General News
31 May, 2026
Funding remains hurdle for Halls Gap bus proposal
A major push to improve public transport links through the Grampians has reached a new stage, with the Department of Transport and Planning confirming there are no short-term plans for a new Ararat-to-Halls Gap coach service — while leaving the door open to future changes subject to funding.
The response follows months of campaigning from Halls Gap accommodation operator and long-time public transport campaigner Tim Walsh, who wrote to Premier Jacinta Allan earlier this year calling for improved transport connectivity across the Grampians corridor.
In a letter dated May 20, Department of Transport and Planning executive director modal planning Stuart Johns confirmed the department had formally assessed the proposal.
“DTP recognises the important role buses play in meeting the travel needs of people living in regional Victoria,” Mr Johns wrote.
Mr Walsh has been campaigning for a dedicated daily coach service linking Ararat Railway Station with Halls Gap via Moyston, Pomonal, the WAMA precinct and Halls Gap Zoo, arguing it would better connect residents, workers, students and tourists with the region.
The proposal would effectively position Ararat as the main public transport gateway to the Grampians, allowing Melbourne passengers to transfer directly from train to coach without the current multi-step journey through Stawell.
However, the department said there were currently “no short-term plans” to introduce the service.
Mr Johns said the department regularly reviewed regional bus networks using criteria including demand, social need, operational requirements and available infrastructure.
While the response stops short of committing to the proposal, it also does not rule it out.
Mr Walsh said subsequent conversations with departmental staff reinforced that future consideration of the proposal would depend on funding.
“This service would have major social and business advantages for our communities,” Mr Walsh said.
“It would be the best possible outcome for our communities to have daily V/Line coach services between Ararat and Halls Gap.”
The department also addressed a separate proposal to divert the existing Stawell-to-Halls Gap coach service via Halls Gap Zoo.
That proposal was deemed unviable in the short term.
According to the department, coordinating the route with existing rail connections would result in impractical arrival and departure windows for zoo visitors.
“These timetable options would leave only around two hours between coach arrival and departure, and less than two hours once time to enter the zoo is taken into account,” Mr Johns wrote.
Mr Walsh welcomed that decision, arguing the zoo-only deviation would fail to deliver broader regional transport benefits.
Instead, he said the stronger long-term case remained a full Ararat-to-Halls Gap corridor service incorporating smaller communities and tourism assets along the route.
Notably, the department’s letter did not specifically reference Mr Walsh’s earlier proposal to reroute the existing Stawell-to-Halls Gap service through Lake Fyans, Pomonal, WAMA and Halls Gap Zoo.
Mr Walsh said community and political support for the broader Ararat proposal continued to build.
He has spoken with Lowan MP Emma Kealy, contacted the office of Ripon MP Martha Haylett and said he was awaiting a response from Western Victoria MP Jacinta Ermacora.
“With a state election approaching, if enough of our community takes the time to contact local Members of Parliament, they may find the funding for this V/Line coach service,” he said.
The proposal has also attracted informal support from sections of the tourism sector and local community leaders.
Ararat Rural City Council chief executive Dr Tim Harrison previously described the concept as a natural extension from Ararat train station through smaller townships and into Halls Gap.
Mr Walsh said Marian College in Ararat had also expressed support for the proposal, with the return service potentially helping students travelling between Halls Gap, nearby communities and Ararat.
For Mr Walsh — who says he has spent 25 years advocating for better regional public transport — the department’s response marks progress rather than defeat.
He believes the focus must now shift from advocacy to political pressure and funding commitments.
“We now have an opportunity to make traction on this proposal,” he said.