As far as I can see, since the January zone changes, there is now no monetary benefit to touching-off your Myki for trips in zone 1, or zone 1+2. This is because the Myki Money Default fare (the fare it assumes you should be charged if you touched-on, but never touched-off) is normally the same ... [More]
Tag: public transport
Over the years there have been various problems with the Myki ticketing system. Some have been self-inflicted, such as the lack of a single use ticket, which was the result of a Coalition decision in 2011. Others are down to poor implementation, such as the slow and inconsistent read times for cards, or the difficulty ... [More]
Brisbane and Perth had got their smartcard systems before the Myki system started in Melbourne (just on 5 years ago). Other cities have followed, and now all Australian capital cities have public transport smartcards. Every single one of those other cities has a paper or single use ticket alongside the smartcards. And every single one ... [More]
Five years ago today, the government unexpectedly announced that Myki was valid for travel in Melbourne, from 3pm that day. It followed the rollout in regional centres earlier that year, and the installation of numerous card vending machines and reader devices around Melbourne. The government had foolishly promised it would be switched-on in Melbourne by ... [More]
I noted this new Myki signage on trams, reflecting the free CBD tram zone from January: Once it was a simple message: Top up, touch on, touch off. Now it’s top up, touch on (unless you don’t need to) and touch off (only if you need to). From the PTV FAQ, it’s clear that they ... [More]
Late last night, the Herald Sun unexpectedly published the entire East West Link business case, ahead of its official release today. Some notes from me from a quick flick through: p12 makes various high-level claims, particularly faster trips for motorists — but as we know, this benefit never lasts because traffic increases. p17 flags the ... [More]
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Public transport fares to rise about 5%
It hasn’t been announced yet, but I understand Myki fares are going up about 5% in January. (Zone 1+2 fares will drop to zone 1 level of course, in line with the pledge made by the Coalition and matched by Labor.) This is rise the Coalition government announced in December 2013, which I assume the ... [More]
One should never read too much into politicians’ rhetoric, but it was rather good to see comments from Premier-elect Daniel Andrews on Monday in free commuter newspaper MX: “Yes, we need better local roads and yes, we do need to invest in that infrastructure, but the transformational infrastructure is a better public transport system. One ... [More]
Two sleeps until the election. Apart from trying to get citizens out to a public meeting, where in the neighbourhood is the best place to meet as many people you can, face-to-face? Judging from what the politicians and lobby groups have been up to, it’s the railway station — on weekdays, at least. I’ve lost ... [More]
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Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt on the 822
Incumbent Elizabeth Miller has gone strong on “saving the 822“, promoting via Facebook and an ad the front page of the local Leader newspaper last week, apparently trying to imply that Labor is proposing to scrap the route completely. Having put the claim out there on Facebook, the Liberals have done nothing to quell people’s ... [More]
Backdated. Posted 17/11/2014. Day 4 — Sunday Not much to report. Breakfast at Darlinghurst’s Jekyll & Hyde — which was a bit meh. M’s order came with unwanted eggs, which I adopted. Afterwards I realised it was one of the breakfast places I’d ruled out because some of its Urbanspoon reviews didn’t sound that great ... [More]
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Sydney’s Opal card
(Backdated. Posted 14/11/2014.) During the Sydney trip I tried out Opal card, and M got one as well to try. It’s worth remembering that although the system is provided by Cubic, who built London’s Oyster system, its cost is not insubstantial — $1.2 billion over 15 years. It’s not quite as expensive, but is in ... [More]