The City of Ballarat Youth Ambassadors are hitting the streets this September with a creative campaign to encourage locals to catch the bus - and tap on and off while they do it.
From 15 to 28 September, bus stops across Ballarat will be transformed with vibrant artwork, Ballarat-themed characters along bus routes, and yarn bombing on bus stops.
The initiative aims to challenge the notion that buses are unsafe, increase bus patronage, and demonstrate strong community support for public transport.
By encouraging passengers to tap on and off using their Myki Card, the Youth Ambassadors also hope to generate data that can be used to advocate for improvements to Ballarat's bus system.
The State Government committed to a Ballarat bus network review in the 2025/26 budget announced in May following extensive advocacy from the City of Ballarat. However, there is currently no financial commitment beyond the review phase.
According to the Youth Ambassadors, there are many reasons more people can be using Ballarat's buses and the campaign seeks to make using the buses more enticing.
"The under utilisation of the bus service adds to the risk of higher rates of loneliness, youth isolation, inaccessible support systems and decreased youth involvement in the community," Youth Ambassador, Amayah Rowe said.
"We hope that by seeing our vibrant #TBTB campaign around Ballarat, it sparks the public to think about our buses as safe and efficient and increases patronage," fellow Ambassador, Mahima Sara-Moncy said.
The campaign also includes a community survey to better understand who uses the buses and why. The insights gathered will help shape future advocacy and provide a clearer picture of public transport needs in Ballarat.
To support this effort, the Youth Ambassadors are:
- Beautifying bus stops with yarnbombing and art they have created themselves, including two murals at the Myer bus shelter and yarnbombing created by children and keen knitters across Ballarat.
- Promoting increased bus use and tap-on/tap-off awareness, via a social media campaign. The ambassadors have created characters which will be installed
- around different bus stops in Ballarat. The public will be encouraged to collect all characters by taking photos of them and posting to social media using #TBTB. There will be a prize for the best 'Catching'.
- Sharing information about free travel for under-18s, a statewide initiative that starts on 1 January, 2026.
- Collecting their own data regarding the public's experiences of using buses as public transport to support a review of the current bus system.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the youth-led initiative had the ability to affect real change and also aligned with the City of Ballarat's advocacy for an improved bus network in recent years.
"This is about making public transport more visible, more fun, and more effective for everyone," she said.
"We're proud to support young people leading the way in advocating for their community."
The campaign is part of a broader push to elevate youth voices in local decision-making and improve access to safe, sustainable transport options.
The campaign will culminate in a unique on-bus workshop at PopCon on Sunday 28 September.
To partake in the survey, follow this link.
