Fawkner is about 12 km from the centre of Melbourne. Real estate pages describe Fawkner as an inner-north “first-home buyer magnet” with relatively affordable house prices and “easy connectivity to the city”. It certainly could be that. If only Fawkner had decent public transport.

Climate Action Merri-bek attended the recent Fawkner Festa and asked residents to fill out postcards to the Minister for Public Transport on why they wanted better public transport. At the end of this blog, we list all the comments made by residents. Fawkner residents who didn’t get a chance to complete a postcard can write to the Minister and the State MP at:

• The Hon. Gabrielle Williams, Minister for Public and Active Transport, receptionminwilliams@transport.vic.gov.au
• Ms Kathleen Matthews-Ward, MP for Broadmeadows, kathleen.matthews-ward@parliament.vic.gov.au

In summary, there was widespread concern about the poor public transport in Fawkner. Specifically:

• Buses are unreliable, they don’t come often enough, they don’t run every day and in the evenings, and they take too long.
• The Upfield line needs more frequent services.
• The lack of public transport makes it difficult to get around if you don’t drive a car. This particularly affects young people and elderly people.
• People don’t want to be dependent on a car, particularly when there is a climate crisis.
• Public transport needs to be accessible

Fawkner – and indeed much of Merri-bek north of Bell Street – has unacceptably poor public transport. The map below is from the https://www.snamuts.com/ site that compares public transport in cities around the world. Most of Fawkner is in black. This means its public transport doesn’t reach minimum service levels. (Given that the 530 bus runs through the black section of Fawkner, this means the 530 bus does not reach minimum service levels.) There is another map of access to Melbourne’s public transport network here.

Why is decent public transport so important?

It is vital that people can get around easily by public transport. This is needed to address climate change, and a range of other environmental problems. Moreover, motor vehicle congestion is choking our cities and costing us all dearly.

At a household level, car-dependent households pay a high cost – which can negate the benefits of having more affordable housing. Census data shows that a higher proportion of households in Fawkner need two or more cars, compared with all of Merri-bek. Even a small passenger vehicle can cost over $10,000 per year to run – about five times the cost of a Myki.

From January 1, 2026, children under 18 can travel free on public transport. If families in Fawkner are to get the full benefits of this free public transport, there must be decent services.

What is Merri-bek Council doing?

Public transport is a state responsibility, so Councils can only lobby.

The Northern Councils Alliance, which includes Merri-bek, is currently lobbying for much improved public transport in Melbourne’s north, and is urging residents to submit their stories about their experiences with getting around. See https://www.connectmelbournesnorth.com/

In 2022, Merri-bek Council undertook a Fawkner Transport Study, which included a survey of residents. 55% of respondents reported using public transport at least weekly, with trains being the most popular. Only 23% of respondents used buses. The report noted that

Many respondents cited low frequency, slow running and lack of evening and weekend services as barriers to using the local bus service. The two routes in Fawkner (530 and 531) suffer from a lack of directness, low spread of hours, lack of services in evenings and weekends, and do not provide a broad choice of destinations.

The Council’s Transport Strategy Moving Around Merri-bek includes the following advocacy priorities:

• Connect the Upfield Line to the Craigieburn Line via Somerton
• Duplicate track from Gowrie Railway Station to the end of the line
• Increase frequencies on the Upfield Line
• Improve bus services in Fawkner

The Upfield line – one of Melbourne’s worst suburban train lines

The Upfield train line is one of Melbourne’s worst. Peak hour trains come only every 15 to 20 minutes. We have been promised 20-min services at off-peak times, including weekends and evenings to start in 2026. This is welcome. But we need services every 10 minutes. This means the government must duplicate the track between Gowrie and Upfield. During the 2025 federal election, a series of promises were made – see here – in particular a promise of $7 million by Federal Labor for upgrade planning of Upfield and Craigieburn lines.

The single track north of Gowrie means that only one train can run on the 4 kilometre track to Upfield. It must then turn around and return on the single track. This limits the frequency of train services and can lead to delays . To make up time, the operator sometimes turns the train around at Batman, forcing train travellers to wait for the next train.

Duplication is one of the main advocacy priorities of Merri-bek Council and the Northern Councils Alliance (see also their video here). Duplicating the track between Gowrie and Upfield (plus an additional platform at Upfield) has been costed at $246 million, while a turnback at Gowrie would cost $54.4 million. Note that the cost of duplicating the Upfield line is about one-fifth the cost of the Brunswick Skyrail.

Trams

The route 19 tram along Sydney Road ends at Bakers Road, about 1 km south of the Boundary Rd/Queens St intersection, where Fawkner begins. There has long been talk of extending tram route 19 up to Gowrie Station or beyond. See here and here. However, there is a large gas main running through the centre median of Sydney Road, north of Boundary Road. So, presumably the tram line could be extended to Boundary Road, but further north it could be very costly.

