SOUTH-EAST: Route 800, never on Sundays

The Route 800 bus service between Chadstone and Dandenong is the busiest bus route in Melbourne without seven- day service.
Local residents say there has not been a timetable change for more than 30 years.
“On Saturday afternoons it runs only every two hours with the last bus leaving Chadstone before 4pm,” says Peter Parker, Convenor of the Fix800Bus campaign
“It is thus not as useful as it could be for many needing to travel.
“Most Melbourne bus routes gained (or regained) seven-day service about 15 years
ago but the 800 was left out of the upgrade.
“This is despite major development in the Chadstone/Monash area and the
800 being the only public transport in parts of Noble Park/Dande-nong.”
The bus stops right outside Premier Daniel Andrews’s electorate office at Harrisfield shops, opposite RACV.
A parliamentary question on notice was recently asked by Rachel Payne MLA on why the 800 bus doesn’t run seven days.
The service operates mostly along Princes Hwy.
It runs via Oakleigh Station and M-City shopping centre. It also passes near Monash University, Clayton, and is the only public transport in parts of Springvale and Noble Park.
Local populations are diverse, are often on low incomes and have a high need for bus services as shown by high patronage on local routes, including the 800.
Route 800 operates every 20 minutes during the day on weekdays. Saturday service is much less, with buses every 60 minutes in the morning and 120 minutes in the afternoon, with the last bus around 4pm.
This is despite the 800 serving locations that are busy on weekends including major shopping centres like Chadstone.
Melbourne has about 350 suburban bus routes. Of these Route 800 is the 20th highest on a weekday boardings per hour basis.
On Saturday Route 800 ranks even higher, being the 10th most productive bus route in Melbourne, Mr Parker says.
Route 800 operates through the state seats of Oakleigh, Mulgrave and Dandenong.