The people who have to travel during curfew are ensuring our hospitals can care for the sick, and that our food supplies aren’t disrupted.
Category: transport
All forms of transport, including gunzelly
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Is it time to curtail the 235/237?
I wrote most of this post late last year, so obviously circumstances have changed a tad, but my assumption is it’s all temporary – eventually things will get back to something approaching “normal”. Maybe not quite what it was last year, but the pattern of increasing travel demand will come back. Works on the northern ... [More]
Some things worth noting in PT this week. Masks now recommended On Friday, the Chief Health Officer recommended that Melburnians now wear masks outside home when it is not possible to stay physically distant from others – including when using public transport. Obviously this has been prompted by the current rates of COVID-19 community transmission ... [More]
SBS is showing UK rail documentary series World’s Busiest Stations – and last night they aired the episode set in Melbourne. Although it’s ostensibly about specific busy stations, the series looks more broadly at the local rail networks. You can watch it on SBS On Demand. It’s well worth a look for a view inside ... [More]
There’s a Wikipedia page “Commuter rail in Australia” which has a quick snapshot of the country’s heavy rail systems. (The term “commuter rail” is problematic. In a North American context it often refers to systems that really cater only for peak commuter/work trips. Australian rail systems sit somewhere between here and metro systems, and are ... [More]
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Comparing tram speeds
Comparing tram speeds along the different sections of route 109.
Comparing different city public transport networks and their COVID-19 responses
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The Two Hour fare that wasn’t
The Myki quirk that led to a legitimate free ride
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Getting back on PT
Getting back on public transport – can people effectively stagger their trips to avoid crowding when off-peak services are infrequent and crowded?
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To fix buses, make them more like trams
Here’s a snapshot of Melbourne’s public transport patronage over the past five years, by mode. Tram and train are growing. Tram in particular saw strong growth thanks to the Free Tram Zone, but both those modes show increased patronage. The trams now carry over 200 million boardings on just 24 routes. But bus patronage is ... [More]
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Bathed in blue
Last week’s horrific Eastern Freeway crash, which killed four police officers, shocked all of us – even before we knew about the alleged execrable deeds of the Porsche driver. In tribute, flags have been flown at half-mast, and around Melbourne, many people placed blue ribbons on their front gates and fences. And a number of ... [More]
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PT patronage is down 90%
It was recently reported that, despite the COVID-19 crisis, and large numbers of people staying at home, Victoria’s public transport network is still carrying about 200,000 trips per day. How does this compare to normal? I’ve taken last year’s State Budget targeted annual trips for 2019-20, and used previous rail patronage data indicating each weekday ... [More]
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You can pause a Myki Pass
Since many people aren’t using public transport right now, some us who have a Myki Pass aren’t getting much out of them. Normally the only option is to get a refund. Because of the way PTV calculates refunds, this often isn’t worthwhile. Back when the COVID-19 crisis was first emerging, your friendly local public transport ... [More]
With all the talk of falling public transport patronage (some estimates have suggested it’s down 90%) and persistent (but unconfirmed) rumours of reduction of services to weekend levels, it’s worth remembering that capacity is only one aspect of service levels. Normally, trains trams and buses are often packed, but with patronage currently so low, passengers ... [More]
One of the effects of the COVID-19 crisis (which I wrote about in general terms yesterday) is a steep fall in public transport usage. This is partially people avoiding the network and switching to other modes such as cycling and driving, but mostly it’s people avoiding travelling in the first place. (City Mapper data suggests ... [More]
COVID-19 is developing very fast, and really is quite unlike anything in living memory. I feel like Australia is still at the early stages, and already the impacts are huge. The ban on events of more than 500 people from Monday is unprecedented, and shopping for scarce supermarket items is a little bit surreal. I’m ... [More]