Transport Connections Barwon South West
Connections on the ground - Barwon South West
The Transport Connections Program (TCP) provides funding for local organisations to coordinate projects and initiatives that improve access to services and community life for those who experience transport disadvantage. This case study showcases how TCP works on the ground in the Barwon South West region.
Rural youth taught to master public transport travel
Young people from the Southern Grampians Shire have a greater understanding of the public transport options available to them courtesy of an education program delivered by South West Transport Connections and the Western District Health Service in early 2011.Western District Health Service’s Youth4Youth Holiday Program, which included trips to the Australian Open, Melbourne Aquarium and Circus Oz in Melbourne, offered the perfect opportunity for South West Transport Connections to run a practical public transport education program with a large group of young people.
More than 130 young people from Hamilton were given an opportunity to experience and negotiate their way around the public transport system with the accompaniment of a Western District Health Service project officer. The key objective of these activities was to build the young people’s confidence to use the system unaccompanied in the future.
The young people negotiated some of the more complex public transport activities such as changing modes of transport from buses to trains as well as Melbourne’s trams. Along the way they learned how to read timetables and service information. A lot of the young people had only used buses previously so this was quite a steep learning curve.
Melanie Russell, TCP Project Worker – South West Transport Connections, was happy the project helped the young people gain experience using public transport to Melbourne and locally.
“The feedback from participants was that they would now feel more confident using public transport and some would also feel confident travelling to Melbourne alone if met at the other end of their trip by a friend or relative,” Melanie said.
“A further advantage of using public transport was that the cost was significantly less than using a chartered bus service.”
South West Transport Connections will continue to educate young people about public transport in association with the Youth4Youth Holiday Program by encouraging activities at venues that can be accessed by public transport.
For more information about South West Transport Connections you can email Melanie.russell@wdhs.net or call 03 5551 8475.
Barwon South West Projects and Contacts
- Bringing Communities Together
- Building Bellarine Connections
- Getting There and Back
- South West Transport Connections