This Friday is the last day for Metcard. But if you thought it was the end for paper tickets, think again. Even aside from V/Line tickets, they will live-on. As noted in today’s Age, despite the claims from government that it’s impossible to have paper tickets on a system that’s moved to Smartcards, there are ... [More]
Categories
Merry Christmas
I don’t care if it’s the same lot of decorations as last year — I like ’em. They look rather good at night. And you know what? Their location helps cement Flinders Street Station’s cultural importance to our city — perhaps never moreso than now, with public transport patronage increasing, and rail patronage in particular ... [More]
Some people have said to me “I forgot to take my Myki card” — to which I ask: “Why does it ever leave your wallet?” If it stays in your wallet/purse, which most people would always have with them whenever they leave the house, you’re unlikely to forget your Myki. And the fact is, with ... [More]
Spotted in Big W: Spotted in JB Hifi: The key difference seems to be that the JB Hifi people know how to set up their TVs. The Big W people don’t know, or don’t care, that on almost all of the TVs they have on display, the colour is completely distorted. If you can’t see ... [More]
YEARS ago, it might have been strange to think the fortunes of a government could rest on a suburban railway line. That was before the last Victorian election, when the Frankston train line became a potent symbol of the Brumby government’s transport woes: overcrowded carriages, ageing infrastructure, myki cost blowouts. Labor hardheads call it the ... [More]
Categories
Yes, Myki cards expire after four years
I’m a bit bemused by the apparent mass surprise of people that Myki cards expire. Every other type of smartcard expires. Credit cards get replaced every 3-4 years. Despite the system cost, Myki cards don’t magically last forever. (Pic courtesy of Colin Fry) Right from when the system first went into live pilot in Geelong ... [More]
Back in 2010, Victorian government timetable data was released to the public, as part of the App My State competition. The PTUA submitted an app as part of a study that showed how bad train/bus connections were, which got some media attention — and also managed to progress the debate around connections: the government went ... [More]
I wonder how many people notice gems like this, high up above our streets. It’s on a building on William Street, between Collins and Bourke.
Categories
Personal geek history
A piece of personal geek history: yesterday I had heard that a system I worked on when just out of uni in 1993 just finally got decommissioned. Myself and my mate Brian got out of uni at the end of ’92, and looked for IT jobs. In early 1993 I landed a contract at a ... [More]
The Victorian Government is pushing ahead with reform in emergency and disaster management. I can’t say I know a lot about it, but one reform that I’ve long thought they should consider is a re-drawing of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade/Country Fire Authority boundaries. They simply don’t make sense. The CFA covers large areas of outer-suburban ... [More]
For the second time in a week, I’ve watched as tonight’s 6:31pm route 703 bus pulls out just as the train (due at 6:30pm) departs Bentleigh station and a crowd of people off the train approaches the stop. Now, I accept that buses should run to time. And the operator contract probably penalises late-running (bearing ... [More]
The Federal government’s High Speed Rail study assumes a route from Melbourne via Canberra to Sydney of between 823 and 842 km (mostly following existing highways), with trains reaching up to 350 km/h, and a three hour trip time from Melbourne to Sydney. Some people who argue against the idea like to claim there is ... [More]
In the city tonight…
The Herald Sun paywall launched in March, and offered free 2-month passes. Any word on what’s happened now those have run out? Strange dream: Woke up with the most enormous sideburns. Struggled to get them removed before having to go to work. Another dream: Was invited to a very elaborate dinner party at Alan Kohler’s ... [More]
This seems to cause endless confusion: A figure of 798 (or 133 per carriage) is often incorrectly implied to be the capacity of a Melbourne train. According to Victorian government standards, a six-carriage train is considered “full” if more than 798 passengers are aboard. — Age 17/5/2011: Peak-hour trains still a horror trip But 798 ... [More]
My best guess is that PT fares are expected to jump by about 7% on January 1st. They generally go up by CPI (which the ABS says was 2.0% in the year to the end of September) but as part of a two year plan originally hatched by the ALP and followed by the Coalition, ... [More]