News / Transport
Residents call for a better 506 bus service
Petition launched for Saturday evening and Sunday services on popular route
Andrea Bunting
BRUNSWICK East resident, Finn Scicluna-O’Prey, has family and friends in Moonee Ponds.
To visit them he prefers to catch the 506 bus, which runs between Westgarth and Moonee Ponds junction, along Dawson Street and Glenlyon Road.
But there are no 506 buses on Saturday evenings or Sundays.
“This route is really crucial for my social life”, he said.
“Getting home from dinner at my friend’s place on a Saturday evening shouldn’t be a big ask for our bus network. And it is inexcusable that this route is still not operating at all on Sundays.”
Scicluna-O’Prey is one of more than 200 people who have signed a petition to the Victorian Parliament calling for a better 506 bus service.
Brunswick is well served by trams for north-south travel. But for east-west public transport, we rely on buses.
Most bus services are infrequent and unreliable, despite strong demand. Using 2022 patronage data (from the state government) the new 7 Day 506 Bus campaign found that the 506 is Melbourne’s busiest bus route without a Sunday service.
Peter Parker, former bus planner who now blogs for Melbourne on Transit, said that in the 2000s, the Victorian government added Sunday and evening services to over 100 Melbourne bus routes.
“This proved successful with ridership rising in line with the added service. But, despite promises, the program of upgrades was not completed. Brunswick area routes like 506 and Albion Street’s 503 remain with their archaic 1970s-style timetables.”
The three Victorian MPs whose electorate offices are in Brunswick also support better bus services.
Sheena Watt, Labor MP for Northern Metro said: “So many people in Brunswick use public and active transport and having services that work for the community is key. I will continue to advocate for expanded PTV services in Brunswick and all across my electorate so we can get cars off the roads and lead a more sustainable future that buses are going to play a massive part in.”
Anasina Gray-Barberio, the Greens MP for Northern Metro, who sponsored the petition, asked in Parliament on July 31 whether the Minister will commit to implementing a seven-day service for the 506 bus. No reply has been received yet.
“We know that access to public transport is a powerful lever in building community and fostering inclusion,” she said.
“It connects people to their jobs, education, healthcare, and essential services seven days a week … I and my colleagues have always been strong advocates for a people-first approach to public transport and will keep fighting for expanded access in our communities.”
Tim Read, MP for Brunswick, said: “Increasing frequency and expanding bus services is an incredibly cost-effective way to improve public transport. …East-west traffic congestion in the inner city is a major issue, especially on Glenlyon Road and Dawson Street. Getting more people to catch the bus will help ease the congestion, but for that to happen bus services need to run every day and in the evenings. It was a shame to see the 506 overlooked in the 2025 budget where several routes receive funding for Sunday services.”
Merri-bek Council also wants this route made straighter.
“We need the state government to make it easier for our community to use the bus, and improving service frequency is a great start. This bus route can be further improved by removing unnecessary deviations along Allard, Smith, and Pearson Streets”, said Mayor Helen Davidson.
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Dr John Stone, public transport researcher at the University of Melbourne agrees.
“Many existing bus routes are indirect and this adds to the cost and makes them slower and hence less attractive for users,” he said.
“Straightening out bus routes gives us the resources to build fast and frequent networks, and makes them a more attractive option.”
The Victorian government wants to reduce car dependency in suburbs with good public transport, and Brunswick is one of their target Activity Centres, slated for high density housing. Many apartment dwellers in the inner suburbs do not own a motor vehicle, and this trend should increase.
Of course the whole of Melbourne needs better bus services – and many outer suburb residents are not served by buses at all. They are crying to out for fast, frequent and connected bus services.
“Everyone should be able to move around our city without needing a car,” said Stone. “Bus services have been neglected for decades.
“The Allan government has started to invest in buses, but there is so much more that they can do to create networks of fast, frequent and connected bus routes … In Brunswick, our cross-town buses can and should run every 10 minutes, all day, seven days a week as we expect from the north-south running trams.
“Our research on bus reform in the western suburbs has shown that this can be done at a very affordable cost.”
The petition for more services on the 506 bus route closes on October 10.
This story was updated on 28 August to add a quote from Anasina Gray-Barberio.
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