Green political party are commenters when it comes to public transport. There's not a metre of track, not one sleeper, not one seat that has been created by the Green political party," he said.
"We've invested billions of dollars to build the very best public transport system that we can, and you can't catch Green political party commentary to work."
Mr Andrews indicated the government would make further transport infrastructure announcements ahead of the election.
Rail policy group says some service expansions not yet needed
Rail Futures Institute president John Hearsch welcomed having a "turn up and go" style service for trains and trams but labelled the proposal a "bit over the top".
"This plan is a bit premature in some areas, generally we believe there is a need to do this on some of the busier lines … but Melbourne is not seeing the same growth in the eastern suburbs as we are in the west," he said.
"Where there is strong growth, those lines should have priority for improved services – the Craigieburn and Sunbury lines warrant 10-minute frequency during the day, but it's not needed on the Dandenong line, it's too expensive."
COVID-19 has changed the way Victorians use public transport and according to research by Monash University public transport use in Melbourne will only recover to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, with rail the heaviest hit at just 69 per cent.
"On some lines including Craigieburn and Sunbury, increased services can be done virtually tomorrow, without requiring additional rolling stock or any changes to infrastructure," Mr Hearsch said.
"As a general principle we support the plan, but it needs to be done in a way that doesn't require any additional rolling stock, it doesn't make sense to buy more trains to increase services in the off-peak period."
Mr Hibbins said there would need to be a small increase in rolling stock, but most of the money would be spent on operational costs of trains and trams, hiring the drivers and running the services.
The Greens will also fast-track the planning of new tunnels and tracks needed to increase peak-hour services across greater Melbourne and regional Victoria, including a second metro tunnel from Newport to Clifton Hill to reduce single-track bottlenecks.
"We need to be making sure we are not just meeting the needs of the people who need to travel in and out of the city from 9–5, but also people who need to use transport throughout the day," Mr Hibbins said.
"By increasing the frequency across the entire network, public transport becomes a much more attractive option for shift-workers, dropping the kids at school and for doing the shopping."
