UN 243: Simpler buses for Airport West and Melbourne Airport

Executive Summary: Potential exists to make better use of our existing buses to better connect Melbourne Airport to surrounding suburbs. A cost-effective example with improved airport connectivity for Sunbury, Airport West, Essendon and Moonee Ponds is presented here. Last week I covered improved access to Melbourne Airport, with an emphasis on what can be done in the short term. This is important as airport rail is years away and even if we had it tomorrow it wouldn't much improve connectivity from suburbs north and east of the airport. Or for airport workers who need regular fare transit options. Surrounding Melbourne Airport are residential and light industrial suburbs, largely built between between the 1960s and 1990s. They were then outer suburbs but would today be regarded as middle-distance. They are far enough from rail to make most of their populations dependent on buses as their nearest public transport but they are not so new as to get growth area funding. Thus their bus…