page_title: Regional Network Development Plan
section_title: Consultation  and development
hierarchical_section_title: Regional Network Development Plan / Consultation  and development
caption_attribution_description: English: V/line Reserved Seating Ticket
context_page_description: The Regional Network Development Plan is a long-term plan for the provision of bus and train services to the regional areas of the state of Victoria, Australia. Produced four years after the Network Development Plan Metropolitan Rail, which examined in detail the future expansion of the metropolitan Melbourne rail network, the RNDP was produced by the state government's Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources and sets forth short-, medium- and long-term priorities for the 5, 10 and 15 years after 2016 respectively.
  The RNDP was widely criticised for its lack of concrete planning by regional commentators. Many of the plan's short-term proposals were funded in the 2016–17 Victorian Budget, and further regional public transport upgrades continued with the announcement of the Regional Rail Revival program in 2017.
context_section_description: Public consultation meetings with the aim of establishing public transport priorities across the state began in June 2015. At the same time, an online forum was set up to facilitate comments on the state of transport services in regional Victoria.
  The consultation process was led by a Regional Transport Advisory Group, co-chaired by Jaclyn Symes, a member of the Victorian Parliament's Legislative Council, and Richard Elkington, a member of the Gippsland Regional Development Committee. The group also included representative of planning and development bodies in the Wimmera region, Warrnambool, Bendigo, Wodonga, Shepparton and Ballarat; and a representative of the Transport Accident Commission.
  38 "workshops" were held in various town centres during the consultation period, and were attended by about 1,400 people. In addition to this, approximately 1,700 surveys were returned in various formats, and 102 "detailed submissions" were made to the project by stakeholder groups.
  The process received generally positive feedback in regional media outlets, with a number of established advocacy campaigns praising the opportunity for their demands to be discussed. The Ballarat Courier called the consultation a "solid start", but observed that significant investment would be required to realise any long-term benefits of the plan. The Weekly Times, a statewide newspaper with a rural focus, noted that it would be important for future planning to prioritise the needs identified in the consultation carefully.
  The feedback channels closed on the same day as the final workshop, held in Maryborough on 9 October, and a "Conversation Report" summarising the feedback received was released on 26 November.
  The Conversation Report summarised comments received in five regions: Gippsland, Grampians (extending from Ballarat to the western border of Victoria), Hume (the rough area served by the Hume Highway's Victorian section), Loddon Mallee (including most of northwest Victoria) and Barwon South West (approximately reflecting the catchment area of the Barwon River). Common themes of feedback across the state included the need for improved transport to smaller towns, a desire for higher-quality facilities and communication, and frustration at inflexible and inconsistent ticketing arrangements.
  At the end of 2015, no release date for the plan had yet been announced. Minister for Public Transport Jacinta Allan told media that it would likely be ready for the 2016–17 Budget. By March 2016, the plan had been finalised and released to the government, but no timeframe was provided for its eventual public release. The RNDP was launched at a press conference on 30 May 2016, some weeks after the announcement of the Budget.
caption: A source of frustration in the feedback received was the complex ticketing system combining myki and more traditional paper tickets such as this one.
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