Buses

Bus routes can be found o Merri-bek’s public transport map, with detailed route information and timetables here.

Buses are important for Fawkner residents to reach important destinations such as shopping centres. Many also need buses them to reach the Upfield line – indeed parts of Fawkner are over 2 km from a train station. (Note that council is improving cycling connections.)

Buses are by far the cheapest form of public transport to run, per service kilometre. But per passenger, buses can be more costly than trains and trams – because too many bus routes are not meeting people’s travel needs. So patronage is poor. They are infrequent and run fewer hours. Many routes are very indirect, so the journey takes too long. Many routes still don’t run on Sundays.

Unfortunately the government doesn’t even have decent patronage data for buses, because fewer than one-third of bus passengers touch on their Myki.

From 2022, the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) undertook a major study on bus network reform including in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. The DTP then made a submission to the Victorian government on reforming the bus network, including building a network of high-frequency, direct bus routes. But the government did not implement it.

Part of the issue with bus network reform is that it involves straightening out routes. Some bus routes (like the 530 in Fawkner) wind around local streets. So most residents are within walking distance of a bus stop. But windy routes take a long time, so they are less attractive to perople who can walk longer distances. Hence usage is low.

If governments propose to straighten routes and run them more frequently, they will be more attractive to people currently not using the bus. But many current bus users, particularly those who can’t walk very far, will be disadvantaged. If windy bus routes are replaced with more frequent but straightened bus routes, there will be complaints from existing bus users. Expectations of a backlash may explain why politicians are anxious about change. Clearly (as John Stone has suggested – see link to presentation) the solution is to add the new fast frequent bus routes while maintaining the existing infrequent indirect routes. As bus services are relatively cheap, the cost of this is not high.

For Fawkner, this would presumably mean running a frequent service along Sydney Road (the 531) and a new more direct route within Fawkner – perhaps along Jukes Road, McBryde Street and Lorne Street?

Since July this year, all new buses ordered in Victoria must be zero emission. This is welcome news. Buses running on diesel fuel will be phased out as they reach the end of their lives.

A recent Climate Action Merri-bek meeting had a very informative presentation on bus network reform by researcher Dr John Stone.

Bus route 530

The 530 bus starts near Coburg station and runs through most of the east-west streets of Fawkner, terminating at Campbellfield Plaza. The only changes to this route in the last few decades are that it formerly started at Bakers Road, the terminus of tram route 19. The coverage within Fawkner has also been extended. Most residents are within a short walk of this bus route, meaning it could be convenient if you can’t walk very far. But the lack of bus shelters and seats at many bus stops actually makes it difficult.

This bus service runs about every 30 minutes on weekdays until past 9pm, and every 40 minutes on weekends. It provides access to Gowrie and Fawkner Stations, but the bus and train timetables don’t match up. Because the bus route winds through the east-west streets of Fawkner, the journey takes a long time – 25 minutes to travel from Anderson Road to Lorne Street, a distance of 2.3 kilometres.

Bus route 531

The 531 bus starts at the terminus of tram route 19, and runs up straight up Sydney Road through to Upfield Station (with a small detour in Campbellfield). But it’s a shockingly poor service –  it runs only once an hour on weekdays and not after 8pm, with no service at all on the weekends.

We wrote extensively about the 531 bus in a blogpost in October 2025. Council is advocating for this route to be significantly upgraded to become in effect an extension of the tram line. We asked the Council for an update on the advocacy on improving the 531 bus route. They replied “the discussions are ongoing so we can’t communicate an outcome at this stage.”

It would also make sense to extend both ends of the 531 bus route. It could run to Bell Street, and at the other end joined with the 540 bus route. (The 540 runs from Upfield Station to Coolaroo and Broadmeadows Stations, and runs far more frequently.)

Bus route 902

Bus route 902 runs along Mahoneys Road on the northern boundary of Fawkner. It is a SmartBus route, so it runs fairly frequently. It provides access to Broadmeadows Station and shopping centre, and destinations in the east. But only a small fraction of Fawkner residents can reach it by foot. Others have to rely on the 530 or 531 to reach Mahoneys Road.

What did residents write on the postcards?

