Council resumes bus push

By Rebecca Fraser
THE bus must stop here.
That’s the message from Casey Council, which has renewed calls for the State Government to start a new bus service to Casey Hospital.
The call comes after the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) said it had no plans to extend or redirect buses up Kangan Drive to the hospital.
In January, councillor Lorraine Wreford first called on the State Government to address the issue of “non existent” public transport to Casey Hospital.
This week, the Springfield Ward councillor said she was extremely disappointed with DOI’s response to council’s requests.
At Tuesday’s council meeting she moved that council write to various State Government ministers as well as the State Opposition expressing concerns about the lack of public transport to the hospital and the need for an urgent bus route.
Cr Wreford said she had seen patients carrying their suitcases along Kangan Drive as they walked the 800 metres to Berwick train station.
“This (DOI response) is incredibly disappointing and undervalues the importance of public transport to hospitals,” Cr Wreford said.
“We need to step up the ante. It is important that residents get what they deserve.
“This is a public hospital and it needs public transport.”
The letter would highlight that disadvantaged and vulnerable people were the ones most inconvenienced by the lack of public transport to the hospital.
It would also state that public transport was needed to link people to the hospital from areas such as Cranbourne, Narre Warren, Narre Warren South, Berwick and Cardinia Shire Council.
Council would also request that buses should connect with trains that stop at the Berwick station and that the new bus service should initially be run at hourly intervals.
Councillor Mick Morland said the city’s public transport was an absolute joke and a bus service to Casey Hospital was essential.
“With increasing petrol prices and one-car families, if the driver gets sick people cannot visit their loved ones,” he said.
A report will come back to council in October regarding the action to be taken.