The fuel crisis is laying bare what many Prom Coasters have long known: when you live at the end of the road, transport options outside cars are thin, and when those options become unaffordable, the consequences are real.
With petrol prices outrageous as the war in the Middle East continues, a growing number of us are finding the drive to the supermarket, to a medical appointment, or to have a coffee or a meal with friends is becoming a luxury we can't afford. For people who never had a car option in the first place, the crisis is compounding pressures that already existed.
One bright spot in the picture are the two local Prom Coast e-buses, Sandy (in Sandy Point) and Sunny (in Venus Bay).
The Sandy Point eBus has seen a surge in bookings as residents look for alternatives to the car. The volunteer-run electric bus, which requires no diesel, is now offering dedicated shopping trips to Foster, Leongatha and other nearby towns.
"Save your fuel," says Neil Shaw, the eBus booking officer. "Hop on one of the eBus shopping trips."
The electric bus also has a special deal for these shoppers with a reduction in the suggested donation for the various shopping trips. Neil suggests heading to sandypointebus.com to find out more and make a booking.
At Venus Bay, Sunny has fortnightly scheduled services to Leongatha on Saturdays, while there is also a weekly trip to Wonthaggi via Inverloch on Mondays. Go to https://www.vbcc.org.au/e-bus for more info.
Sandy and Sunny are a fantastic model for what community-run transport can look like but it also throws into sharp relief just how little formal public transport serves the region. The eBus services exist because residents created them themselves.
For those fortunate enough to live within reach of a V/Line service, the picture is also deteriorating. Drivers on the Yarram run have confirmed services are significantly busier since fuel prices spiked, with the 1pm service from Southern Cross on 2 April departing at capacity, leaving some passengers stranded on the platform. An overflow bus was arranged, but it stopped at Leongatha, leaving Prom Coast-bound passengers a long way from home.
"One of the buses that left today was overloaded," the Prom Coast News was informed anonymously last week. "They were arranging a second coach to meet it at Koo Wee Rup."
The introduction of free public transport across Victoria until the end of April to ease cost-of-living pressures is expected to make an already strained system worse. On the Gippsland train line, passengers are reporting standing room only conditions to the ABC. Kate Young, who boarded at Bairnsdale, described being "jammed in like sardines" with an elderly couple sharing a single seat, taking turns to stand.
Public Transport Users Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen told the ABC that the network had struggled to keep pace with demand even before the crisis. "There are concerns about crowding already, and obviously that's likely to be worsened during April," he said. "What you don't want to see is large numbers of passengers who may not be able to stand, being forced to for hours and hours on end."
Away from the train lines, the fuel crisis is threatening the viability of one of the few transport lifelines many Prom Coast residents have. James MacFadyen of Prom Coast Taxis also spoke to the ABC, saying many of his customers are elderly locals who need help getting to medical appointments or simply want to get into town.
"We have an ageing community and a lot of people are coming to an age where they can't drive safely anymore," MacFadyen says.
Even with temporary fuel excise relief, the economics are becoming precarious. MacFadyen says "I just don't know if the business is going to be able to continue to operate. I am quite concerned and unfortunately it might come to a stage where the business has to be put on hold."
The impacts are spreading into community services too. Manna Gum’s Rebecca Matthews says attendance at the community lunch has already dropped, with regulars from outside Foster unable to make the trip. "We expect to see an increase in demand for emergency relief as well," she said.
National welfare body ACOSS has confirmed its members across the country are already experiencing serious disruptions to essential service delivery, including food and material aid, reduced worker capacity due to travel costs and growing risks of people being cut off from vital support altogether.
Concerns have also been raised about school bus fuel allocations.
Federal Member for Monash Mary Aldred has written to the Prime Minister urging that school buses be classified as an essential service and prioritised in the national fuel security plan. She says schools across Gippsland have raised concerns that the crisis could impact bus fleets, cutting off students in areas where there is simply no alternative.
"Unlike urban schools where public transport, or walk or ride options are available, schools in my electorate have hundreds of families who completely depend on school buses," Ms Aldred said. "The educational, wellbeing and economic consequence of having students unable to attend school because of mismanaged fuel supply would be serious."
What this stupid war has done is make visible a structural problem that has been quietly building for years. The Prom Coast has no train service. Its V/Line bus connections are limited and now overwhelmed. Its taxi services are under threat. Its community transport initiatives, like the wonderful Sandy Point and Venus Bay eBuses, exist despite the system, not because of it. Cara Schultz
