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The week in transport Toxic Custard newsletter

New timetables on 27th August, as Southland Station nears completion

New public transport timetables kick in on August 27th. Last week (or maybe it was the week before), PTV released details, including full timetables for the routes affected: Metro: More trains at peak times V/Line: More choice with more services Altona Loop users rejoice! (A bit) There will be no more Altona Loop shuttles. Weekday  ... [More]

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transport

Melbourne buses: many less frequent than 25 years ago

The Public Transport Not Traffic campaign organised a story in this week’s local paper, via campaigners Tony, Danita and Oscar setting up a fake bus stop to call for better bus services. Among the quotes in the story from locals is this one from me: “Bentleigh has less frequent buses than it did 25 years  ... [More]

Categories
transport

How to print your own personalised train/bus/tram timetable

One side of my fridge has my local train and bus timetables on it. It’s very handy, and pretty easy to do. Method one (quicker for trains, a little haphazard for buses and trams) 1. Go to www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au. 2. In the right hand side Station / Stop search, type the name of your station (or  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Timetable Mastermind: confusion on the Frankston line 6pm-7pm

One of the things planners should be aiming for in making public transport easy to use is ensuring that the choices are few. The new Frankston line timetable does this in the off-peak (and evenings) with a consistent pattern: Frankston to Flinders Street (direct), stopping all stations. In peak, in theory, there are two patterns:  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Changing trains is not evil

There’s intense interest in the new train timetable, which technically started today, but has its first actual changes tomorrow. The level of interest should be a reminder to politicians that public transport is still very much a live issue. It should (hopefully) bring some genuine benefits in helping to fix punctuality and overcrowding. There are  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Quick review of the new Metro timetables

So, the new Metro timetables are out, and those of us with geeky tendencies have been poring over them. (As one journo commented, it must take a special kind of person to work on these things for months on end.) Here’s my summary: In the west Altona Loop trains originate at Laverton, meaning a lot  ... [More]