The Victorian Bicycle Advisory Council (VBAC) is a broad based forum established to provide the State Government (through the Minister for Roads and Ports) with strategic policy and program advice on cycling matters.
The structure and wide ranging membership of the council is intended to ensure that advice provided to the Minister is contemporary, well informed, balanced for metropolitan and regional considerations and represents the full range of perspectives within the cycling community. The VBAC was established in 1998 and generally meets four times per year with meetings in March, June September and December.
The VBAC is jointly chaired by:
- VicRoads Chief Executive
- Department of Transport (DoT) Executive Director – Policy and Communications.
The VBAC consists of representatives from the following organisations:
- Bicycle Victoria
- RACV
- Victoria Police
- VicRoads
- Parks Victoria
- Sport and Recreation Victoria
- VicHealth
- Victorian Local Governance Association
- Municipal Association Victoria
- ARRB Group
- Cycling retailers
- Bicycle manufacturing industry
- Community members from regional Victoria.
The VBAC identifies and considers a wide range of cycling-related issues before providing advice to the State Government through the Minister for Roads and Ports.
Typical cycle related issues include:
- cycling trends in Victoria
- current and emerging issues and the needs of cyclists
- strategic framework for Victorian cycling programs
- cycling policies and programs across state government agencies
- measures to promote cyclist safety
- cycling education programs
- cycling facilities, services and programs in Victoria
- cycling regulations.
For more information on the current issues being considered at VBAC, please click on the links below:
VBAC Communiqué - Autumn 2010 [PDF, 15KB]
All members of VBAC may raise issues through VBAC, providing details of the matter to the secretariat of the group - currently Manager, Bicycle and Pedestrian Programs – VicRoads.
Other stakeholders and members of the public may raise issues for consideration by VBAC through an appropriate VBAC member such as Bicycle Victoria or VicRoads.
Since its establishment, the VBAC has advised State Government on a number of bicycle infrastructure projects and cyclist safety programs. Some of the highlights include:
- providing cycling facilities as part of major infrastructure projects such as the Docklands development and the Geelong Road upgrade
- identifying bicycle crash locations and developing appropriate countermeasures
- including bike route information on VicRoads website
- increasing fines for bicycle-related offences such as cycling through red lights
- initiating a series of cycling workshops with key stakeholders in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.