SMART loop – put buses on the Suburban Rail Loop Route

The Suburban Rail Loop (‘SRL’) project will provide Victoria with orbital public transport infrastructure to better connect businesses, individuals, education and communities.

The drilling of Stage 1 is nearly complete with construction on Stage 1 to commence in 2022.

Before COVID-19, some of Melbourne’s busiest bus routes were orbital routes where trains currently do not run. SRL Smart Buses is one way to boost confidence in the project as well as address the every growing demand for orbital movement. The existing bus routes are only roughly parallel to the proposed SRL route but fail to connect major train stations, universities and other facilities on a single path.

Putting Smart Buses on the SRL path is now more than ever a smart way to reduce substantial crowding problems and address the much-needed frequency upgrades on these bus routes. It would also see the benefits of the SRL become visible ten years earlier than when Stage One is proposed to open.

Some suggested SRL Smart Buses could be upgrading the 733 route between Box Hill and Clayton to a Smart Bus. The 733 route currently sees an average boarding of 65 passengers per bus service hour between Monday to Friday and at peak times runs every 15 minutes. Similarly, it is proposed that a Smart Bus connect Melbourne Airport with Sunshine and another is place on 737 Monash University to Knox City. These routes have substantial interests and an express Smart Bus service would provide the reliability to increase patronage.

SRL Smart Buses is more than just a test for the SRL. Rather it is a way to provide long lasting connections that are reliable, efficient and effective.