In a world first, Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games will put the spotlight solely on regional communities. Taking place in the regional centres of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Gippsland, the Games have the opportunity to demonstrate how major events can continue to provide benefits to regional communities, long after the event has finished.
In this article, our transport and digital experts discuss how the 2026 Commonwealth Games can leave a positive transport legacy for these Victorian regions.
Perfecting the basics
It sounds obvious but the most critical step in establishing a successful transport event legacy is working out how to move the influx of people to and from the regions from Victoria’s global gateway Melbourne. Typically, regional areas are more reliant on cars. According to a 2019 Infrastructure Australia audit, “Regional road funding is inconsistent and lacks transparency” which can make it difficult to provide opportunities for growth. A significant investment in regional rail has also taken place over the past 10 years but its capacity is constrained by its network and rolling stock capacity, thus restricting its ability to meet the spikes in demand that the games will generate over the 10 days in 2026.
Record high migration to regional areas in response to COVID and housing affordability has already highlighted the impact more people can have on existing transport infrastructure – notably increased congestion on the roads. Given that the population in regional Victoria is anticipated to double over the next 20 years, a transport legacy that provides these growing populations with reliable access to and from Melbourne should be front of mind.
With only three years to go, the clock is ticking. Graeme Steverson, Technical Director, Planning and Mobility, says that the tight timeframe coupled with as many as 40,000 people travelling to each regional centre provides unique opportunities to create a transport legacy.
“There’s a critical need for investment in infrastructure. You’ll never be able to meet event demand with quality local accommodation options so it’s important that you use transport to maximise the experience for people travelling into the regions.”
“From a budget and timing perspective, we need to look at how to get people into that regional centre and, from there, on to the venues. That could mean improving regional rail stations or shuttle buses or upgrading background transport as part of a legacy network – even if it’s focusing on a couple of key frequent or rapid bus routes that serve the regional city centres.”
Identifying the right solutions from the outset
Expertise and knowledge of transport planning for major events can provide a path forward. Travel Demand Management (TDM) has been used with mixed results at prior Games including on the Gold Coast and in Birmingham. In these settings, TDM has typically been managed through the use of remote Park and Ride facilities located beside highways. The location of the sites and subsequent management of travel to and from venues meant that people got out of their cars, hopped onto public transport, and went straight to the venue. They then returned directly to their cars from the venue and headed home.
For Victoria’s regional centres, this approach would result in a missed opportunity for Games visitors to experience the local culture and experiences which ultimately benefits local businesses.
When discussing TDM, one of WSP’s event industry partners, Jon Foley from In the Round, who worked on the 2022 Birmingham, 2018 Gold Coast and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games raised an interesting idea – instead of the remote positioning of Park and Ride sites next to motorways on the outskirts, they could be placed closer to the edge of city centres with shuttle buses then running to venues.
“Park and Rides could utilise existing government sites and feature bus stops or be within walking distance of city centres and rail stations,” Graeme says. “Another option could be to locate Park and Rides on the other side of a city centre from a rail station, so that both sides of the city are activated.”
The benefit to this, Graeme explains, is that if Park and Rides are more central to city centres there is an opportunity to provide a more substantial exposure for local businesses and levels of engagement in local civic celebrations. It can also concentrate the provision of shuttle services to one location serving multiple transport facilities and civic activation sites. Providing shuttles between the four Athletes villages and their respective city centres could also bring these civic spaces alive once the athletes have finished competing.
“If you use the analogy of water sensitive urban design, you slow the people down – trickle them down - by breaking up the crowds as they move through local places to encourage them to spend some money in the regional businesses before they leave. They walk past the pub, they walk past a restaurant, or they see it on their way in and they decide to stop for a bite and make the most of their day-long event journey before heading home, rather than it being completely transactional and remote.”
In other words, encourage people to enjoy the journey rather than focusing solely on their destination – for example, the event competition venue[GS1] . This will also support communities to showcase the unique offerings of their region to the world.
Sarah Lowe, Principal Transport Engineer, says that this approach also has longer term benefits. “By having Park and Rides within walkable distance of communities and event hubs, there is more opportunity for these places to benefit from legacy infrastructure such as footpath and urban realm upgrades than if all transport bypasses the place completely.”
From a legacy standpoint, rail or bus to and from these regional centres should be looking beyond the Games and could remain with increased service frequency afterwards to assist with the flow of people between Melbourne and regional centres, rather than running as a dedicated Games only service.
“Service frequency can be lower to and from regional areas than urban centres,” explains Sarah. “The Commonwealth Games is a great opportunity to build on existing services to boost frequency and usage for after the Games. Major events are often peoples’ first exposure to public transport and if we can provide a high quality and reliable service during the Games the chances of increased ridership are likely to grow, particularly if the service remains in place. This has been demonstrated in Sydney some 20 years after the 2000 Olympics where special event buses planned for the Games are still carrying 10,000 people to major events in 2023.”
