Old photos from September 2012

Another in my series of photos from ten years earlier.

Ventura’s Oakleigh depot full of buses, having a nice rest on a Sunday, despite heavy passenger demand and crowding. Since then, most buses running PTV routes have been put into PTV liveries.

What happens when you run a red light but don’t make it across.

That time that Ikea sponsored seats at Southern Cross station.

Back in 2012, a big selling feature for cafes, libraries, and… railway stations… was free public Wi-Fi. Since then mobile data has got cheaper, and security concerns mean lots of people avoid public Wi-Fi. Having to accept screenfuls of terms and conditions didn’t help either.

The demolition of Myer Lonsdale Street and its replacement with the Emporium building was continuing. I like these photos because you can see the scale of the project from the bus at the right hand side.

A fair bit of Port Phillip’s public transport network is a grid of frequent trains, trams and buses. But what about people with limited mobility who can’t use that? The answer is targeted bus services that can take them places, such as this Community Bus service. Back in 2012 it was a timetabled service – it has since switched (during the pandemic, I think) to an on-demand operation.

Z-class tram 158, still in its Royal Tram livery following Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in October 2011.

I missed this one last month – it’s from August 2012. John-Michael Howson was a bit grumpy in the local paper about Southland Station being paid for by taxpayers. I wonder if he also wanted Westfield to chip in for nearby road upgrades to cope with Southland traffic.

How do you do, fellow kids? Metro advertising status updates on its web site. (I agree with the message though – it’s a good idea to check your train line status before travelling.)

A sight gone since the end of 2012: a passenger buying a ticket on a tram. Let’s face it, vending machines aren’t coming back onto trams, but introducing fare payment using bank issued cards would largely fix it.