Thirteen bus routes service central Footscray, seven of them terminating there, but passengers transferring to Footscray station face delays as there is no central bus interchange near it.

In one example of the haphazard nature of public transport connections, commuter Chris Harris said buses on the already crowded and infrequent 216/219 route had a driver change in Paisley Street not far from the station.

"Sometimes the handover is quick, but it still seems to take some time," he said.

"At other times you can wait over five minutes for the relieving driver to arrive.

"The frustrating thing is [that] inbound to the city, most people are going to get off at Footscray station, which is a few stops away, and the transfers take place at peak hour.

"I am on the bus at approximately 7.55am when the handover occurs and the driver doesn't show for over five minutes. This happens regularly. If you get a bus after 8am you might as well walk to the station. The buses are completely overloaded and at night they get stuck on Dynon Road. They need to be coming every 10 minutes."

Transport Department figures show about 2800 people catch a bus to and from Footscray station on a typical weekday.

In its draft transport strategy, Maribyrnong Council identified the need to have a single bus terminus close to Footscray station. "The issue of a central bus interchange in Footscray is unresolved – despite the bus/train transfers being the highest in metropolitan Melbourne ...," the strategy stated. "Buses approach and depart from Footscray in all directions. There is no common path that all buses follow through [central] Footscray and not all of the bus routes currently pass Footscray station."

Maribyrnong mayor John Cumming said a number of studies had investigated the need for a centralised bus station.

"Council strongly supports the establishment of a more centralised bus interchange near the Footscray train station. However, there is a space limitation for a suitably sized site."