Two bus services between Bacchus Marsh and outlying towns will cease at the end of the year if patronage remains low.
Bacchus Marsh Coaches general manager Dave Nickels said the Ballan-Mt Egerton and Ballan-Daylesford/Hepburn services were now considered temporary and he urged the community to jump on board and show its support.
“We’re trying to push them to become permanent and we really need the community to get behind us,” he said.
“Not only are we trying to retain them – we’re trying to increase their frequency.”
The first buses arrive at Ballan station about 6.50 in the morning and depart from Ballan about 6.15pm.
The company is hoping to put in an afternoon service once the services become permanent, but it needs patronage on the Ballan-Mt Egerton route to increase by about 150 per cent to do so.
Buses are running at about 50 per cent capacity on the Ballan-Daylesford/Hepburn service and at about 20 per cent on Ballan-Mt Egerton.
Mr Nickels said because the coaches operated as part of V-Line, customers did not need to worry about paying an extra fare on their bus trip if they were catching the train.
“The service is a good, old-fashioned regional service,” he said.
“People are more than welcome to phone us up and say, ‘We live at the end of this road, can you pick us up from here?’”
The buses formed a “great” corridor between the Daylesford, Mt Egerton and Ballan communities, Mr Nickels said.
The services use four drivers, all from the Daylesford and Ballan areas.
“People are very happy with the service – they love it,” Mr Nickels said. “We have the ABC radio on, everyone chit-chats, the Daylesford driver picks up the paper for some people. It’s still a very country service.”
The community will find out in September or October whether the services will be retained.
Find out more
For more information about the services or to request a pick-up, call 1800 660 530.
