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Client: Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

The conveyance allowance was established by the Victorian Government to assist families with the cost of transport to and from school where there is inadequate public rail, tram or bus services.  Due to the growth of Melbourne’s outer metropolitan suburbs and significant changes in the city’s public transport infrastructure, the  development of options to assist a potential review of the conveyance allowance is required.

The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) commissioned Spatial Vision to undertake  the development of these options                                                                    .

This project involved developing a methodology to assess the adequacy of public transport in outer metropolitan suburbs surrounding Melbourne.  Given that students are only eligible for the conveyance allowance if they travel more than 4.8km to their closest suitable school, the assessment also considered the location of primary and secondary government schools.

The outcome of the project was a set of options regarding the conveyance allowance based on areas assessed as having improved transport adequacy or changes in the proximity of students to a suitable government school.  The study also quantified the number of students impacted at both primary and secondary level under various options. 

The project involved preparing a standardised and fully documented approach to the assessment of public transport adequacy, and the options identified.  The methodology also included the use of additional postcodes for benchmarking purposes.  The study recommended that its findings be reviewed by key field based government staff responsible for the provision of regional public transport services.

Spatial Vision utilised its extensive expertise in geospatial analysis to deliver a comprehensive final report to DEECD. The report findings are expected to result in a fairer and more equitable application of the conveyance allowance program.

Demonstrated Capabilities

• Significant expertise in developing GIS-based methodologies that support our client's specific information needs.
• Ability to develop methodologies that are strategically focused with significant degrees of transparency and design flexibility
• Delivery of high quality and complex spatial analysis and project report, including presentation of outcomes and key recommendations
• Comprehensive knowledge of a broad range of geospatial information sources

Resources

 Milos Pelikan was the primary designer and developer of the spatial analysis methodology.

 Stephen Farrell was responsible for project management and report preparation.   

Technologies Applied

• ArcInfo GRID
• ArcGIS 9