Liam McNally
An e-petition for a bus connecting Melton to Watergardens station is currently open for signatures on the Victorian Parliament website.
The petition is sponsored by Melton MP Steve McGhie and asks for a new bus service that travels along the Melton Highway and through the new suburbs of Bonnie Brook, Plumpton, Aintree, Deanside, Woodlea and Fraser Rise.
The principal petitioner is Manjit Singh Dhillon, a volunteer at Khalsa Shaouni, a popular Sikh Temple that acts as an important cultural and religious gathering place for thousands of members of the Sikh community particularly those in the Western Suburbs.
Mr Dhillon said that the temple gets a few hundred people through its doors during the week, and thousands on weekends.
Many regular attendees are older, and can only visit on weekends when family are available to drive them.
“If we had a bus service, imagine how many more people could attend,” he said.
Mr Dhillon said that the temple runs its own volunteer bus service that picks people up from nearby suburbs but it can’t meet demand.
“We desperately need something to get the elderly out of their homes and keep them a part of the community,” he said.
“Personally speaking I think it’s about time and I feel good that at last something has been done.”
The petition had 165 signatures at the time of writing, and closes on April 7.
Once a petition is finalised Mr McGhie will lodge it within Parliament and send it to Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll.
Mr McGhie voiced his support for the bus service.
“As Melton continues to expand, we need to provide adequate public transport services which will allow people access to places of faith, shopping precincts and educational facilities,” he said.
“A new public bus service between Melton and Watergardens will allow residents improved and easy access between Melton and Brimbank”
Ben Carroll was contacted for comment.
