From time to time the topic of free public transport comes up, most recently because of changes in Estonia. I think it’s a distraction from far more important issues. I just wanted to address a few points about it. Apologies for the rambling. Would it be a good idea in Melbourne and/or Victoria? I don’t ... [More]
As expected, fare rises have been announced to take place on January 1st. It’s a rise of 4.7% — which is CPI+2.5%. (At least, 4.7% is the claim. Some fares, such as a Zone 1 two-hour fare, are rising by more: $4.10 to $4.30 is almost 4.9%, thanks to the price being rounded to the ... [More]
I’m always interested to see portrayals of public transport in popular culture. I’ve been watching the Netflix series Sense8 — I’m a bit over halfway through it. (And I just realised the Wikipedia article includes spoilers, so watch your step if you’re planning to watch it). It’s pretty good — at least, I’m intrigued enough ... [More]
Freebie afternoon commuter newspaper MX finishes its run today after 14 years of publishing in Melbourne (and shorter runs in Brisbane and Sydney). Melbourne Express was its awkward morning competitor for a short time in 2001 — it was never going to last because morning distribution is so difficult. That brand name lives on in ... [More]
I noticed there’s a 2015 version of PTV’s network revenue protection plan on their web site. It’s a lot less detailed than the one The Age FOI’d in 2010… perhaps because it was intended to be made public. Some points of interest, with my notes in italics: Pages 5-6 talk about the background — total ... [More]
The Herald Sun had an interesting article describing the trip home from the football on Friday night, and the delays suffered by those in the crowd. Apart from the football at the MCG, there was also a concert in the tennis centre, and soccer at Etihad Stadium. Edit: plus rugby at AAMI stadium. In fact ... [More]
Last year the Coalition announced they were going ahead with an unsolicited proposal: to upgrade the Dandenong line. In summary, it included: grade separation of 4 level crossings, 3 stations associated with those rebuilt, planning and early works on 5 more grade separations, high capacity signalling, 25 new trains, a maintenance depot at Pakenham, and ... [More]
Information is power, so they say. So it follows that good accurate information on public transport services is needed to make the most of them. Back in 2005, before the first wave of Real smartphones prompted by the iPhone, Google launched Google Transit. The idea is simple: with access to all of a region’s public ... [More]
This morning The Age published more detailed train service data than we usually get to see. Some information is routinely published, but we rarely get an insight into the breakdown between AM, PM and off-peak punctuality, for instance. In some ways the data was no great surprise — in the first week of March, hundreds ... [More]
Via a couple of stories in the last few days, The Age has revealed proposed changes to the tram network, probably to take place from mid-year with the next big round of timetable changes. Some context First, some context. All the changes need to be seen in light of fleet changes, and growing patronage. The ... [More]
I remember when Labor and the Coalition both pledged to build Southland station. It was 2010. I told my kids, who were excited. They were 15 and 12 at the time, just the ages when they were looking forward to exploring the city and suburbs on their own, going to places like Southland with friends. ... [More]
One of the advantages of rail over road transport is the ride quality. Well, that’s in theory. If enough care and funding goes in, trains can be extremely smooth. In practice on a rail network like Melbourne’s, with aging infrastructure, it can be a bumpy ride. Now, I don’t have a major problem with a ... [More]