Doncaster Park & Ride | ||||||||||||||||
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 Route 207 bus at Doncaster Park & Ride | ||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||
| Location | 398-412Doncaster Road,Doncaster Australia | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°47′20″S145°06′17″E / 37.788886°S 145.104825°E /-37.788886; 145.104825 | |||||||||||||||
| System | PTVbus stop | |||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Department of Transport and Planning | |||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Kinetic Melbourne | |||||||||||||||
| Line | Eastern Busway (future) | |||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 | |||||||||||||||
| Bus routes | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | |||||||||||||||
| Parking | 400 | |||||||||||||||
| Accessible | Yes―step free access | |||||||||||||||
| Other information | ||||||||||||||||
| Station code | 21050 | |||||||||||||||
| Fare zone | Myki Zone 2 | |||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||
| Opened | January 2003 | |||||||||||||||
| Closed | 12 January 2025 (temporary) | |||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 2028 (expected) | |||||||||||||||
| Services | ||||||||||||||||
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Doncaster Park & Ride was apark and ride bus station and a futurebusway station located inMelbourne, Australia. It served the suburb ofDoncaster and situates next to theEastern Freeway, and opened in January 2003.
It closed on 12 January 2025 to allow room for a new road to be built for temporary access to the Eastern Freeway during construction of theNorth East Link.[1] It is planned to be rebuilt and reopen in 2028.
The park-and-ride was opened in January 2003 by the state government partnered with the formerNational Bus Company.[2] However, its usefulness was disputed due to a review of the facility by theDepartment of Infrastructure in 2004 found that of those using it, only one person was a new user of public transport. All other people had previously commuted by bus.[3]
The station car park was part of the upgrades proposed in the Urban Congestion Fund (UCF) was established in the2018–19 Budget by thefederal government to increase the capacity of the car park. This project was approved in May 2020 forAU$6 million, fully funded by theFederal Government and to be delivered by theGovernment of Victoria.[4] However, an audit byAustralian National Audit Office found that the program was “not effective” and identification of projects “was not demonstrably merit-based”, and the park-and-ride facility did not qualify for funding.[5] In the2022–23 Budget, the newly electedAlbanese government withdrew the funding commitment to this project.[6]
As a part of theNorth East Link project, adedicated busway will be constructed along with a rebuilt of the station, connecting the Park and Ride facility andHoddle Street in the city with its own right-of-way. It is expected to be completed by 2028.[7] Due to construction of a new temporary road to maintain car access to the Eastern Freeway, the bus interchange closed on 12 January 2025.[8] The lack of information, length of the closure and poor alternative facilities have been criticised by transport planners and local councils.[1][9]
The station serviced the 907 and 908SmartBus services, a part of the Doncaster Area Rapid Transit (DART), as well as seven other bus routes.[10] Apart from a park-and-ride, the station also acts as an interchange between Eastern Freewayexpress routes and other bus routes.[11]
The station had an indoor waiting area, a sheltered waiting area, a Parkiteerbicycle cage, a toilet, and a customer information centre.[12]
Although this station was served by eight bus routes, there was only one boardingplatform with some buses stopping at the same stop in both directions and causing confusion for passengers. Some suggest that the limited platform space and inconsistent stopping spots for buses create a dangerous waiting environment.[13]
It was served by nine routes all operated byKinetic Melbourne, under contract toPublic Transport Victoria:
