Author: PTUA
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Going Loopy: maps to help fight City Loop confusion – simplified operation needed
To combat continuing confusion over operation of the City Loop, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has released a series of maps explaining how it works.[1] Outgoing PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that both occasional and regular passengers had been baffled by the Loop for more than 30 years since its original opening in 1981.…
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PT Problem of the Day: Lack of frequent services across most of Melbourne
As highlighted in a study released last week, most of Melbourne lacks frequent public transport services. Frequency is often overlooked, but is probably the number one factor in convincing people to get out of their cars and onto public transport. If you have a choice of driving or a public transport service every 30, 40…
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Frequent services: Trams lead, trains improving, buses still lag
A study of Melbourne public transport timetables shows much of the city is still lagging on providing frequent, easy-to-use services that will encourage people out of cars. PTUA outgoing president Daniel Bowen said that the study confirmed what most Melburnians think – that trams run frequently, trains are a mixed bag, and that most buses…
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PT Problem of the Day: #Myki machine smashed – staffed stations would reduce vandalism
We’re told it takes substantial force to smash the screen on a Myki vending machine, but vandals at Hughesdale evidently achieved it, preventing passengers from topping-up their Myki at the station. Hopefully they were captured on CCTV and will be caught, but is enough being done to prevent this type of damage? Hughesdale is an…
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PT Problem of the Day: Hope Street bus scrapped – how about a Community Bus service?
Brunswick’s Hope Street 509 bus service runs for the last time this week. Public Transport Victoria is adamant the route’s low patronage does not warrant the cost, and that it is too close to other services. The route is only 2km long, and does not connect to train services. It’s clear that some residents, particularly…
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PTUA President to step down
Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) President Daniel Bowen has announced that he will step down next month. Mr Bowen said that after nine years as President, he’d decided to take a break, and will not seek re-election at the PTUA’s Annual General Meeting on October 11th. “It’s been a pleasure and a privilege to lead…
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PT Problem of the Day: New tram stops, new signs, out of date maps
At the brand new tram stops in Swanston Street are these brand new signs. You can tell they’re new because they have the new, up-to-date “PTV” web site address on them. Problem is the maps are out of date. Just like older maps at other CBD tram stops, they still show bus routes that were…
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PT Problem of the Day: Little or no policing of bus zones
It’s common to see vehicles (of all types, not just taxis) stopped in bus zones. There seems to be little or no policing of this — no wonder this bus driver repeatedly beeped in vain waiting for the errant taxi to move, causing a delay to services along Melbourne’s busiest bus corridor, Lonsdale Street. And…
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PT Problem of the Day: Level crossings cause delays to emergency services
It’s not just pedestrians, cyclists, trams, buses and motorists getting delayed by level crossings. It’s also a problem for emergency service vehicles. As one paramedic told The Age last year (about the Clayton Road level crossing, near Monash Medical Centre), “If you go into cardiac arrest, think how much of someone’s brain is going to…
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PT Problem of the Day: Some V/Line train windows so dirty you can barely see out of them
PTUA member Andrew asked V/Line staff why the windows on this Albury train were so dirty, and was told the train could not use the train wash at Southern Cross station. Could it be that V/Line’s train wash can only cope with broad gauge trains, meaning the Albury trains can’t use it? If so, why…
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PT Problem of the Day: Level crossing rules and signage out of sync with reality
As highlighted in The Age on Friday, there is a disconnect between the laws around level crossings and how many of them work. Crossings that allow access to stations with island platforms are required by PTV standards to have gates that operate independently, opening and closing according to which track(s) have approaching trains. But the…