I don’t have a proper blog post for you, so here’s a few pictures from the last week or so. If you were looking for Myer’s Lonsdale Street store, it’s gone — almost all of it except the facade. (When I was a kid, we often went into the City on a Friday night, had ... [More]
Category: transport
All forms of transport, including gunzelly
By my count… (please flag in the comments if I mess it up) Most trams on routes: 96, 109 Some on routes: 5, 6, 8, 16, 48, 72, 112 None on routes: 1, 3/3a, 19, 30, 35, 55, 57, 59, 64, 67, 70, 75, 78/79, 82, 86, City Circle Some (minor routes) 24, 42 Some ... [More]
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Buses, trains, and bus ways
Today’s Movember update here (I’ll post the latest pics to the blog every 2-3 days.) A lot of people express a preference of trains over buses. I suspect it’s mostly about ride quality. Railed vehicles are generally going to be smoother than tyred vehicles. And there’s also perception of permanence (and in Melbourne, perception of ... [More]
A lot of people have asked why a Z-class tram was chosen for the Queen’s tram ride (rather than Melbourne’s traditional and iconic W-class, for instance). Here’s the answer: W and A-class trams don’t have handrails in the middle of the doorways, which can be a big help for older people. B-class trams do, but ... [More]
I’ve done a quick comparison of the main airport to CBD public transport in Australia’s biggest cities. Brisbane and Sydney have trains at premium fares. Perth and Adelaide have normal route buses. Melbourne has a premium bus. City MEL SYD BNE ADL PER Mode Bus Train Train Bus Bus Distance (km) 23 8 13 6 ... [More]
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Yarra Trams – by appointment
Maybe after tomorrow, this could be the new Yarra Trams logo? Update Wednesday 6:30pm: There you go, here’s my best pic of the Queen in the tram. Not great I know; she was on the opposite side and facing the other way. Lots of pics at The Age and Herald Sun. Most amusing: Channel 9 ... [More]
This is Flagstaff station yesterday at 8:50am. It’s not a once-off occurence, but happens regularly. As patronage has grown at Parliament and Melbourne Central, more gates have gradually gone in… fitting more in at Flagstaff is probably a challenge, but one that will have to be looked at, perhaps in conjunction with the conversion from ... [More]
Some people got just a little too hysterical last week when news of a security vulnerability in Myki came out. The story broke on Monday, but it wasn’t until Wednesday that the mainstream media got hold of it, with the Melbourne Times running it first, spreading rapidly to The Age, AAP, 3AW and others — ... [More]
General Motors’ campaign in US college newspapers: (via Bike Portland) Seems to be implying that driving is cooler than cycling. Pretty funny… to a lot of the younger generation (including Americans, at least in cities like Portland), there’s nothing cool about driving a huge truck. Anyway, here’s Giant Bicycles’ comeback: (via Justin Haugens) GM have ... [More]
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Queensland’s Go Card vs Myki
I’ll get to writing up our Brisbane trip in full excruiciating detail in due course, but first what everyone wants to know: How is Go Card compared to Myki? First impressions Go Card seems faster; more responsive. On buses, ferries and railway stations we consistently seemed to get sub-second response times when touching the card ... [More]
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My usual stations (part 4)
Hawthorn, 1993-95 When I finally moved out of home, it was to Hawthorn. Initially I was still working in Burwood East, and the commute was an easy tram ride, from the flat we rented which was midway between there and the city — which became useful once work moved into town. Cutting through the back ... [More]
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My usual stations (part 3)
Murrumbeena 1987-89 We moved into a flat just across the street from the Dandenong line. The noise isn’t noticeable after a week or two, apart from missing dialogue on the television when a freight train goes past. It was a short stroll (if one took the short-cut along the train line) to Murrumbeena station. By ... [More]