Public transport links

Public transport services in the G21 region are poor. As a result there is heavy dependency on cars and road travel which is rapidly becoming unsustainable.

Better connections within the region are needed to ease congestion, enable economic activity and accommodate significant population growth.

Public transport is a top priority for the Geelong-Armstrong Creek-Torquay transit corridor, servicing 60,000 new residents.

Regular rail services between Lara and Waurn Ponds, Bannockburn and Geelong, and Colac and Geelong would create a more integrated Geelong city-region transport network.

Rail services south of Geelong Station need to be increased.

Duplication of the rail line between South Geelong and Waurn Ponds is scheduled to be ready by 2024. This will enable an increase on the Geelong-Colac-Warrnambool line to five services a day and increase Geelong-Colac frequency.

Additional services would increase employment opportunities, provide easier access to secondary and post-secondary education and uplift health and wellbeing outcomes in these growing centres.

Avalon Airport is seeking Victorian and Commonwealth Government support for a new station at Avalon on the Geelong-Melbourne line.

Expansion of the regional bus network and increased timetabling to smaller towns would improve opportunities for workforce participation and social engagement.

A direct bus service from Queenscliff to Geelong would provide alternative public transport options for ferry travellers and greater tourism access to the region.

What G21 needs

Required from government:

• $130+ million to deliver an active and public transport connection between Geelong and Torquay along the Armstrong Creek Transit Corridor.
• Funding to investigate a Geelong-Ballarat rail service.
• Investigate rail shuttles between Lara and Waurn Ponds; Colac and Geelong via Winchelsea; Bannockburn and Geelong.
• A new station at Avalon on the Geelong-Melbourne line. Include this project in the Geelong Fast Rail Study.
• An increase in rail service between Geelong-Colac-Warrnambool (via Winchelsea) from four services a day to minimum of five return services a day.
• Greater train carriage capacity to cater for an increased number of passengers between Geelong and Melbourne.
• Level crossing removals at Lara and in McKillop Street, Geelong to enable more train services and move trucks out of the city centre.
• $12.5 million for the Torquay and Armstrong Creek Growth Area bus network.
• Increased bus services for regional towns to Geelong including on the Bellarine, Bannockburn, Inverleigh, Winchelsea; direct bus service Queenscliff to Geelong.
• A bus network linking Smythesdale to Ballarat.
• Early delivery of high frequency bus services for Northern and Western Geelong Growth Areas.

A commitment to embed GROW training, employment and procurement principles in all government projects within the region.