For the proposals in City of Melbourne’s discussion papers to be described as “radical” and “ridiculous” just shows how far we haven’t come in transport planning in this state. Perhaps it’s no surprise given that in the forthcoming election, if choosing a major party, we vote for either the mob who wants to build two ... [More]
Here’s another in my series of old photos from ten years ago… this time, June 2008. You might remember that Frank Woodley did TV ads for Metlink, to encourage bus usage. Here’s the cartoon version, on a bus stop. Speaking of advertising, I quite liked this ad for the Get Smart movie (originally posted here). ... [More]
Lots of people usually alight at my station, even late at night. But as we all exit and walk off in different directions, the streets, especially at night, can get pretty quiet very fast. The awful murder of Eurydice Dixon has got us as a society once again talking about personal safety issues. While it’s ... [More]
The new Carnegie and Murrumbeena stations opened on Monday morning. These used to be my local stations. I lived close to Murrumbeena in my teens, and again from 2003 to 2005, and occasionally used Carnegie as well, and still sometimes pass through on the bus to Chadstone. As this photo from Saturday shows, immediately after ... [More]
From time to time the topic of free public transport comes up, most recently because of changes in Estonia. I think it’s a distraction from far more important issues. I just wanted to address a few points about it. Apologies for the rambling. Would it be a good idea in Melbourne and/or Victoria? I don’t ... [More]
To my surprise, Google has stored dozens of voice recordings of mine, going back about 18 months.
If you used the Glen Waverley or Sandringham lines over the weekend, you might have got a pleasant surprise. Both were running every 10 minutes for most of Saturday and Sunday — twice the usual frequency. Why? Because the Frankston and Dandenong (Cranbourne/Pakenham) lines were closed between the City and Moorabbin/Westall between Friday 8pm and ... [More]
Another in my series of old photos from ten years ago, this time from May 2008… Petrol prices shot up this month. This would be about $2.06 in today’s dollars. More amazing is that just four years earlier, the RACV had predicted prices wouldn’t go above about $1.08. ACMI has put on a lot of ... [More]
The State Government has announced a trial of a mobile phone app for Myki. The Age: Farewell myki cards? Trial for app to let you touch on with your phone PTV: Mobile myki trial State Government: Mobile Myki Trial To Begin Here’s what we know about the trial. Will it mean the end of Myki ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 26/5/2018 Last morning in Sydney; almost time to go home. After checking out of the hotel, we headed back to the gallery to see if Sunday morning was a better option for looking at the Archibald Prize finalists than Friday had been. On the walk, the last of the half-marathon runners were coming ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 24/5/2018 Sydney getaway continued. First stop: a bakery in the Queen Victoria Building, the spectacular 19th century shopping arcade, where we grabbed some croissants for breakfast. Then to Town Hall Station to hop on a train to inner-city Redfern. A short walk from Redfern Station is Carriageworks, a former… well, railway carriage workshop, ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 23/5/2018 Hotel buffet breakfast at the Sheraton is an eye-popping $44 per person. This is no big surprise – hotel breakfasts are always expensive. But they’d said at check-in that we had a $50 credit, so that took the cost down to $38 for the two of us, which is probably cheaper than ... [More]
Post backdated. Published 21/5/2018. M wanted to see the Lady And The Unicorn tapestries before they head home to France from their exhibit at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. No big holiday likely this year, so how about we do a short break in Sydney? Booking the flights After looking at frequent flyer ... [More]
There are warnings of fake Telstra bills being sent by email. They look like the real thing. The only clue that they’re not is that the View/Pay Bill button goes to a non-Telstra web site. The lesson here is: check where the link goes. If it doesn’t go to an address that is clearly on ... [More]
We all like some greenery in our neighbourhoods. But as I noted in this rant blog post, one bane of pedestrians is bushes and trees overhanging footpaths. They’re not really obvious unless you’re walking, but bushes and trees like this are everywhere. I’m sick of having to duck out of their way. This is especially ... [More]
Good morning! I’m over in The Age today writing about airport rail: Ever wondered why we need airport rail? Catch Skybus in peak hour Go read it. Hopefully the two typos I’ve just spotted aren’t too jarring, and can be fixed online soon. (Too late for the paper — argh!) Update 13/5/2018 A couple of ... [More]