Not a transport post I’ve been having annual eye tests for a few years now. It was prompted by noticing floaters for the first time about five years ago. Initially they said there were no issues… well, apart from my right eye which has been nearly blind since birth, but nothing can be done about ... [More]
The continuing use of masks on public transport came up last week when Premier Andrews remarked that they’d be around for some time yet. (For a segment on this topic on ABC Radio Melbourne last Thursday with me, listen here – it starts at roughly at 1:55:40.) So I thought I’d quickly review what the ... [More]
Official data shows the busiest railway stations and tram stops
It’s the end of the month – here’s another in my series of posts with photos from ten years ago. When McKinnon station had a level crossing, this was a common and slightly unnerving sight – cars driving across just before the booms went down and citybound trains (two of them) came through. It’s not ... [More]
Thanks to the Metro tunnel team (specifically the guys at Cross Yarra Partnership) I managed to get a ticket to the tour of Arden station held yesterday. Arden Station is named after nearby Arden Street, and will be located in a new urban renewal precinct of the same name. The station will be between Footscray ... [More]
Free public transport is back in the news this week. In the wake of high petrol prices, the Victorian Greens have proposed it to help provide relief and switch people onto public transport. In recent weeks, New Zealand has halved its public transport fares for three months, and Tasmania has made theirs free for five ... [More]
We’re now two years into the pandemic. For many Melbourne people, the start was marked by the sudden cancellation of the March 2020 Formula 1 Grand Prix, followed just over a week later by the early start of school holidays and the shift to Work From Home for most white-collar workers – which for many ... [More]
Not a transport post. In years gone by, I scoffed at the idea of paying $50+ a month for Foxtel pay TV, and I wasn’t the only one – apparently by 2012, only 28% of Australian homes had a pay TV subscription. I suppose Foxtel needed to cover their delivery infrastructure costs, unlike today’s streaming ... [More]
I’ve written before that Victoria (and Melbourne) was the only major jurisdiction in the country not publishing patronage data more regularly than once a year. Well, kudos to the Department of Transport: just recently they started publishing monthly patronage data, alongside updated annual station entry data for Metro and V/Line. (I know Philip Mallis had ... [More]
Sometimes my walks take me to interesting places. On Saturday while walking in South Kensington, I found myself at the site of the Metro Tunnel’s western portal. To my surprise, there was nobody around, no signage saying to stay out, and no closed gate. So I peeked around the corner to snap some photos of ... [More]
More photos from ten years ago – this time from February 2012 The Metcard to Myki transition was well underway, and Metcard machines were increasingly being removed and replaced. Some Myki card vending machines however were still not vending cards. This Metcard machine at Flinders Street was presumably in the process of removal. Note the ... [More]
Good information is vital on public transport, but so often it’s incomplete or incorrect
There’s a good map doing the rounds showing the sections of the Sydney Trains network that run every 10 minutes on weekdays off-peak. Bambul has expanded this into a blog post, which also includes another map of 15 minute frequencies. A couple of people asked if there was a Melbourne version of the 10 minute ... [More]
Between Richmond and Ringwood there are a staggering 13 stopping patterns within a 6 hour period each weekday.
Here’s another in my series of photos from ten years ago: January 2012. Between Southern Cross and North Melbourne, the Regional Rail Link was taking shape. This new bridge on the western side of the tracks was adding capacity to feed into new SoCross platforms 15 and 16. Apologies for the slightly dodgy photo snapped ... [More]
Obviously, travel demand in cities is in turmoil just at the moment, but leaving the 2020-2022 blip aside for a minute, and looking again at pre-COVID travel in cities… As a follow-up to comparing Melbourne’s public transport patronage to Sydney’s, I thought I’d look at all the big capital cities. The five biggest are also ... [More]