How data can bolster the planning process
For a specific event like the Commonwealth Games, data will be a critical tool for identifying baseline activity levels and informing what changes to transport movements and capacities should be made and when they should be implemented. That said, data sources for regional areas are typically patchy and can be difficult to find and apply with confidence.
As Matthew Gallaugher, Director of Digital, explains, “Traditional methods for modelling work to a certain geographical scale but new techniques are required to when considering the impacts on a regional or state-wide basis.”
Finding representative examples of other regional places that have hosted major events can assist in determining the impact of a massive influx of people in a short period of time – for instance music festivals. Examining these examples for factors such as what behaviour changes take place and what data sources are available can provide a valuable toolkit for managing future events.
“Regional areas have predictable levels of expected traffic but during a major event like the Commonwealth Games, that traffic could potentially increase by a much greater magnitude again. This means normal trends no longer apply. So, using historic data from other events, for instance the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, can assist in inferring behaviour.”
Considering the return on investment
Matthew says that significant changes will need to be made to enable the regional centres to handle the volumes of people – some of which will be temporary – such as the closure of roads – but there is also the opportunity to make some permanent for future value. “There is a cost to both, so you need to consider how to maximise the return on that investment into the future. To me, from a digital perspective, you need time sensitive data and accurate tools so you can make an informed operational decision to minimise impact and maintain safety and amenity.”
“Situational awareness utilising real time data can assist with key event concerns around safety but it can also assist with optimisation of people movement beyond just providing the fastest, safest way to move between points. For instance, influencing the movement of crowd flows to provide economic benefits for local businesses.”
Data, analysis, and modelling can also be used to explore the ways in which transport infrastructure can be used both during the Commonwealth Games and afterwards. One tool that can assist is a digital twin - a digital replica of a physical environment. A digital twin can be used to easily understand what’s happening in reality and to report, analyse, and simulate what has happened and could happen in the future. For instance, how new and improved infrastructure and services can be used to provide ongoing benefits to regional communities. Although this deeper analysis can potentially cost more, the return on investment for the community in years to come can negate the initial outlay.
“Using data and modelling to determine the long-term benefits of various transport infrastructure and service options can result in improved health, social and economic outcomes, including the ability to host global and national events on an ongoing basis. Furthermore,” Matthew explains, “It provides communities with a digital legacy they would otherwise not have had an opportunity to create.”
The importance of creating social value to leave a positive lasting legacy
The 2026 Commonwealth Games promises to deliver an exciting event that will showcase the Victorian regions of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Gippsland. The transport infrastructure and services we put in place will be key in providing athletes, spectators and tourists with a positive Games experience. However, when planning this transport infrastructure and services, the long-term benefits to the host communities must remain a strong consideration.
Ultimately, careful and considered planning to determine the right transport infrastructure and services for the 2026 Commonwealth Games will result in a gold medal effort that will benefit regional communities and set a precedent for Games to come.
Meet our transport planning and major events experts
Graeme Steverson, Major Events, Mobility and Precincts
Graeme Steverson is one of the world’s leading event transport planning professionals. He has been involved in the planning and delivery of transport and event operations at six Olympics - Sydney 2000, Salt Lake City 2002, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Brisbane 2032, and three Commonwealth Games – Melbourne 2006, Gold Coast 2018 and Victoria 2026. He has worked on 14 stadiums and venues in Australia and New Zealand, been the international transport advisor on two Olympic bids and continues his role as the transport advisor for the Sydney Olympic Park Authority (held for the past 30 years) which has included developing the transport strategies for five of the precinct’s Master Plans since 1996 including the current Master Plan 2050. Talk to Graeme .
Sarah Lowe, Major Events and Planning Mobility
Sarah Lowe is a Principal Transport Engineer with a focus on planning movement systems that support places, precincts and events. She enjoys fostering a collaborative approach to strategic planning to shape networks, streets and places for people. Sarah worked on the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games at the Office of Commonwealth Games Coordination, where she was responsible for planning, implementing and operating Games venue traffic and transport. Talk to Sarah.
Matthew Gallaugher, Digital Solutions
Matthew Gallaugher is Director of Digital. He has a background in solving complex real word challenges in multiple industries including transport and planning. Matthew has worked to digitise major events planning at a state-wide scale and is involved in digital twin projects in Victoria, New South Wales, and Queensland. He currently manages a team of over one hundred digital specialists who help make WSP’s services Future Ready, especially in the technology domain. Talk to Matthew.
Jon Foley, Director, In the Round
Jon Foley is a travel demand management specialist with experience from several major events such as London 2012 Olympics, Glasgow 2014, Gold Coast 2018 and Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Jon has been part of senior management teams within event organisations managing mobility requirements, journey planning, stakeholder engagement and behaviour change aspects of transport operations. Talk to Jon.
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