Priority bus lanes will be installed on sections of Stud Road by early next year, following consultation with local communities and councils, Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas announced today.

Mr Pallas said thorough consultation with local stakeholders resulted in positive feedback about the new bus lanes, which would ease congestion on the major eastern suburban arterial.

“The Brumby Labor Government is building a better transport system, so people can spend more time with family and less time in traffic,” Mr Pallas said. 

“The Stud Road project is part of a plan introducing priority bus lanes on key routes across Melbourne to help improve service reliability and travel times. Providing buses with dedicated road space helps them avoid delays along their route.

“This project will require the left lane along sections of Stud Road to operate as a bus lane between Boronia Road, Bayswater and David Street in Dandenong during the periods when existing parking and clearway restrictions apply.

“These changes will only occur on three lane sections of the road where there is no signed parking to be impacted. The bus lanes will also be set-back from intersections, giving traffic access to all lanes at these points so motorists are not unnecessarily held up.”

The Stud Road bus lanes will have new signs and red pavement similar to other bus lanes already operating on parts of Stud Road and other roads on the network.

Most of the new sections will be full-time bus lanes, however, the northbound stretch between Heatherton Road and David Street in Dandenong will be a part-time bus lane operating between 4pm and 6.30pm.

Before the construction of EastLink, VicRoads identified the possibility of providing increased priority for buses along the South East corridor as traffic levels decreased. Since Eastlink opened there has been a significant decrease in traffic volumes on Stud Road, with even greater reductions in truck traffic

Mr Pallas said the Stud Road bus lanes would close some of the gaps on an already extensive network of bus lanes in the Knox area.

“These bus lanes will complement the Brumby Labor Government’s $290 million commitment to expand the orbital bus network and improve public transport in the south-eastern corridor – meaning more viable travel choices for commuters,” he said.

“The installation of bus lanes will give people better public transport access to services in their community and better connections to Melbourne's train and tram network, improving traffic flow and encouraging people to leave the car at home.

“One bus can remove over 50 single occupancy cars from the road, making bus travel greener and reducing congestion on our roads.”

The installation of bus lanes on Stud Road follows extensive consultation with the City of Knox, the City of Greater Dandenong and other key stakeholders, which resulted in positive feedback about the existing Stud Road bus lanes and support for expanding bus lane network in the area.   

Further consultation with local councils is continuing regarding the proposed trial of bus lanes along Springvale Road.

This project is part of the Brumby Labor Government’s $113 million Keeping Melbourne Moving strategy, which includes a range of measures to tackle congestion on the road network.