I suppose trains need signals. And perhaps it’s another move to make Melbourne more European: this Cignall tobacconist in Queen Street is a Myki retailer. I’m not sure I have a strong opinion on this, but it does seem like an odd match, given smoking is banned on public transport vehicles, is also banned in ... [More]
Tag: public transport
A few years ago they fixed what was probably Melbourne’s most confusing bus route, but plenty of others are still running confusing, spaghetti-like routes around the suburbs. Often your trip from A to B travels via the rest of the alphabet. A PTUA report out today tries to measure how much buses meander, by comparing ... [More]
Sorry, I meant to post this ages ago. I went along to the official opening of Lynbrook station in April; there was a big turn out from the community, including local councillors and a couple of MPs, as well as media. And a sausage sizzle! I had an interesting talk to the architect, who said ... [More]
Some people seem to be a little paranoid about this: There is no requirement to provide a name and address to get a Myki card. You can buy a full fare Myki card from a vending machine. No details given, using cash or credit/debit/EFTPOS card to pay. You can buy a full fare or concession ... [More]
Seems the stuff in today’s Age to do with moving train driver changeovers out of Flinders Street is a bit controversial. I don’t particularly want to discuss it in the myriad of places I’ve seen people (mostly train drivers, I suspect) leave me comments about it, so I’ll do so here instead. From the article: ... [More]
The Herald Sun reports today that Metro punctuality figures have improved markedly in the last 12 months, including the figure on the Frankston line jumping from 68.4% to 87.1%. Certainly this is due to some changes in the way the trains are run. The question is, are these changes good, or bad? Good: Departing platform ... [More]
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Myki cards can (sometimes) be shared
With little fanfare, there was a change last year to the ticketing rules that appear to allow Myki cards to be shared, so that for instance you can keep one at home to lend to visitors from interstate or overseas, or a company office can keep one handy to lend to employees who don’t use ... [More]
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Ken Lay, talking about deployment of Protective Service Officers on stations: âFrom time to time they will check tickets. When these PSOs see a group of young people that they believe are up to no good on a railway station a really helpful tool is to say, ‘Show me your ticket’. ... [More]
My cousin Justin’s move to Melbourne gives me an opportunity to see the public transport network from the perspective of a brand new user. He’s pretty well travelled, having spent extensive time in Europe recently, mostly based in London, but with plenty of travel to other cities. So he’s used PT systems in many other ... [More]
The short version Myki credit, once on your card, does not expire after 90 days of not getting used. Nor does your card expire after 90 days of not getting used. If you top-up your Myki via online or phone (NOT over-the-counter or at a vending machine) but then you don’t use the card within ... [More]
The first Tuesday of May is Victorian State Budget day. On Budget day, journalists and some interest groups (well, those that have the resources) attend the Budget Lockup, where from about midday to the 3pm public release, they get to peruse the budget papers, but can’t communicate what they find with the outside world. They ... [More]
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V/Line’s possible timetables circa 2021
Following up my post the other week about proposed possible Metro timetables in 2021… The other thing that’s become apparent from the Travel Demand document is how the Regional Rail Link (and the other V/Line routes) could work. Frankly it’s a relief they have some idea of how RRL would run, as so far they’ve ... [More]
Transport minister Terry Mulder: “We’d like to think we’ll get to a stage down the line whereby you can throw the timetable away, and we run ten minute frequencies. I think that’s what the community are wanting.” Spot on Terry. I’ve already thrown my timetable away. (Nah, I haven’t really.) Frequent services, 7 days-a-week The ... [More]
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Possible 2021 Metro timetables
They really don’t like talking about this stuff, but if you’ve been wondering what your future train service might look like, check this: (View it bigger) This map is based on an appendix tucked-away in the Rowville rail study documents, and shows a proposed operating plan once Regional Rail Link and a handful of other ... [More]
A new Myki-related problem has emerged — during evening peak, crowds heading into Flinders Street Station’s Elizabeth Street entrance back up onto the road. This video shows it (though I’m sure I’ve seen worse crowds on occasions) It’s not entirely down to Myki — it’s a combination of surging passenger numbers, space limitations at that ... [More]
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How many catch V/Line in peak hour?
Last night on the TV news they seemed to be struggling for an accurate figure of how many were affected by the closure of the Geelong line. One said “hundreds”, another said “up to a thousand”. Figures on V/Line’s web site, which summarise the number of people on each train so you can plan your ... [More]