The Victorian Road Based Public Transport Advisory Council (VRBPTAC) provides advice to the Minister for Roads and Ports on matters relating to road management for trams, buses and taxis. The VRBPTAC meets four times per year. The meetings are chaired by VicRoads Chief Executive and VicRoads provides secretarial services and other support.
The VRBPTAC’s membership includes representatives from the State Government (DOT, DSE, VicRoads, Police), operators (bus, tram, taxi), Local Government, Unions, RACV and public transport users.
The purpose of the VRBPTAC is to report to the Minister for Roads and Ports on the needs of Public Transport in the development, planning, regulation, design and operation of the road and traffic network in Victoria and with particular reference to:
- State Government strategies, road transport efficiency, road safety, community and environmental issues, performance standards, and international best practice
- Understanding the road and traffic factors that affect public transport performance
- Solving strategic, policy or practical issues to facilitate our progress
- Designing roads and traffic systems that support on-road public transport
- Developing beneficial and practical projects
- Improving coordination and cooperation between key stakeholders; and
- Developing and creating appropriate training for those involved in the planning and design of road based public transport
In the area of on-road priority for buses and trams, the following Advisory Council recommendations have been acted on:
- Guidelines have been developed on the location of bus bays, limiting their use to where they provide benefits to passengers and motorists but avoid delays to buses re-entering the traffic stream
- Use of red pavement for bus-only lanes and tram conflict points
- Treatments to promote safety and priority for trams at roundabouts have been adopted
- A review of traffic signal priority practices, and investigations on how these can be improved, is being undertaken
In the area of bus and tram stops and taxi ranks, the Advisory Council has:
- Provided input to bus stop guidelines
- Requested targeted enforcement of road rules at high-risk tram stops
- Initiated drafting of guidelines for design and operation of taxi ranks
The Advisory Council has prepared inputs to the issue of competition for road space between public transport and other road users in different environments.
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Between 2004-2006 the VRBPTAC hosted an annual series of public transport forums involving representatives of State and Local Government, public transport providers and a wide range of user representatives and interest groups. A Roads for Public Transport Summit was held in 2007 and 2008.
The purpose of the Summits is to identify key issues and actions that accommodate and promote the needs of road based public transport.
The theme for the 2008 Roads for Public Transport Summit was "Building on Patronage Growth". The aim was to build on the significant patronage growth on the public transport network by identifying new opportunities and bold treatments to continue improving the travel times and reliability of trams and buses. The Minister for Roads and Ports and the Secretary of the Department of Transport addressed the opening of the Summit. A number of presentations and discussion sessions followed. Copies of the presentations are provided below and an outcomes report will be provided once the Advisory Council has determined the resulting actions from the summit.
Mr Ray Kinnear - Current and Emerging Travel Trends [PDF, 943 kb, 16pp]
Mr Les Kulesza - Think Tram Program [PDF, 3852 kb, 43pp]
Mr Chris Loader - Bus Priority - Are We There Yet [PDF, 1476 kb, 21pp]
Mr Daniel Kollmorgen - Prioritising Road Based Public Transport [PDF, 1461 kb, 12pp]
Mr John Picone - Working Together to Deliver Outcomes [PDF, 712 kb, 10pp]
The themes for the 2007 Summit were "Roads for Public Transport in Congested Areas" and "Meeting the Challenge of Transport Disadvantage". A summary and outcomes can be found here:
2007 Summit [PDF, 312 kb, 2pp]
The theme for the 2006 series was "Moving Motorists onto Public Transport - Playing our Part". Reports from the 2006 series:
Mornington Forum [PDF, 895 kb, 4pp]
Geelong Forum [PDF, 1112 kb, 5 pp]
Moonee Ponds Forum [PDF, 943 kb, 5pp]
Knox Forum [PDF, 371 kb, 5pp]
Summary [PDF, 2179 kb, 5pp]
The theme for the 2005 series was "Travel time and Reliability - responding to the challenge". Reports from the 2005 series:
Narre Warren Forum [PDF, 457 kb, 6pp]
Bendigo Forum [PDF, 468 kb, 4pp]
Coburg Forum [PDF, 476 kb, 4pp]
Melbourne Forum [PDF, 430 kb, 4pp]
Summary [PDF, 808 kb, 6pp]
The theme for the 2004 series of forums was "Managing Roads for Public Transport Modes". Reports from the 2004 series:
Melbourne Forum [PDF, 208 kb, 4 pp]
Box Hill Forum [PDF, 244 kb, 4 pp]
Ballarat Forum [PDF, 233 kb, 4 pp]
| If you would like to be alerted to announcements relating to these forums, please provide your name and email address to: rbpt@roads.vic.gov.au, including 'VRBPTAC forum alerting service' in the email's subject heading. |
Mr Gary Liddle – VicRoads (Chairperson)
Mr Phil Altieri - Rail, Tram and Bus Union
Ms Maggie Baron - Department of Planning and Community Development
Mr Dennis Cliche - Yarra Trams
Mr Andrew Cornwall - Bus Association Victoria
Prof. Graham Currie - Monash University
Mr Peter Daly – RACV
Mr Peter Flanagan - Environment Victoria
Mr Robert Freemantle - VicRoads
Dr Michael Kennedy OAM - Interface Councils
Mr Ray Kinnear - Department of Transport
Mr Chris Loader - Bus Association Victoria
Ms Patricia Malowney - Community member
Cr Cathy Oke - Municipal Association of Victoria
Supt Christopher O’Neill - Victoria Police
Mr John Picone - Transport Workers Union
Mr Darren Ray - Victorian Local Governance Association
Ms Liz Roadley - Minister's Appointee
Mr Neil Sach - Victorian Taxi Association
Vacant - Eastern Transport Coalition
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