DEMANDS to re-open the bus stop at Zurcas Lane, Shepparton, have reached Victorian Parliament. Bus Route 7 previously travelled along Zurcas Lane with a stop outside the Harmony Retirement Villages with a purpose-built shelter. The stop was frequently used by Village residents who caught the bus as their main form of transportation into town, as well as members of East Shepparton Bowls Club, who could catch the bus right to the club entrance.
Member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, called on the Public Transport Minister last week to reinstate the bus stop, which was closed without warning in May 2023.
Ms Lovell said that now Village residents are forced to walk up to a kilometre, without protection from rain or sun, to catch the bus at Shepparton Marketplace. She added that bowlers, who don’t have access to the secure gate that allows Village residents access to Marketplace, are forced to walk even further.
“For many retirees the distance from Harmony Retirement Village to the Marketplace bus stop is just too far to walk due to their age or infirmity. It’s also a struggle for bowls club members to carry a bag of bowls that far,” Ms Lovell said. “I urge the Minister to re-open the bus stop outside Harmony Village in Zurcas Lane.”
