Rowville Flexiride on TV

[PaxInfo]

Channel 7 report on FlexiRide Rowville.

Minister Ben Carroll is enthusiastic about the concept being expanded.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlHdkofKCtg

[Heihachi_73]

Hahahahaha!!!!!!!

The bus comes direct to their home when they want it

(Except after dark or on Saturdays or Sundays or public holidays, unlike almost every single Melbourne suburban route bus with very few exceptions)

This could change public transport forever

(See above)

I can see it working in suburbs that don't have a great bus system, which is the majority of them. (laughs)

Now try taking the bus to Stud Park on Saturday or Sunday morning to go shopping. Yeah, I can see it "working" just as well, if the one and only thing it replaced was a Telebus running the same old useless hours but forcing you to wait up to an hour for it to actually arrive. The only improvement of FlexiRide over Telebus is not having to wait for a scheduled service, and to Ventura's bank account since they no longer have to run empty buses. I don't miss living in Mooroolbark for one second.

The current FlexiRide will only be successful if it supplements regular route bus services and/or runs until at least 9PM seven days a week like a normal bus, not if it remains as the sole "9-5 Monday to Friday" service in the area (give or take an hour or two either side) just like Telebus before it. I'm all for it if it gets rid of spaghetti routes and short runs though (e.g. 673 and 740), it just needs to comply with the minimum service standards.

[PaxInfo]

A problem with Flexiride in Rowville is that it is half a bus service. As is the 681/682 with its 80 min gaps and short operating hours. Rowville would be better served with a simpler regular bus network operating to minimum standards. Or even, for its trunk routes, something like this: https://melbourneontransit.blogspot.com ... rt_29.html

740 possibly needs to be on a regular bus route while 673 should just be scrapped as it contributes no new coverage to the network.