I spent Sunday, November 16, 2025 at the West Gate Tunnel Discovery Day.
50,000+ people walked through a $6.7 billion road tunnel before it opens. The government called it a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.”
What I saw wasn’t just a PR event. It was a perfect case study in everything wrong with Victorian transport policy.
Here’s what happened, what it means, and why Melton residents should care.
Look, Discovery Day was well-executed as events go. Food trucks, kids’ activities, festival vibe. There was even a driving simulator where you could pretend to drive through the tunnel.
At an event where everyone was walking.
Make it make sense.
They raised $175,000 for local charities through an 8km run. Which sounds great until you remember this is a $6.7 billion project that’s going to generate billions more for Transurban.
The $175,000 is a rounding error.
But it’s politically brilliant. Now anyone critiquing the event looks like they’re attacking charity fundraisers.
This wasn’t just a community day. Two senior ministers attended: Minister for Transport Infrastructure Gabrielle Williams and Minister for Roads and Road Safety Melissa Horne.
And Minister Williams said the quiet part loud: “The Liberals tried to block it and now we’re about to open it.”
So yeah. Discovery Day was a victory lap. Paid for by taxpayers. For a project that’s going to make Transurban rich for the next 25 years.
Here’s my favorite part.
An event celebrating a multi-billion dollar road tunnel had one very clear message: “We recommend that you do not drive to the event.”
Because 50,000 people can’t fit in cars. So they set up a massive temporary public transport system:
On paper, this looks great. The government proving they can run high-quality public transport when they want to.
In practice? It was a disaster.
I drove to the event. Parked at the remote car park on Footscray Road. Waited for the promised shuttle bus.
Here’s what actually happened:
Wait 1: 20 minutes for the first bus to arrive. Already double the promised frequency.
Wait 2: Bus arrives. Driver’s going on break. Can’t board. Bus drives off empty.
Wait 3: Another 10 minutes for the next bus.
Total wait time: 30 minutes for a service advertised as “every 5-10 minutes.”
And it gets better.
Most passengers got off at Footscray station. We drove past a crowd of people waiting there for buses to the event. We had empty seats. They needed rides.
Couldn’t pick them up. Bus had to go back to the car park first.
So people who took the train—the sustainable choice—had to either wait indefinitely for a pickup bus or walk 15 minutes. People who drove got priority shuttle service.
Eventually.
Oh, and we got stuck in car traffic on the way back anyway. Because that’s what happens when you move 50,000 people through an area with inadequate transport infrastructure.
The government claims they can run high-frequency public transport when they choose to. Discovery Day proved the opposite.
They had:
And they still couldn’t:
If the government can’t run buses properly for a planned, one-day event with totally predictable demand, what does that say about their ability to run a functional network for 230,000+ Melton residents who need it every single day?
The question isn’t capability. It’s priority.
And Discovery Day made the priority crystal clear: photo op first, functional transport never.
The West Gate Tunnel wasn’t a government idea. It was a “market-led proposal” from Transurban. Which means Transurban came to the government with this deal because it was profitable for Transurban.
And here’s what they got:
The Real Prize: 10 extra years on the CityLink monopoly.
CityLink was supposed to end in 2035. By “offering” to build the West Gate Tunnel, Transurban extended it to 2045. The Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office estimated the pre-existing CityLink concession would generate $18.7 billion by 2035.
So Transurban gets another decade of that. Plus 25 years of tolls on the new tunnel.
Victorians are paying twice: new tolls on the tunnel, and an extra decade of tolls on CityLink.
The government’s talking point is “the West Gate Bridge stays free.”
True. But the new tunnel route? Not free. And it gets worse.
There’s a base toll for using the tunnel. Fine, whatever. But then there’s an additional “AM Peak” surcharge if you use the city-bound exits between 7am-9am on weekdays.
Let’s be clear about what this is: a double charge on workers who don’t have flexible hours.
What it costs:
The official justification is “congestion management.” But it’s really just profiteering off the exact peak-hour problem the tunnel claims to solve.
Look, the veloway is cool. 2.5km of elevated cycling infrastructure suspended from the motorway. Bypasses six intersections. Genuinely impressive engineering.
But let’s be honest about what it is: expensive cover for a car tunnel.
The veloway wasn’t in the original proposal. Bicycle Network lobbied hard for it, and the government added it to buy off the cycling lobby.
So the inner-west cycling advocates get a multi-million dollar suspended bike highway. Meanwhile, Melton’s 230,000 residents get told to wait for a “cost-neutral review” of their failing bus network.
It’s a fig leaf. A very expensive, architecturally impressive fig leaf.
There are credible engineering reports claiming the ventilation stack design “prioritised sleek design over meeting good engineering practice.”
Translation: They were so focused on winning architecture awards that they may have compromised air quality for nearby residents.
