There’s been a bit of confusion about the rules around masks and public transport. I’m not here to speculate on whether the rules are needed. I’m not an epidemiologist and probably neither are you. While there’s been no COVID-19 community spread in Victoria for many weeks, the recent case of the gentleman who unwittingly caught ... [More]
A year ago today it all went off. The talk of theoretical disruptions from the COVID-19 virus became very real in Australia. I thought I’d look back over the past 12 months. Hopefully I haven’t messed up any of the chronology, but if so, please leave a comment. March 2020 It seemed sudden – cases ... [More]
The Victorian Government has released its roadmap out of COVID-19 restrictions. I’ve been pondering what this means for travel demand and public transport in Melbourne, and activity in the CBD, which largely drives PT patronage. The steps in the roadmap (*which are mostly subject to case numbers) start from Sunday night. 1st Step (14th September) ... [More]
It’s been almost two week since the recommendation to wear masks when you couldn’t stay 1.5 metres away from others. This includes public transport. With COVID-19 case numbers rising, on Sunday they upped the ante: masks (or other face coverings) will be mandatory outside your home (with a few exceptions) from Thursday. Interestingly this is ... [More]
Comparing different city public transport networks and their COVID-19 responses
Public transport use down, electricity consumption up, mobile internet down, home internet up. Grocery spending up… then almost back to normal. Some personal metrics in the age of COVID-19.
Getting back on public transport – can people effectively stagger their trips to avoid crowding when off-peak services are infrequent and crowded?
It was recently reported that, despite the COVID-19 crisis, and large numbers of people staying at home, Victoria’s public transport network is still carrying about 200,000 trips per day. How does this compare to normal? I’ve taken last year’s State Budget targeted annual trips for 2019-20, and used previous rail patronage data indicating each weekday ... [More]
How’s everybody going? Managing okay I hope? How’s the working week going? Well I’m spending it at home.How was your weekend? Mostly at home.What did you get up to last night? … I was at home. It’s been an adjustment, but we’re managing in my family. Working from home (now in the fourth week) is ... [More]
Since many people aren’t using public transport right now, some us who have a Myki Pass aren’t getting much out of them. Normally the only option is to get a refund. Because of the way PTV calculates refunds, this often isn’t worthwhile. Back when the COVID-19 crisis was first emerging, your friendly local public transport ... [More]