The next stages of Tap And Go rollout have arrived. Announced yesterday: You can expect to see some Myki card readers switched and displaying Mastercard and Visa logos before that; I’m told it’ll happen in several phases. Apparently the dispersed nature of all the different bus depots is part of the challenge. But once done, ... [More]
V/Line was a mess this week thanks to using an ARTC system that relies on Telstra mobile, which had a major outage on Wednesday. Plus apparently the backup satellite connection didn’t work because the on-train equipment thought the mobile connection was fine. It raised an interesting question: how many people are affected by a major ... [More]
Very busy at the moment. Still catching up in my ten year old photo posts, here’s May (ish) 2016. Next Stop Mars – seems a tad unlikely. Meeting the cardboard PM The CBD shopping centre that started as “Australia On Collins” was renovated to become “St Collins Lane”. That started off promisingly, but obviously wasn’t ... [More]
Here’s a quick comparison: Victoria has half price fares until the end of 2026. So how does Melbourne now compare to other capital cities? It’s a bit complicated. These are current adult fares for short to medium distance trips: I would expect that most people pay the top of the price range shown. The ranges ... [More]
Continuing my catch up of old photo posts from ten years ago, here’s April 2016… okay plus a few from March 2016 – I’m discovering that my filing of photos back then was imperfect. Comparing old and new e-Tag sizes for a blog post I never wrote. Level crossing works had started in Bentleigh. This ... [More]
I’ve fallen behind in my series of ten year old photos, so I’ll try to catch up. Here’s some from March 2016, as well as a few from a couple of months earlier that I missed. A V/Line loco-hauled train departing Southern Cross towards Gippsland. These days these are all served by VLocity diesel railcars. ... [More]
Well, here we go, the Tap And Go (aka Contactless) trial has gone well, and from tomorrow Sunday 7th June it’s available on about half the train network: all the lines through North Melbourne, South Yarra, the Metro Tunnel and V/Line (at stations currently using Myki). The rest of the Metro network will be switched ... [More]
Which offence categories are increasing?
Melbourne’s no longer on top
Some thoughts on PSDs. They’re not simple to retro-fit, but would be a good goal to move towards.
It was a budget day last week. I havenât had a chance to write a blog post so I thought Iâd try this: I’ll do a quick video. Hmm yeah okay it turned out to be 7 minutes long. Not as quick as I thought. If you prefer to read, no problem. The rest of ... [More]
Metro’s 30 and 40 minute frequencies are steadily being upgraded – it’s great to see.
Back in 2023 I got to see and provide feedback for the X’Trapolis 2 train, based on a mock-up in a warehouse in Tullamarine. Time marches on, and the first actual trains have been delivered and are now testing. Myself and some other “rail influencers” were invited by the State Government to inspect one of ... [More]
Back to the 90s
Free PT is easy to say and easy to sell, but the effects and benefits are complex
I am working on a post on April’s free public transport, but hold those thoughts, as it’s taking a while to work through what I want to say. In the meantime: For years I’ve been disappointed by mobile phone coverage on my usual commute. It’s very bad for much of the train journey, in particular ... [More]