The government wanted a “visually comfortable” design. Residents wanted to breathe clean air. Guess which one won.
Here’s the thing about the West Gate Tunnel: every dollar spent on it is a dollar not spent somewhere else.
And “somewhere else” includes Melton. Australia’s fastest-growing municipality. Population set to more than double from 232,721 (2024) to 470,596 (2046).
That’s larger than Canberra.
And Melton City Council’s own documents say the public transport network is “failing the community.”
Mode share for buses in Melton: less than 1.3%.
Why?
And what’s Council forced to advocate for? A “cost-neutral review.” That’s it. Permission to reshuffle existing routes at zero cost to the state.
Compare that to the inner-west: $6.7 billion tunnel, $175k launch party, multi-million dollar veloway.
Melton gets permission to move buses around for free.
Melton has a metropolitan-scale population served by a regional V/Line train. It’s overcrowded, infrequent, and terminates only at Southern Cross, forcing CBD commuters to change trains.
The government’s answer? A “$650 million Melton Line Upgrade.”
Sounds good until you read the fine print. It’s not electrification. It’s extending platforms for longer diesel trains and building stabling yards that are “future-proofed for Metro trains.”
“Future-proofed” is government speak for “we’re not actually doing this, but we want credit for thinking about it.”
They’re spending $650 million to cement the diesel service for the medium term while pretending they’re “paving the way” for electrification.
Translation: Melton gets a promise. Transurban gets billions in concrete reality.
Here’s how the system actually works:
Step 1: Transurban publishes “Urban Mobility Trends” reports showing massive projected growth in car and freight traffic.
Step 2: The government validates those projections by refusing to invest in public transport alternatives in growth corridors like Melton, forcing 230,000+ new residents into cars.
Step 3: Transurban submits a “market-led proposal” for a new toll road to “solve” the car-dependency crisis that Step 2 guaranteed.
Step 4: The government approves the project, which induces more car travel, extends the CityLink monopoly, and locks in Transurban’s revenue for another quarter-century.
Transurban profits from a crisis it helps model, market, and build. All enabled by the state’s deliberate neglect of public transport in places like Melton.
It’s a closed loop. And it’s wildly profitable. For Transurban.
The West Gate Tunnel and the neglect of Melton tell you everything you need to know about Victorian transport policy.
The Government’s “West” (Inner-West):
Melton’s “West” (Outer-West):
Here’s the table that tells the whole story:
| Metric | Inner-West (WGT) | Outer-West (Melton) |
|---|---|---|
| Core Problem | Trucks on local roads | Transport failure for 230k+ people |
| Headline Solution | $6.7B tolled tunnel | ”Failing” bus network |
| Key Win for Locals | 2.5km veloway | 45k properties with no bus access |
| Government’s Offer | 50k-person party | ”Cost-neutral review” |
| Policy Outcome | 25-year Transurban monopoly | ”Future-proofed” promise |
This isn’t a conspiracy. It’s just priorities. And the priorities are clear:
Walking through that tunnel, waiting 30 minutes for shuttle buses that were supposed to come every 5-10 minutes, watching an empty bus drive off because the driver was on break, seeing crowds at Footscray station get ignored while we had empty seats, getting stuck in the same car traffic the tunnel claims to solve…
All of it proved one thing:
We can’t even run buses properly for a single planned event.
Not won’t. Can’t. Or more accurately: don’t care enough to try.
The government had every advantage:
And they still managed to:
If they can’t get this right for a party, why would anyone believe they can run functional public transport for 230,000 Melton residents every single day?
The answer is simple: They could. They just choose not to.
Discovery Day was supposed to be a celebration of infrastructure. Instead it became a perfect case study in why Melbourne keeps building car tunnels instead of fixing public transport.
Because we’ve given up. We’ve accepted that buses will be terrible, that trains will be overcrowded, that outer suburbs will be neglected.
And when you accept that public transport doesn’t work, the only solution left is more roads. More tolls. More Transurban.
That’s the self-fulfilling prophecy. And Discovery Day documented it in real time.
The Tale of Two Wests isn’t just about geography. It’s about who matters and who doesn’t.
The inner-west got a $6.7 billion tunnel and a party.
Melton got a promise and a bus review.
And 50,000 people walked through a tunnel that should have been a train line, waiting for shuttle buses that couldn’t run on time, to celebrate infrastructure that locks in car dependency for another generation.
That’s the story Discovery Day told.
And it’s not a good one.
Research Methodology: This analysis draws from publicly available government documents, council advocacy papers, academic research, media reports, and first-hand observation at the November 16, 2025 Discovery Day event. All factual claims should be verified against primary sources before citation. If you spot an error, please contact me
I’ll issue corrections promptly and transparently.