Ticket to rile

By Sarah Schwager
PEOPLE are paying through the nose to get to work, schools, the shops and back home.
So says a report released last week which shows residents in Pakenham and around Cardinia Shire spend more in car and public transport costs than any other metropolitan municipality.
A comparison of Melbourne councils by the Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) revealed Cardinia residents spend an average of $233.42 on car and petrol getting to work each week.
Residents in better serviced areas spend only $138.56 a week.
The figures were released amid renewed calls in the community to upgrade public transport options for local residents.
Commuters complain of trains not running to time, inadequate bus services – although these are set to benefit from a recent cash injection and a dire lack of northsouth connections between communities.
Cardinia community services manager Joe Spiteri said the council was aware of the high cost and limited availability of public transport in Cardinia.
“While council has no control over the cost of transport, our strategic planners, engineers and community services staff have been lobbying the Department of Infrastructure for improvements to the system,” Mr Spiteri said.
“We have been successful in securing new bus routes in the Pakenham area and are continuing to lobby for these to be broadened to other areas.
“Council officers are working to map areas of particular need and isolation which will be provided to the Department of Infrastructure to support our lobby for better services.”
VCOSS chief executive officer Cath Smith said Cardinia commuters not only had limited public transport options but were also hardest hit with transport costs.
“People in outer suburbs have lower wages than inner city residents but they are paying more than 1.5 times as much to get to work,” Ms Smith said.
A coalition between VCOSS, Environment Victoria and the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) launched a campaign called Get on Track last Thursday, calling on Transport Minister Peter Batchelor to improve public transport.
PTUA spokesman Alex Makin said the campaign demonstrated the dire need for change to Melbourne’s public transport system.
Mr Makin said the Cranbourne and Pakenham train lines had the least frequent rail service in the metropolitan network while the Dandenong rail line faced chronic overcrowding.
He said buses often failed to run on weekends in some suburbs or did not connect to other services.
“Pakenham has been designated as one of Melbourne’s growth corridors and one of the fastest growing in the state but its infrastructure services have not kept pace,” he said.
“Young families in Pakenham are struggling due to the lack of public transport but also due to rising petrol prices.
“They are making great sacrifices just to remain mobile.”
During a recent visit to the area to announce a $2.6 million upgrade to bus services in Pakenham, Mr Batchelor acknowledged there was more work to be done on local public transport.
He said the current situation was not good enough and that the Government was taking its responsibilities in the area seriously.
“The State Government has made public transport to the outer suburbs a priority,” Mr Batchelor said.
“We acknowledge there is more work to do and we will continue to work with the council and the local community.”