Transport blogger / campaigner and spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association / professional geek.
Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia.
Opinions on this blog are all mine.
Saturday morning in Brisbane, fine weather, low 20s again. I could scarcely believe it was winter. We headed out to explore South Bank and the Cultural Centre. The Cultural Centre does what it says on the tin – it’s got the State Library, Art Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Museum, Performing Arts Centre… and an ... [More]
For those of you who follow my blog for the public transport content, the next few posts will be one of my travelogues… but of course you will also find some PT observations in here. I quite like a winter warmer getaway, and this year an option presented itself: Brisbane for my aunt’s 80th birthday ... [More]
A few photos from inside Arden station last week… it’s basically complete, now occupied by Metro as they get ready for the Metro tunnel opening. The main entrance is at street level, about 10 minutes walk from North Melbourne station. The area mostly industrial right now, but I’d expect a mix of residential and commercial ... [More]
Some good public transport upgrades in this year’s Budget
Definitely a step in the right direction, but a huge opportunity missed
It comes at huge cost, but it’s progress
Happy democracy day! As I walked down to the polling place (chosen strategically for its sausage sizzle and cake stall) I was pondering voting and walkability and easy access. Voting in Australia is a chance to see suburban walkability in action. Most people are within a short walk of a polling place, mostly in local ... [More]
Some thoughts on this project, and some other issues
The first really visible signs of Myki mark II are about to be unleashed. In the next few weeks a few stations will get the new card readers for testing purposes. Later on the readers will spread around the network and be switched on for public use, with the first stage seeing passengers using them ... [More]
Why do five Melbourne trams have a bee logo? Because back in 2008 during a patronage surge, the government leased 5 surplus trams from Mulhouse in France. They were shipped over and put into service in their original black and yellow livery, for which they were nicknamed âBumblebeesâ. Subsequently the trams were purchased and given ... [More]
Right from the opening slide of a Melbourne landmark, Julian O’Shea’s Comedy Festival show is very, very funny
I missed last month’s ten year old photos post, so here’s bumper crop from March and April 2015. Remember when they tried to brand a residential development at the western end of the CBD with the New York-style “Upper West Side” name? Attending a Southland station consultation (at Southland naturally)… …then getting a photo at ... [More]
(Not a transport post) I suspect some people would rather forget 2020, but I just wanted to mark that it’s five years since the COVID-19 pandemic really took hold, and lockdowns began in March 2020. Previous blogs have included posts from the midst of lockdown, a summary the events of 2020, and I also wrote ... [More]
Long waits and packed trains for Moomba are a reminder that weekend services are not keeping up with travel demand
Shorter trains, but more of them
I’ve been pretty busy and missed my usual posting of ten year old photos from January, so here’s two months in one hit. January 2015, two months after Labor got into power pledging they would remove the level crossing at Bentleigh and rebuild the station – but the previous project to upgrade the crossing was ... [More]