Categories
transport

How much does a train cost?

Sometimes when the media or politicians want to highlight what they see as massive government waste (particularly in the transport arena, but also in other areas), they compare it to how many extra trains could have been bought instead. While it may seem a little myopic, I think overall it’s a good thing. It’s a  ... [More]

Categories
transport

The bus to nowhere

Apparently the buses at this bus stop have a destination of “None”. The addition to the sign in this case is accurate. It’s a spot where buses layover in William Street between runs. Apparently they’ve put bus stop signs up there to stop motorists parking there if they don’t notice the Bus Zone signs. But  ... [More]

Categories
Consumerism

The Radiant soap powder advert they filmed in my street

I was at home one day in March when a bus kept driving past every few minutes. They hadn’t opened Melbourne’s most frequent bus route in my street — they were filming an advert for Radiant soap. Now the advert has been launched. (via Mumbrella) I might try it at some stage, but Omomatic has  ... [More]

Categories
News and events transport

Sometimes it feels like you might be waiting until doomsday for the bus

Pic taken this morning, if you wondered. Disclaimer: actually bus 223 is pretty frequent, because it’s a former tram route. (Spotted by J.) Update: BBC News: ‘Rapture’: Believers perplexed after prediction fails

Categories
transport

In Lonsdale Street you can park legally in the bus stop

Melbourne’s busiest bus street, Lonsdale Street, has a bus every minute or two. By my estimate, based on looking at the Melway (because there is still no system-wide PT map available) and checking a few timetables, between the peaks on weekdays, on the busiest section of Elizabeth Street to Russell Street, we have… routes 200/201/203/205/207:  ... [More]

Categories
transport

PT on Lonsdale Street

In central Melbourne, if you want to travel a reasonable distance east-west, it’s easy to do so on most of the streets by hopping on a tram. Flinders Street, Collins Street, Bourke Street and Latrobe Street all have multiple routes serving them, making for reasonably frequent services most of the day. Not so Lonsdale Street.  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Myki on buses

Two weeks ago I noted that Myki mostly works. In most cases the charging is fine. The readers seem more reliable and mostly fairly responsive (and faster than inserting a Metcard into a slot and waiting for it to come out again). What doesn’t work? Well buses in particular have issues, it seems. As this  ... [More]

Categories
Politics and activism PTUA transport

Progress in the PT debate

The PTUA’s Annual General Meeting was last night. There was some optimism amongst the committee and membership about where public transport is going since the change of government, but even before that, the political debate has been moving along nicely. An example we talked about last night… At a parliamentary hearing last year as part  ... [More]

Categories
transport

The middle of nowhere

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]

Categories
Photos

Funny angle

Everything in the entire world except this bus stop sign is at a funny angle.

Categories
transport

Stupid giant bus idea

(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]

Categories
transport

Flashback: Bus 627

Melbourne’s most confusing bus route to be fixed