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Author: PTUA

  • Minister Mulder addresses PTUA members

    Last Thursday night Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder attended a meeting of PTUA members. Mr Mulder’s address was followed by a lengthy question and answer session, covering issues such as Myki, bikes on trains, station facilities, Altona Loop timetables and the government’s planned Public Transport Development Authority. The Minister also discussed the new Melbourne…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Long exit queues at city stations

    Long queues to exit city stations are becoming more common in peak hours. This picture was taken at Flagstaff, and is a little more orderly than South Yarra. At both these locations and others, fare gates present a bottleneck, and it’s obvious more needs to be done to help passengers exit the stations quickly. Help…

  • Melbourne to get Google Transit eventually, but data to remain secret?

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has learnt that moves are underway to include Melbourne’s public transport timetables in Google Transit, but it seems there are no plans to release timetable data publicly. PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that Google Transit had timetable data for over four hundred cities around the world[1], including all services…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Some trains consistently run early

    Since the May timetable changes, some trains have been given too much slack in the timetable, and regularly either depart early or wait for up to two minutes at stations. It could be argued that some extra time was needed to make the timetables more reliable, but if the same train is consistently waiting for…

  • PT Problem of the Day: All-over advertising reduces visibility on trams and buses

    While it may make sense for public transport operators to use advertising to earn more money (which, hopefully, funds extra services), buses and trams often have this type of all-over advertising, which limits visibility. Even with some sections left unblocked, passengers find that, particularly at night, it becomes difficult to see where they are and…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Platform information unreliable

    Realtime information is important, particularly at busy stations such as those in the CBD. It’s also very important at major interchanges, where people need to know which platform to change to, and whether they’re getting on the right service. Last week may have brought good news with Metro improving punctuality, but there were also repeated…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Speed restrictions slow trams to as little as 15 km/h

    It’s not just a lack of traffic priority that slows down trams. Poor track conditions like here on St Kilda Road result in speed restrictions. While cars are able to whizz by at 60 km/h, trams are meant to slow to a mere 15 km/h. This affects some 7 tram routes, and thousands of passengers…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Fountain Gate – PT nightmare

    It should hardly be a surprise that anybody with a choice gets to Fountain Gate Shopping Centre by car. The centre has some of the most infrequent buses in Melbourne, and to cap it off, some passengers have to wait for buses in delightful spots such as this — with no seating and no rain…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Erroneous information during the 2-week RRL shutdown

    Passengers on the Sydenham, Ballarat and Bendigo lines can breathe a sigh of relief: the two-week shutdown is over, and their trains are back. All things considered it seems to have gone fairly smoothly, with plenty of staff on the ground, plenty of buses, and strong efforts made to get them through the traffic without…

  • Myki must work for users; must provide single-use option

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed an end to the uncertainty over Myki, but criticised the dumping of single-use tickets for new and occasional public transport users. “Finally, there is an answer – Myki will be staying”, said PTUA President Daniel Bowen. “But the apparent move to run the system only with reusable…

  • PT Problem of the Day: CBD maps not kept up to date

    Lonsdale Street’s Smartbus services have been running for nine months now, and it’s not just the automated signs that aren’t complete. Many tram stops around the CBD have these handy multimodal maps… but they haven’t been updated with the new bus routes. So don’t go to Lonsdale Street hoping to catch a 301, 304, 307,…

  • Cars, public transport must have equal treatment under carbon price

    The Public Transport Users Association has called on the Gillard Labor Government to ensure public transport users are not penalised relative to motorists under a future carbon price. Prime Minister Julia Gillard stated on Sunday that motorists’ fuel purchases would be excluded from a carbon price in perpetuity. However, the government has not made any…