Public Transport Minister Melissa Horne’s assurance that a conductor would be present at Bairnsdale Station to assist bus passengers until midnight, is not being delivered.
Ms Horne told Gippsland MP, Tim Bull, back in May when he first raised the issue with her that when buses replace trains conductors at Bairnsdale would make themselves visible to passengers to enhance safety and ensure that passengers can use the station facilities when required.
That is certainly not the case.
Orbost’s Lynette Woods was among those left out in the cold again, with no station facilities including toilets available to them, on Sunday, August 18.
Mrs Woods told the Snowy River Mail that she left Melbourne 6.16pm, arrived Bairnsdale 9.15pm and waited until 10.35pm when they departed for Orbost, arriving there at midnight.
She said passengers were “forced to endure a long, cold, windy wait for their connecting night bus”.
“Passengers on the first bus to arrive had a one hour, 20 minute wait,” she said.
“Toilet facilities were locked leaving passengers to walk to McDonalds to use the bathroom. One of these ladies had a disability.”
Mrs Woods said for at least the second time this year passengers were joined by a drug affected person. Police were called but had not arrived by the time the connecting bus arrived.
“This is even more frustrating as Public Transport Victoria (PTV) has promised that V/Line would have a conductor stationed at Bairnsdale during disruptions to enhance safety and ensure that passengers can use station facilities,” Mrs Woods said.
“The time lag between the first bus arriving at Bairnsdale Station and the last bus arriving and then setting off with passengers for Lakes Entrance and Orbost on Sunday night was over one hour,” Mr Bull said.
He wrote to the Minister on this very issue earlier this year and received undertakings the station would be manned.
“The Minister advised me that until midnight staff would ‘make themselves visible to passengers to enhance safety and ensure that passengers can use the station facilities’.
“When the train service is operating, passengers who are travelling onto Lakes Entrance and Orbost are able to take a seat in the station’s waiting room and use the toilets before their bus departs, which is why I asked the Minister to provide equivalent access to the station’s facilities when buses replace trains.
“Passengers who were travelling onto Lakes Entrance and Orbost that Sunday night told me they had to endure an uncomfortable wait with only the protection of a bus shelter on a bitterly cold and windy night.
“I am extremely disappointed that the undertaking I was given has not been delivered and I have asked the Minister to make good on her promise.
“The lack of security and amenities for an extended period on a cold night for bus passengers, many of whom were older folk, is just not good enough.”
