All forms of transport, including gunzelly
Radio National’s Background Briefing had a feature story on the bike helmet debate yesterday morning. You can download it and listen to it here. It talks about Melbourne’s bike share scheme; the experience in Europe (where cyclist numbers are higher, but injuries are lower) vs Australia (which it sounds like is the only country with ... [More]
This is where one of Melbourne’s busiest buses terminates. The 630, in the middle of Elsternwick Park, between the skate park* and the golf course, and blocking the westbound bike lane. (Source: Nearmap) The closest shops are a few hundred metres away. It’s 800 metres (as the crow flies) to the nearest railway station, and ... [More]
Earlier this year I wrote a post showing what each type of Melbourne train looks like. Here’s the tram version, in order of appearance. This is a longer post, as there’s more types. This is the W-class tram. They’re something of a Melbourne icon, having been around (in various forms) since the 1930s 1920s, though ... [More]
When the Hitachi trains were built in the early 70s, it was before the days of dot matrix displays. Destination rolls weren’t easily changed, so they included a few places they thought that might one day get rail services. Forward planning, much of it in line with the stated rail extensions in the 1969 transport ... [More]
(I’m playing catch up here; this was from about a month ago.) How has a stupid idea like this giant bus on rails got so much attention? It’s never going to work. What speed could a thing like that run at without coming off its rails? What happens when a car or the “bus” turns ... [More]
I’ve written before about peak oil, when oil production peaks and then starts to decline, getting more and more expensive. There are various predictions around the place, but many seem to agree it’s going to hit this decade. Some argue it’s already hit, and only the Global Financial Crisis dampening demand has masked it. What ... [More]
Cattle class, anybody? The picture is from a Friends of the Earth stunt in London, protesting against factory farming, and their link to rainforest destruction. There’s some great images of cows on the streets and on the Tube.
Spotted (by Marita, actually), this amusing van: Meanwhile on the corner of Latrobe and William Streets, they’ve painted arrows and lines to help show drivers where to wait to make their hook turns: PS. There are also animated/flashing signs signalling for right-turning drivers to wait. Will see if I can snap a pic of one. ... [More]
Melbourne’s most confusing bus route to be fixed
I’ve been sitting on this blog post for a while now. Haven’t had time to refine it as much as I’d like, but it’s time to just get it out. We probably don’t need footpath reports on the radio… …but we do need more consideration of pedestrians. I think people would jaywalk less, and I ... [More]
Every suburb needs a combined noodle shop and bus stop. Another view from Google Streetview
With public transport free today, it looks like some are taking advantage — there seemed to be more Seniors on the train this morning, enjoying a free trip into the city (even though it’s only $3.40 normally). But overall the train wasn’t markedly more crowded than usual, and it’s not like everyone abandoned their cars ... [More]