The Committee for Ballarat has an excellent campaign going to improve rail services. Unfortunately as sometimes happens, some myths crept into the rhetoric around the launch of the campaign. “In the early 1900s you could do the Ballarat to Melbourne trip by steam rail in an hour â these days it takes an hour and ... [More]
Tag: public transport
Observed at Southern Cross Station this week: IKEA seat covers. They seem to be confined to platforms 11 and 12, though if you’re trying to get to IKEA by public transport, platform 9 (train to North Richmond, then a tram) is probably a better bet. Not every seat has them, and there are no cushions ... [More]
Many years ago the German city of Munster set up a photo comparing the road space taken by people in a bus, on bikes, and in cars. Earlier this month the Cycling Promotion Fund recreated that picture in Canberra, and yesterday they released it. On Sunday 9th September 69 volunteers, 69 bicycles, 60 cars and ... [More]
Yes itâs true. I have decided not to renominate as the PTUAâs President, and will stand down at the Annual General Meeting on October 11th. The Age: After almost a decade, Melbourne’s chief public transport complainer has finally had enough. PTUA: PTUA President to step down Basically, after nine years, I need a break. It’s ... [More]
I think most people would agree that with Myki we’ve got a problem. A system which is enormously expensive, which is generally less responsive and reliable than similar systems elsewhere, not to mention not offering a single use ticket option. But one argument I don’t buy is that Metcard is perfect. The bureaucracy will claim ... [More]
So, how has Melbourne’s “boardings per person per year” gone over the years? Thanks to PTV putting out their “Patronage Long Run Series” report of patronage since 1946, we can see it — I’ve plotted the total boarding figures from 1946 to 2011, every five years (in red) against the boardings per population (in green): ... [More]
On Sunday Channel 7 showed this CCTV footage shot at Southern Cross station. A toddler slipped between the train and the platform. I found it quite difficult to watch, but there’s an obvious safety message here which was emphasised in Monday’s followup story: you do need to take the utmost care when boarding and alighting ... [More]
As noted by this post, the figure of “transit boardings per person per year” is something of a simplistic measure (particularly given issues around what’s included and what isn’t, and whether public transport networks are structured to encourage single vehicle journeys, or anywhere-to-anywhere trips using lots of transfers). But still, it does help give a ... [More]
I quite like these adverts. But… The phone screen grabs below are from 8:15am yesterday. My usual 8:29 train had been cancelled, but while this was listed on the Metlink Android app (not yet rebranded to PTV), it was not listed on the Metro web site. By my count, the Metlink app lists nine cancellations, ... [More]
This was the scene at Ventura’s South Oakleigh bus depot on Sunday afternoon: This was the scene on-board their 903 service from South Oakleigh (next to the depot) to Chadstone: The 903 is only half-hourly on Sundays, but clearly the demand is there. It’s the same with many bus services across Melbourne — there are ... [More]
There used to be realtime train information displayed on the Smartbus sign outside Bentleigh station (as there is at many other Smartbus stops near railway stations around Melbourne). The information was provided partly for the benefit of bus drivers, so they could see if a train was imminent, and if so wait for passengers (though ... [More]
Happy Rail Safety Week. Level crossing. Three tracks. The two in the foreground have no train coming, and the automatic gates for them are open. There’s a train approaching on the other track, and its gates are closed. Logic would suggest it’s perfectly safe, and perfectly legal to walk through the open gates, right? Turns ... [More]