About this work
A prototype for GEOM30012, University of Melbourne.
Method
- We start one trip in each of the 402 Census areas (SA1s) in the City of Melton. Each trip starts at the area's population-weighted centre, from ABS Mesh Block counts.
- We route each trip with r5r on one fixed snapshot of the Victorian GTFS Schedule timetable (14 Aug 2026) and the OpenStreetMap walking network, on Wednesday 9 September 2026.
- Every journey is a same-day return: arrive at Sunshine Hospital for an afternoon appointment, then leave at 6 pm or 8:30 pm and get home.
- We keep two measures apart, with no combined score: the full round-trip time, and the share of homes without a car (2021 Census).
- A priority area is above the Melton middle value for round-trip time AND in the top tenth for homes without a car.
- Each change is a separate timetable, or for the Cobblebank site a new end point, compared with the Sept 2026 timetable. An area counts as improved when it is no longer a priority area and no part of its trip gets longer.
Limits
- Timetables ignore delays. Trips follow the timetable; late or cancelled services are not included.
- Some new estates have missing paths in OpenStreetMap, which can make a trip look longer. We did not add the footpaths that are missing from the map data.
- We count areas, and round the number of homes to the nearest 10. Homes without a car come from the 2021 Census, which ABS changes slightly to protect privacy. Areas with too few homes are not measured.
- One centre point stands for each area. In large rural areas it may be far from some homes.
- The Cobblebank site is tested with the Sept 2026 buses and trains, not a future timetable.
What would make these results stronger
Data sources and licences
| Data | From | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| GTFS Schedule timetable (Victoria), 14 Aug 2026 snapshot | Department of Transport and Planning, Transport Victoria open data | CC BY 4.0 |
| Walking network (footpaths and streets) | © OpenStreetMap contributors | ODbL |
| SA1 and Mesh Block boundaries, ASGS Edition 3 | Australian Bureau of Statistics | CC BY 4.0 |
| 2021 Census Mesh Block counts | Australian Bureau of Statistics | CC BY 4.0 |
| 2021 Census motor vehicles per home, by SA1 | Australian Bureau of Statistics | CC BY 4.0 |
| Mesh Block to council area allocation | Australian Bureau of Statistics | CC BY 4.0 |
| Sunshine Hospital and Cobblebank site locations (Cobblebank address from a Victorian Health Building Authority announcement) | Found with OpenStreetMap Nominatim | ODbL |
The input files and their checksums are listed in the project's provenance log.
Who made this
- Elvis Lin, student, individual project
- Group members: Te-Pin Perng, Catherine Huang, Yuanle Tian
Prototype for GEOM30012, University of Melbourne. This is student work. It is not a government plan or advice.