Observed at Southern Cross Station this week: IKEA seat covers. They seem to be confined to platforms 11 and 12, though if you’re trying to get to IKEA by public transport, platform 9 (train to North Richmond, then a tram) is probably a better bet. Not every seat has them, and there are no cushions ... [More]
Year: 2012
Many years ago the German city of Munster set up a photo comparing the road space taken by people in a bus, on bikes, and in cars. Earlier this month the Cycling Promotion Fund recreated that picture in Canberra, and yesterday they released it. On Sunday 9th September 69 volunteers, 69 bicycles, 60 cars and ... [More]
Yes it’s true. I have decided not to renominate as the PTUA’s President, and will stand down at the Annual General Meeting on October 11th. The Age: After almost a decade, Melbourne’s chief public transport complainer has finally had enough. PTUA: PTUA President to step down Basically, after nine years, I need a break. It’s ... [More]
I think most people would agree that with Myki we’ve got a problem. A system which is enormously expensive, which is generally less responsive and reliable than similar systems elsewhere, not to mention not offering a single use ticket option. But one argument I don’t buy is that Metcard is perfect. The bureaucracy will claim ... [More]
Pretty funny: Southern Cross Station has departure signs sponsored by Red Rooster. In part because they show less information, they actually have fewer errors than the official signs — but beware — it appears they don’t show trains departing in less than 10 minutes (because they want you to think there’s time to go and ... [More]
Categories
Simple jobs
Here’s another blog post inspired by a discussion with the kids. Relatively simple things, it appears, can also be quite profitable. Back when I worked at Hattams as a 16-17 year-old, the alterations for trousers and jackets and things were done by a bloke called Telly who lived up the road. Trouser shortening was $5, ... [More]
So, how has Melbourne’s “boardings per person per year” gone over the years? Thanks to PTV putting out their “Patronage Long Run Series” report of patronage since 1946, we can see it — I’ve plotted the total boarding figures from 1946 to 2011, every five years (in red) against the boardings per population (in green): ... [More]
On Sunday Channel 7 showed this CCTV footage shot at Southern Cross station. A toddler slipped between the train and the platform. I found it quite difficult to watch, but there’s an obvious safety message here which was emphasised in Monday’s followup story: you do need to take the utmost care when boarding and alighting ... [More]
As noted by this post, the figure of “transit boardings per person per year” is something of a simplistic measure (particularly given issues around what’s included and what isn’t, and whether public transport networks are structured to encourage single vehicle journeys, or anywhere-to-anywhere trips using lots of transfers). But still, it does help give a ... [More]
I quite like these adverts. But… The phone screen grabs below are from 8:15am yesterday. My usual 8:29 train had been cancelled, but while this was listed on the Metlink Android app (not yet rebranded to PTV), it was not listed on the Metro web site. By my count, the Metlink app lists nine cancellations, ... [More]
Categories
Tramspotting: B1 and B2 #gunzel
I think it was Lonely Planet that had an entry about transport in Melbourne that bemoaned the fact they are no longer the traditional wooden trams of olde but instead “pneumatic monsters”. They might have been talking about tram numbers 2001 and 2002. They are B-class trams, but with a difference. These two were the ... [More]
This was the scene at Ventura’s South Oakleigh bus depot on Sunday afternoon: This was the scene on-board their 903 service from South Oakleigh (next to the depot) to Chadstone: The 903 is only half-hourly on Sundays, but clearly the demand is there. It’s the same with many bus services across Melbourne — there are ... [More]