While the Victorian Government’s announcement of free public transport for April has been welcomed, rural people are complaining there are limited public transport options available.

State Member for Shepparton Kim O’Keeffe said she had been inundated with calls from distressed locals concerned about fuel shortages, rising costs and the flow-on effects for food prices, small businesses, and farming operations.

“As fuel prices soar and supply becomes increasingly unreliable, families in regional areas are being hit hardest — and they have the fewest alternatives,” she said.

Regional Cities Victoria chair and Mayor of Warrnambool Ben Blain has welcomed efforts to ease pressure on households through free public transport in April, but said the announcement exposed a deeper and long-standing inequity for regional communities.

“We hope this measure helps stabilise fuel supply because for regional communities, businesses and families, reliable access to fuel is not optional, it’s essential,” Cr Blain said.

“But this announcement also highlights a hard truth: regional Victorians are being left behind when it comes to transport investment.”

Cr Blain said while public transport would be free across the state, many regional communities would see little benefit due to networks that were not fit for purpose.

“Regional Victorians will be effectively subsidising free public transport for Melbourne, while being left with services that are less reliable, less connected and underinvested,” he said.

“For many people in regional areas, public transport simply isn’t a viable option for getting to work, school or daily life.”

Local bus networks in most regional cities have not been reviewed in more than 15 years, exacerbating the lack the coverage, frequency and integration needed to support growing populations and modern commuting patterns.

State Member for Northern Victoria Wendy Lovell said the announcement would place additional pressure on already overcrowded V/Line train services between Shepparton and Melbourne, highlighting the need for the government to deliver the nine weekday return services they promised on the Shepparton line.

In 2021, Jacinta Allan promised Shepparton rail users that nine return weekday services would run between Shepparton and Melbourne by 2023.

However, completion of the track and signal upgrades needed to provide the additional services fell behind by more than two years.

“Late last year the government claimed the work would finally be completed by December 14, 2025, but since then, no additional services have been announced, nor have the traffic lights on Wyndham St at SAM been turned on,” Ms Lovell said.

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