The Public Transport Users Association notes with regret the passing of Ken McIntyre on August 29th. For many of its early years, Ken was secretary of the PTUA, and its predecessor, the Train Travellers Association. He was instrumental in establishing the PTUA as Victoria’s principal advocate for public transport and its patrons.

We extend our sympathies to Ken’s family.

Multi-car families could save thousands of dollars a year if they had access to high quality public transport services, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has said.

In promoting a call for public transport services “Every 10 Minutes to Everywhere“, PTUA president Daniel Bowen said that if fast frequent services were provided, more outer-suburban families could happily give up their second or third cars, resulting in huge savings.
Read the rest of this article »

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is cautiously throwing its weight behind a Yarra Trams campaign to promote greater traffic priority for trams and buses.

Independent Melbourne Partners Against Congested Transport (IMPACT) is an industry coalition formed to oversee implementation of tram and bus priority measures in the government’s Keeping Melbourne Moving strategy. Members of the group include Yarra Trams, the Bus Association of Victoria, RACV, Victorian Taxi Association, Victorian Transport Association and Bicycle Victoria.

The PTUA is hopeful that its membership of IMPACT will help focus the group’s efforts on priority measures that are provably effective. “We’re hopeful that this group won’t simply be pushing clearways,” PTUA President Daniel Bowen explained. “Some of the biggest delays to trams actually occur in places where they’re already separated from cars, and are due to traffic lights. The congestion strategy includes measures to allow trams to change signals to speed them through intersections, and with so many of the major players in this group, there’s a good chance that with our participation we can finally get some action on traffic light priority.”
Read the rest of this article »

The PTUA has made a submission to the government on east-west travel options (aka the Eddington report). It can be downloaded here (PDF, 515Kb)

18/7/2008: The Department of Transport has started making some of the many submissions available on their web site.

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has expressed dismay at the Premier John Brumby for considering the building of the so-called `missing link’ freeway as part of a metropolitan ring road. The PTUA said that major public transport investment is needed instead.
Read the rest of this article »

The PTUA participated in a media event on Tuesday morning with the Bus Industry Confederation to highlight the need for Federal funding for urban public transport. The BIC media release is below.

July 8, 2008 — $10 BILLION TO HELP FIX PUBLIC TRANSPORT CRISIS SAY EXPERTS

A group of public transport experts today called for a $10 billion investment from the Federal Government to help fix public transport.
Read the rest of this article »

A Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) plan to upgrade evening train services would be a boon to the local economy in Whitehorse. Under the PTUA’s proposal, trains would operate every 15 minutes on all lines, including those to Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein and Glen Waverley, seven days a week.

“The current half-hourly evening train services are inconvenient and overcrowded,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s Outer East Convenor. “As a result, many people are choosing to stay at home or to drive to their evening destination instead.”
Read the rest of this article »

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) today warned that the imminent opening of Eastlink will only have a short-term impact on the problems of traffic congestion in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, and do nothing to overcome car dependency.

The PTUA’s Outer East Convenor Jeremy Lunn said that spending billions on the new freeway at the expense of investment in public transport would maintain car dependency for another generation.

“The problems of growing traffic congestion and spiralling petrol prices will not be solved by this new road. Public transport is non-existent or woefully inadequate for most of Melbourne’s growing east.”
Read the rest of this article »

As featured in The Age this morning, the PTUA has looked at the carbon emissions per person kilometre for a range of cars of various types and sizes, and compared them to the different forms of public transport.
Read the rest of this article »

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called on the government to take the next big step in upgrading public transport services.

In launching their “Every 10 minutes to everywhere” plan at a climate change and transport forum at Melbourne Town Hall on Sunday, PTUA president Daniel Bowen noted the urgency for action on climate change, and said that it was time to provide people right across Melbourne and regional cities with a viable alternative to driving.
Read the rest of this article »