COMMUTERS are ignoring Government advice and are using myki cards on trams as well as trains. … (Jean Ker Walsh said) ”Myki equipment on trams is turned on for use by testers and system auditors,” she said. ”Everyone else on the tram should have a valid Metcard.” — The Age, Caution urged for travellers who ... [More]
Tag: public transport
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Trainspotting
See also: 2015 update Just so we’re clear here about which type of train is which, here’s a quick guide… Firstly, this is the train that’s in the news today: the Siemens. Their brakes have problems. (Update 2012: The brake problems have apparently been fixed.) Whereas this is the Comeng. Their air-conditioners tend to konk ... [More]
The current Flinders Street Station is 100 years old today. There’s a newish book on the history of Flinders Street Station called Beyond the Facade by Jenny Davies. Recently I was walking through the Degraves Street subway and noticed a display for the book. Then something in one of the windows caught my eye; amongst ... [More]
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Transport in the west end
Work has moved me to the west end of the city, and apart from needing to figure out where there’s a decent newsagency and ATM, I’m also figuring out the transport links. Flagstaff station is the closest. Easy. Well, until they go ahead with that plan to move Frankston trains out of the loop, which ... [More]
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Lynne Kosky resigns
People, people, people, you may be celebrating the fact that Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky has resigned. But it’s not that simple. Just as the replacement of Connex with Metro hasn’t miraculously fixed the trains, neither will everything magically be okay with a new minister at the helm. She was spot-on last week when she ... [More]
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Being a Myki guinea-pig
So here’s what I’ve found while trying out Myki in the last week or two. On the day it was announced it was being switched-on for trains, I ordered cards for my kids. (I should note that I still recommend the general public do not use it, unless they’re looking for trouble. Me? I am ... [More]
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The hidden message in the train seats
Many of Melbourne’s train seats look like this: Look closely. Those are not all just random shapes designed to hide the dirt. Anything look familiar?
Massive billboards to remind us about how great the government is? It’s part of the plan. That’s Richmond Station; there’s others at South Yarra and Malvern and no doubt elsewhere. Mind you, the first of the new trains apparently hasn’t actually made it into service yet. It’s a bit like Myki. Lucky they’re not putting ... [More]
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…and hello Metro
New uniforms for most staff, and new automated announcements (“Welcome to Metro”) are the only noticeable changes so far. My train was on time, but others were cancelled according to the upgraded Metro web site. Channels 7, 9 and 10 were all down at Flinders St Station along with The Age Online to interview passengers, ... [More]
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Farewell Connex
Connex took over running the Caulfield and Northern group lines on 18th April 2004, and to mark the occasion they put up a Welcome to Connex banner at Caulfield station. Evidently from day one, things didn’t go entirely to plan. Over the past five years they’ve seen the strain of record numbers of passenger trips, ... [More]
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The most useless map ever
The Myki people finally posted some useful information on their web site, just days after the PTUA posted a Myki Q+A. They’ve also posted this gem on the Myki web site: Under Maps / Metro trains, it purports to be a “Metro train zones” map. What an utterly pointless creation. No reference point other than ... [More]
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Myki – confusion reigns!
JOHN Brumby has defended ticket changes to public transport that will see commuters paying more for late trains, trams and buses. — Herald Sun Let’s just be absolutely clear about this: IT DOES NOT APPLY TO TRAINS. It’s only an issue for trams and buses. Let’s say you have a ticket that runs out at ... [More]