Categories
transport

Sunday morning 9:58

Despite the cold, there’s a surprising number of people on the Sunday morning 9:58 to Frankston. Two uniformed sailors heading perhaps to the naval base at Crib Point after a night out (this train connects with the Stony Point train); a lady who insists on standing all the way to McKinnon, papers in her hand,  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Copy and paste

Spot the difference… From the $5 million Eddington report (full version) page 84, section: “What other cities are doing” From urbanrail.net, a rail enthusiast web site run by Robert Schwandl Shanghai (China) — The Shanghai metro is one of the youngest in the world and among the most rapidly expanding. The first line opened in  ... [More]

Categories
PTUA transport

Press Club transport debate

The Melbourne Press Club have put up the MP3 recordings of last month’s “Public Transport: Ticket to Where?” debate. Their web page is a bit confusing (you have to click on the Quicktime logos), but here’s a summary of the MP3s: 1. Introductions — Not really worth listening to. 2. Paul Mees — You can’t  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Your very own personalised stop timetable

Here’s a handy thing Metlink is beta testing at the moment: apart from having online timetable displays that show you the whole day on one page (at last!) you can also get a timetable for your individual stop. To get them, go to the Metlink web site. You can search for the route number, then  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Eastlink vs West

So, Eastlink is open. Whoop-de-do. And even though it was meant to be the solution to eastern Melbourne’s traffic, it’s already clear it’s just moved the problems elsewhere: Opposition leader Ted Baillieu said congestion on Eastlink could cause problems at both ends including at Hoddle Street and at the Frankston end at the Cranbourne Road  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Up up and away

April 2005: September 2005: May 2008: June 2008: Richard Heinberg: “I think what the oil consuming nations really need to understand is that this is not a temporary blip in the oil market. What we’re seeing is a fundamental and permanent change in the global energy economy. We will be dealing with the fallout of  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Congestion charging (we don’t have it, and we may not need it)

(Move your mouse over the vehicles) In reporting a proposed congestion charge in Manchester, UK, some of the international media seem to have got a bit confused. The Daily Mirror says: There are now also congestion charges in Stockholm, Melbourne and Toronto. CNN reports: Melbourne, Australia, has imposed a charge for downtown driving since 2000.  ... [More]

Categories
transport

You heard it hear here first

I liked the vehicle emissions chart I posted here last week that I included it in Sunday’s presentation. A journo at the presentation liked it so much he wrote it up for this morning’s Age. The graph has been published again in full here (it doesn’t have my old Magna, and includes some extra cars)  ... [More]

Categories
transport

The cultural aspects of traffic lights

Another post about traffic lights… Apart from the CBD, it seems there are some other places where you don’t need to press the button to get a green man. From what I can tell, this includes a number of intersections in the Caulfield area, such as along Glen Eira Road, on Friday nights and Saturdays.  ... [More]

Categories
transport

RACV heading down the wrong road

I just about punched the air when I read Elliot Fishman’s great opinion piece in today’s Age: RACV heading down the wrong road. Elliot highlights some of the things I’ve pondered recently, such as the RACV’s 2004 spectacularly wrong guess on oil prices, as well as pointing out the flaws in their calls for lower  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Hybrids and emissions

While one can see that developing hybrid Camrys is going to be of some benefit, with reduced petrol consumption and therefore reduced emissions, I think we need to get a little perspective here. What they’re saying is that the hybrid Camry will reduce consumption by about a third. That’s certainly a start, putting it below  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Walk, or don’t walk

Brian K posted about different types of people and their behaviour at pedestrian lights: those who don’t press it, then look confused when nothing happens; those who press it once; those who rapid-fire press it dozens of times, in the mistaken belief that it makes the lights change quicker. (Ah. It seems I’ve written about  ... [More]