A reminder that despite how it may sometimes seem, not all my blog posts are about transport. If you want to view only the transport posts, try here. For convenience, this link is also on the menu at the top, under Transport. Over the years I’ve had many mobile phones. Here’s an update to that ... [More]
The Age broke the story last week that the new High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMTs) are being designed to cope with up to 2000 people, at a density of up to 6 people per square metre, and seats for 30-40% of the total load. Cue the outrage (from some quarters) — but it’s important to ... [More]
We all remember the East West Link. Specifically denied by the Coalition during the 2010 election, after a policy turnaround, they ignored the unfavourable economics of the project, and rammed through the contracts without a mandate, ahead of the 2014 election. The design ran a motorway through the middle of Royal Park, and required demolition ... [More]
Those of you who follow me on Twitter might recall I spent a lot of July last year posting about the 5 weeks of bus replacements on the Frankston line. One of the things they got right was to run the buses along the main roads, rather than diverting them into the railway stations, three ... [More]
Infrastructure Australia released a study today claiming that privatising public transport can save billions of dollars: Media release: Franchising public transport services could deliver $15.5 billion in funding for new transport services (Full study here) I had a quick read of the study and I have to say, I found it utterly unconvincing. The executive ... [More]
Very busy the last few weeks, which is why the blog has been so quiet. Long-time readers would know that I like to write about my interstate and overseas holidays in almost excruciating detail. Well brace yourself for another one – I’ve got a European holiday in planning for later this year. It’s looking like ... [More]
This is an occasional series, when a few things happen during the week and I want to put a word in… ABC: Ticket inspectors taking tram user’s phone to seek proof of identity unacceptable, PTV says This is a concern, but context is important. It’s a matter of degrees. I think whether it’s acceptable or ... [More]
Another in my series of ten year old photos. If you drive out of the car park at Southland, down the ramp from the 2nd level, near the railway line, you may have noticed that there’s a sign there saying to “Give way to pedestrains“. Evidently it’s been that way for at least ten years. ... [More]
(Apologies in advance for the length of this post. It got away from me a bit, but hopefully it’s interesting.) The debate around a Melbourne Airport rail link has progressed in the past few months, with all sides broadly agreeing it has to happen – the only question is when. The Coalition and many others ... [More]
On Friday a number of UK publications posted news articles about a Deutsche Bank report saying that London’s public transport fares are the highest in the world. Evening Standard: London travelcards ‘the most expensive in the world by a large margin,’ study finds BBC: London’s monthly travel cost ‘most expensive in world’ London Loves Business: ... [More]
So here we are, state budget day 2017. A lot of things have already been announced, but they usually leave a few things until the day itself. Nobody was expecting anything huge, as logic would suggest they’d save their money until next year, when there’s an election and they need to dazzle people a bit ... [More]
I know I was just writing about Night Network last week, but the news that it’s been made permanent came through over the weekend, so here’s another post on it. My sons are of the age when they get out and about after dark. Recently one was out at a party in Brunswick until about ... [More]
Another in my series of ten year old photos. The old Olympic Doughnuts caravan, well before the shops along Irving Street were demolished to make way for additional station platforms. Footscray station snapped from the old (uncovered, ancient) overpass. This is platform 1, which has now become platform 3. Despite The Met having been long ... [More]
Sometimes the little things matter. Sometimes a bit of thought can result in a better outcome. Logic says that when they put in a new bus route to serve the station, it should stop at the station. When the signs for the new 979 Night Bus went up at Bentleigh, I noted that they were ... [More]
I’m thinking it might be time to upgrade my car at some stage soon. Some people turn them over every few years. Not me — I’ve been driving a 2000 model Astra hatchback since 2008, almost nine years. The previous car was a 1993 Magna, which I had from 1998 to 2008. Of course, I ... [More]
Five years ago I published some figures on V/Line’s peak patronage, based on their capacity reports, where they show the number of seats occupied in each service in peak hour. Here’s an update comparing with their figures for February 2017. Line 2012 2012 2017 2017 Change 2012 2012 2017 2017 Change Trains AM đ ... [More]