All forms of transport, including gunzelly
The government announced today that Myki will be valid on trams and buses from Sunday. Finally, Myki goes multi-modal in Melbourne! Assuming they stick to the rollout plan they had last year, which was pretty logical, it’ll go like this: (Graphic originally from the Myki web site. Taken down but re-posted via Whirlpool by Mathew.) ... [More]
This picture has not been digitally altered. Maybe they got halfway through putting the stickers on the front, then realised the train was needed to run a service. In other news, while Metro got their June performance figures out almost two weeks ago, and Yarra Trams and V/Line have also published theirs, the Department of ... [More]
Julia Gillard apparently mentioned “Moving forward” some 22 times during her press conference today announcing the election. “Moving forward.” It sounds vaguely familiar. Ah yes: Well, it worked for them. Update: Had a text message from an ex-Connex management person saying they are “very proud” their slogan has been recycled! Also: Renowned author and former ... [More]
A commenter challenged me to learn a bit more about bike sharing before writing about it again (previous post), but didn’t point me to a specific URL. So I did a little digging. As it happens the Melbourne Leader had an article on it this week: The State Government-funded scheme has attracted just 185 subscribers ... [More]
That tram must be really old… it still says “Telstra Dome.” (Pic taken on Friday.) I wonder how much it costs to get the old pre-digital/dot-matrix destination rolls re-done. Or indeed if there are many people who remember how to do it.
Blog: Nice ad placement; was that Part Of The Plan? And what’s the effect of the new timetables?
The government may be embarassed by crowded trains and Myki, but what they should be embarassed about is the sheer number of people who never use public transport because it simply isn’t a viable option for them for any of the trips they make. So many areas in Melbourne have no PT other than local ... [More]
As reported in The Age, the US Health Effects Institute recently published a report on the effects of living near busy roads. Its conclusion was that: …there is sufficient evidence that exposures to traffic-related air pollution cause asthma exacerbation in children and suggestive evidence that they might cause other health effects. …the zones most impacted ... [More]
I’m probably reading too much into this, but here’s a PT stereotype: Lego’s Duplo bus. It appears that in the view of whoever designed this set, only old people and kids ride the bus. Okay, okay, we all know that in some cases this is probably very realistic. Many services simply aren’t good enough to ... [More]
Metro must have been buying a lot of grey paint. All of the graffiti on the retaining wall opposite platform one at Bentleigh has been painted over, as have the sides of the platforms. There’s been a similar frenzy of painting grey on the walls in the cuttings around South Yarra. I wonder if people ... [More]
Not sure this advert placement is a good idea: Not that the exhaust actually comes out of that grill, of course. And one should not overstate the pollution caused by buses. Measuring just the CO2 emissions, a diesel bus emits about 1800 grams per kilometre. By comparison a diesel Landrover emits 295 grams per kilometre. ... [More]
Herald Sun: EXCLUSIVE: THOUSANDS of city commuters will be hit with big fare increases to pave the way for the myki smartcard. … The decision to dump city saver fares will mean most myki tram users only have to swipe the card once – when they enter a tram. Hallelujah! Touch-off on trams was never ... [More]
Melbourne’s Comeng trains date back to the early 1980s, about the same time us Gen-Xers were cutting our video game teeth with Donkey Kong and Space Invaders. (Original unmodified pic) There’s certainly other things of the 80s around the place on the train network, for instance this sign on a now unused gate at Caulfield ... [More]
I did a double-take last night when a Cranbourne train was announced as running “express from Dandenong to Merinda Park”, not just on the automatic announcement, but also on the screen. There is no station between Dandenong and Merinda Park. There eventually will be, at Lynbrook, but construction hasn’t even begun yet. In fact tenders ... [More]
The new timetables started yesterday, but this morning is the first big test of the peak hour changes. As I’ve already noted, while most lines get a tweak, the Caulfield lines get a big shake-up, especially Frankston. As the number of trains running has increased, more have had to bypass the four CBD loop tunnels. ... [More]
Melbourne’s bike share scheme is meant to start today, and the bike stations have been going in. I found this one at Federation Square, evidently almost ready to go, the only thing missing is the bikes: Curiously, just across the road outside St Paul’s Cathedral is another one. I wonder what the bogans who often ... [More]