Resdients completed postcards to the Minister for Public Transport. I want better public transport in Fawkner because:

• It does not cater for the disabled and elderly. We need action!
• It will keep our community connected. It will enable students and teachers to access education easier.
• Some of the time [the bus] comes a little bit late.
• The buses are always late – not on time.
• There are too many people and [not enough] transport buses. More bus routes can be included.
• Buses have convoluted routes, and trips could be quicker and more efficient with better routes. Implement the reform plan sitting on your shelf.
• Buses are often late. Public transport helps me with a shopping etc. as I don’t drive.
• It makes attending activities after school and university incredibly difficult.
• We need it to be more frequent. And it should be more reliable. It should be free for under 18s.
• It’s important that people are able to rely on getting places easily when they don’t own a car. Also, better, public transport helps with climate change as people don’t have to use cars so often.
• The bus takes too long and the travel route does not seem efficient or frequent enough. A tram into the city would be great. In general, more frequency and better routes, there are too many cars in Fawkner! We need more public transport options.
• The suburb is cut off from [public] transport. It leaves residence reliant on cars, increases congestion on key routes into and out of the city. It also disadvantages residents without cars.
• Trams are not accessible for those with prams, wheelchairs etc. This makes using them so much more stressful, deterring use. From Gowrie, the train line also needs to be duplicated to speed up journeys.
• There is a growing population which relies on public transport to access work and services. Duplication of the line would solve many cancellations at Batman, which delay commuters weekly.
• Federal funding by government to urge the bus routes in Glenroy and Hadfield, buses, trains, trams to the city, coach tours and courtesy bus, with help from our community visitors in the greater region.
• Much better frequent services. [It is] not a full service. [We need] every day and evening services.
• The buses have so much wait time, which makes it difficult to commute daily. Please make it more fast. Transport isn’t so fast.
• For the 5 year average road toll – 0% was from public transport. If I recall correctly state policy is to have a 30% reduction in car use, which with many other factors leave the glaring public transport gaps in Fawkner sticking out. If you don’t have rail in a suburb, it needs frequent buses. Three an hour does not equal frequent.
• Easy to get to work without a hassle. Make sure kids can be independent with their travelling.
• There are not enough regular trains! Duplicate the train line!
• It is better for the world.
• Especially at the time of school pickup and drop-offs. Please think about the parents’ wallets as well. From next year, kids below 18 years will get free transport. But please make one parent also free.
• The trains are too infrequent.
• Young people rely on safe, frequent timely transport to allow them to access community facilities already in place to amplify their experience and development. The integration of facilities and access is vital for our future, and theirs.
• As a growing family, it is imperative to sustaining our way of life. Cycling to school and work is very important to our family. Currently, there is no safe access to the Upfield bike path. The large median strip on Sydney Road would be perfect as a bike path.
• I want to save the planet
• We need equality in public transport, access and more frequent services.
• To reduce reliance on individual transport. For the environment.
• I don’t want to use a car in a climate emergency. but I have to because there aren’t enough train and bus services.
• I don’t want to drive my car anymore.
• It would be great to extend the tram line to Anderson and Sydney Road intersection for better city access.
• I use public transport every day and need more frequent buses and more stops nearby.
• Better public transport is good. 
• The bus line takes too long and winds into every street in Fawkner.
• Everyone deserves access to services or the ability to freely move around.
• The parking spots at the Fawkner train station are limited. Please extend the parking spaces.
• The travel time should be smaller on the buses and trains. Buses should be more punctual.
• I want to reach my workplace on time without wasting time. For that, the train needs to be improved.
• The frequency of Upfield line trains impacts commute time, leading to more cars on the road. I would also like better lighting on the bike path for riding at home. There are some dark patches. Thank you.
• Bus services in Coburg, Fawkner and Brunswick are irregular, unreliable and unsafe for school age students due to unsupervised long wait times.
• Less cars on the road
• I want more frequent and reliable services on the outfield. The Upfield line needs to be duplicated. I would like our public transport to have 24/7 service. Bus route 530 and 531 need longer hours, frequent services, 7 days a week.
• Public safety and commute to work/school. 
• There needs to be more frequency on trams, buses and trains. There needs to be more accessibility for disability and the elderly and prams or shopping trolleys, particularly for buses and trams. There needs to have be duplication on the upfield line after Gowrie. Improve public transport in Merri-bek, please.
• They are never on time, always late. There are [few] buses, even in the morning. Buses are going passing the stop.
• There are limited services available at this time. We need more frequent service.
• It means I can go to more appointments and into the city with more ease.
• I like to travel by a combination of bicycle and train.
• I value a healthy atmosphere, both down at people level and up at greenhouse gas level. State of the art public transport for Fawkner/Merri-bek/Naarm will go a long way to achieving this.
• They do not go where I need them, nor when I would need them. (Sunday anyone?)
• It is a place that is hard to access and hard to leave. Buses don’t run enough. Timetables which make services that run difficult to get participants particularly youth.

What can residents do?

Write to the Minister and local member. Don’t put up with shoddy public transport.

• The Hon. Gabrielle Williams, Minister for Public and Active Transport, receptionminwilliams@transport.vic.gov.au
• Ms Kathleen Matthews-Ward, MP for Broadmeadows, kathleen.matthews-ward@parliament.vic.gov.au