All forms of transport, including gunzelly
Two weeks ago I noted that Myki mostly works. In most cases the charging is fine. The readers seem more reliable and mostly fairly responsive (and faster than inserting a Metcard into a slot and waiting for it to come out again). What doesn’t work? Well buses in particular have issues, it seems. As this ... [More]
The other day I retired one of my oldest web pages, an FAQ on Melbourne public transport. It started life (I think around 1993, before the Web was around) as a Usenet FAQ for the misc.transport.urban-transit group. In 1994 it was posted (with an incomplete attempt to convert it to HTML) on Railpage — where ... [More]
Further to the post on whether Myki should be scrapped or not and taking the lead from others online, here’s a quick video of my interactions with Myki over the past 24 hours. I missed a couple: the touch-on on the bus because I had to run for it and didn’t have time to get ... [More]
It’s a year today since Myki was switched-on in Melbourne. There were a lot of problems on day one, and many others have been highlighted in the last twelve months. In today’s Herald Sun, Paul Mees argues Myki should be scrapped and replaced with a system from elsewhere, such as Perth’s SmartRider. I argue that ... [More]
Sick of how Metro’s running? Then build your own! (ABC News, 26/12/2010.)
Looking for a last-minute Christmas gift for a train-spotter? Got a budget of hundreds of thousands of dollars? Then splurge and buy them a home in this new development in Caulfield East. Urban Art Apartments is an artistic, inspired residential development in Caulfield East which is surrounded by lush greenery and designer art pieces. The ... [More]
Some thoughts on the new state government, and trams
In a crowded train the other day (caused by a cancellation), both I and another bloke got up at the same time to offer an old lady senior citizen of the female persuasion a seat. He caught her eye first, but as it happens another lady in need of a seat got on at the ... [More]
The PTUA’s Annual General Meeting was last night. There was some optimism amongst the committee and membership about where public transport is going since the change of government, but even before that, the political debate has been moving along nicely. An example we talked about last night… At a parliamentary hearing last year as part ... [More]
Interesting stuff: There is also growing research that younger generations do not relate to the automobile as enabling “freedom.” Instead, their electronic and social media devices–whether a smart phone, small lap top computer, music player, etc.–provide an alternate means for self expression and being free to do what they want. In the United States, kilometers ... [More]
Victoria: It’s part of the plan. Vancouver: *Be* part of the plan. It’s an important distinction.
Among the 12 (or more) seats lost by Labor in Saturday’s election were four in Melbourne’s south: Frankston, Carrum, Mordialloc, and Bentleigh. What do these have in common? The Frankston line. The Frankston line is the poorest performing in Melbourne. While overcrowding has eased since the June timetable change, punctuality is the worst in the ... [More]
So how am I voting tomorrow? No comment. But I will tell you what I know about the policies on my pet topic: The Greens, as you might expect, have the best, most comprehensive public transport policy (though it’s not flawless by any means). Of course, we all know they are unlikely to be forming ... [More]
This morning on the Frankston line… Election stunt? The latest Metro Trains Authorised Officer uniforms? Year 12s last day/Schoolies celebration? Is there a Flashmob happening somewhere this morning? Or is it just the latest fashion? I wonder where they keep their Metcards/Mykis? (Caption on their bums: MorphSuits.com)
I’m very pleased. After years of pressure, both major parties have pledged to build Southland station. The Liberals promised it last week, and yesterday the ALP came to the party. (As recently as last week, I ran into ALP’s Rob Hudson at Bentleigh station and he said he was pushing for it. At the time ... [More]
Well, this thing I’m driving is about as big as a bus, so I thought I could park in the bus stop. Obviously it would have been too hard to move forward a couple of metres into the perfectly legal parking spot just ahead. I guess I could have knocked on the window and asked ... [More]