Doncaster Park and Ride

Although many believe this place should have a second level, Doncaster Park and Ride is so important for the scarce public transport options in the Manningham area. Having lived in Manningham the majority of my life, I hate explaining that there is no train stops near my house and a 15 minute drive to the station is around 30 minutes via bus. If you drive to Park and Ride for your morning commute to the city you can expect a 20 minute ride to Spring Street which is amazing for peak hour!

Doncaster Park and Ride is pretty damn awesome and it makes life easier for hundreds of people every single day. It is basically a massive 400-​car car park located next to a bus bay. It can be accessed via Doncaster Road and is just before (or after) the entrance to Eastlink freeway.
The bus services that run here are:
Route 207 — City — Donvale via Doncaster Road
Route 280 — Manningham Loop via Tunstall Square SC, Shoppingtown
Route 282 — Manningham Mover via Templestowe Village SC, Shoppingtown
Route 284 — Doncaster Shoppingtown — Box Hill via Union Road
Route 285 — Doncaster Shoppingtown — Camberwell via North Balwyn
Route 309 — City — Donvale via Reynolds Road (Freeway Exp)
Route 313 — City (Russell Street) — Doncaster Park + Ride via Eastern Freeway and Kilby Road
Route 907 — City — Mitcham via Doncaster Road (SMARTBUS Service)
Route 908 — City — The Pines via King Street (SMARTBUS Service)
In the mornings this place is awesome because buses run almost every five minutes during peak hours. Smart buses are in operation here and screens at the bus stop display exactly how many minutes until the bus will arrive and depart.
There is NO myki machine here so you will want to top up your card before you turn up. There are ticket machines though. If it is raining there is plenty of shelter to keep you dry.
Perhaps the only bad thing about this place is that during the week the car park is often full by 7.30am and leaving at the end of the day can be painful when all the city workers arrive back at their cars at the same time.
Otherwise though it is a super awesome idea and I am a big fan!