Improving public transport and educational opportunities has been one of my priorities as a Councillor. 

Currently there are limited post-secondary education opportunities in Colac Otway Shire.  Some residents travel to Geelong to Gordon or Deakin. 

One of the difficulties in using the Warrnambool train to travel from Colac to Geelong, whether for education opportunities or other purposes, is that the one return train in weekday evenings arrives in Colac at around 8.44 pm. 

In the past, this matter wasn’t pursued by Council.  The current Council agreed to lobby for an increase in the rail services between Colac and Geelong.  The new State Government agreed to introduce extra services after the matter was raised by Council in the lead up to the last State election.

Apparently, there is a need for a passing loop to be constructed to allow the extra train services.  In the meantime, a bus service has been introduced in the evenings from Geelong to Colac.  The bus service leaves Geelong at 5.35pm, which is two hours earlier than the evening train.  This means it is feasible to travel from Colac to Geelong by train and return in the afternoon from Geelong to Colac by bus.

This is a tangible example of what can be achieved when Councillors work together co-operatively.

Please check the actual timetable on V-Line's web site as timetables can change and the above times may no longer be correct. 

The timetable can be found at the following link:

http://www.vline.com.au/pdf/timetables/warrnambool.pdf

Please feel free to contact me on 5237-3196 if you would like to discuss this or any other Council matter.

To comply with the Councillor Code of Conduct I need to make it clear that these comments are my personal report. I am not speaking on behalf of the Council.