Author: PTUA
-
PT Problem of the Day: Southland station needed urgently; promised at election, but still not underway
Over the weekend, car parks at major shopping centres such as Southland, were packed with Christmas shoppers. The long search for a car spot resulted in some resorting to illegal parking, such as on grass verges. It’s a reminder that there is still no funding and no announced start date for construction of Southland station.…
-
PT Problem of the Day: No ticket sales or #Myki topup on trams from Dec 29th. Will fare evasion skyrocket?
Most people would agree that preventing fare evasion is a matter of carrot and stick. The carrot is easy purchase of tickets; the stick is more consistent and regular ticket checks. Instead we’ve gone backwards — particularly on trams. When there were tram conductors, it was almost certain your ticket would be checked, and you…
-
Fares not too low
INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Anthony Albanese’s Major Cities Unit is completely wrong if it thinks Australia’s public transport fares are too low (Urban sprawl hits productivity, 4/12/2012). In fact, relative to cost of living, they are among the highest in the world. The real reason fares only cover one-quarter to one-third of the cost of the system…
-
PT Problem of the Day: Are the new #Myki gates reliable enough?
The new Myki-only gates installed at stations are certainly more informative for Myki users than the old hybrid Metcard gates. But they don’t seem any faster, and worse, they appear to suffer from reliability problems. We’ve had many sightings of individual gates going out of service, and recently some cases of entire banks of gates…
-
Break down the ‘Myki barrier’: Petition launched for single-use tickets
The Public Transport Users Association today launched an on-line petition calling on the State Government to make single-use tickets available for occasional users and tourists, and stop compulsory Myki purchase becoming a barrier to public transport use. The on-line petition, at www.mykisingles.com, calls for single-use 2-hour and daily tickets to be made available throughout Victoria…
-
Baillieu Report Card: ‘Go slow’ on public transport but foot to the floor on motorways
The Public Transport Users Association today released its report card on the Baillieu Government’s first two years, with the State Government earning a D for stalling on public transport upgrades whilst pushing expensive new roads. President Tony Morton said the government had been engaged in ‘half-hearted box-ticking’ on some public transport election promises, starting feasibility…
-
PT Problem of the Day: Cars parked in bus stops – inadequate signage and enforcement
It’s all too common to see cars parked in bus stops, which means buses to have to stop in traffic — a potential safety risk for passengers, particularly those with limited mobility, and a cause of added traffic congestion. The motorists pictured above might be oblivious to the law: if there are no Bus Zone…
-
A legacy of poor decisions
A legacy of poor decisions November 22, 2012 JOHN Legge (“Transport planning off rails”, Comment, 21/11) hits the nail on the head when it comes to Melbourne’s transport planning failures. Our creaking train system and barely usable bus services are the legacy of decades of secretive pseudo-planning at all levels of government and in the…
-
PT Problem of the Day: Who’s promoting parking, to get commuters to drive to the CBD? Southern Cross Station.
This must be one of the more perverse outcomes of the privatisation of Southern Cross Station: they are advertising early-bird parking (eg aimed at CBD workers). This ad appeared in MX (yes, the newspaper targetted at public transport users) several times last week. Should their campaign be successful (and we have our doubts, given the…
-
PT Problem of the Day: Your next train is from platform 8, 9, 10 or 12
Quite apart from their abysmal and impossible to remember timetable with trains every 22 minutes, Williamstown and Altona Loop/Laverton passengers aren’t too happy about evening peak confusion at Flinders Street. It’s not hard to see why — departures are from four different platforms, and passengers say these are often changed at the last minute. This…
-
Kennett-era project sets bar for affordable level crossing removal
Melbourne crossings could be wiped out for cost of East West road link, says PTUA Eliminating most level crossings in Melbourne to catch up with Sydney could create economic benefits exceeding those from the East West road link, the Public Transport Users Association said today. “This idea spread by the government that grade separations have…
-
PT Problem of the Day: @VLine using Southern Cross platforms for stabling means a long walk to your train
Your train to Geelong and Wendouree is about to depart — can you make it to platform 8B in time? Thanks to V/Line’s lack of stabling, they are now routinely leaving trains in the platform at Southern Cross during the day, between the peaks. This means passengers often have to walk a full city block…
