Hope Street bus service

The old man walked tentatively towards the speaker. He held his walking stick aloft, to gain attention, but it looked as if he was advancing to attack, albeit in slow motion.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon and the speakers had been addressing the gathering about the impending closure of the Hope Street bus, Route 509. They talked about how the bus line serves the community, how essential it is, linking two major roads, the railway line, the medical, sporting, shopping and other public facilities. The densely populated area, is set to become even more densely populated with more high rise development. The area needs not more cars, it needs the bus service. For the elderly, the bus is an essential service, and the drivers are their friends.

One of the speakers, a retired bus driver, guided the old man to the centre of the circle. The MC, local resident Shane, introduced him as Joe, a man who has lived in the area for all of his 91 years.

“I was born down the road, in Hanover Street, and I always remember the bus route was here. During the Depression, we would ride to the cheap shops on Sydney Road for one penny. The Hope Street bus has to stay… “

Later, I spoke to Joe and his nephew. Joe told of the smoke pollution from the Brickworks, the great pits where the clay was mined, the deepest one being 200 feet deep. It was said the water at the bottom rose and fell with the tides. Boys courted danger by diving into the pools. Joe also said he used to sneak through holes in the fence of the Gillon Oval to watch the local football matches for free. His nephew reminisced that boys would also shoot rats at the nearby tip.

Other speakers included an eleven year old girl who read out her articulate letter, passionately exhorting the Minister for Transport to keep the bus service. One of her arguments was that this bus service provides her with an opportunity to speak Italian, the language she learns at her primary school. As a language teacher, I applauded this argument. At school, she also learns that society needs people to speak up and take a stand for their beliefs. And then tiny little pocket violinist William played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and other classic pieces.

This small bus route, the shortest in Australia, has an amazing story and demonstrates all the values of mutual assistance, neighbourliness and environmental viability. Perhaps it could be modified with the use of smaller, electric buses. I thought of Hong Kong, where small buses whiz around all the streets, stopping wherever needed, just like the Hope Street bus. It is a beacon for the future, not just a story from Brunswick’s past.