THERE are 23,000 car parking spaces at Melbourne Airport – and one public bus stop.
The bus stop is in a remote, unsheltered location near the Tiger Airways terminal – the airport’s quietest – and is an 800-metre walk from Qantas’ domestic terminal.
Attempts to boost bus services to Melbourne Airport are being strangled by the airport’s reluctance to provide extra space for bus parking.
Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder has pushed behind the scenes. In January 2011, he wrote to Transport Department secretary Jim Betts: ”The existing bus stop on Service Road is grossly inconvenient for passengers, necessitating a long walk … without weather protection for much of the way.
”SmartBus services are an important component of the government’s public transport services and should not be relegated to a remote corner of the airport, unseen by … staff and patrons who are considering transport options.”
August 27, 2012, Adam Carey
Retrieved 27 August 2012 from: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/airport-keeps-buses-at-bay-20120826-24ul5.html#ixzz24hPRTaNc
