Author: PTUA

This was spotted at Melbourne Central Station recently. Yesterday the government announced they will keep the Myki system, and promised to “make it work”. And while PTUA members report the system has worked much better this year than it did last year, clearly, the government has some work to do to get it right. Help…

Myki’s stalled rollout has resulted in confusion on V/Line. Both the V/Line and Myki web sites say that Myki is only valid on V/Line trains within Melbourne zones 1 and 2. “V/Line (myki is currently available for Zone 2 stations only)” — Myki web site “myki cannot currently be used on: V/Line train and coach…

Overcrowding on St Kilda Road trams has long been a problem, and doesn’t seem to be improving. Crowds like this now often spill out of the southbound superstop during the morning peak. More and longer trams would help, but so would better tram priority along the route, to speed up trams and cut delays, and…

Fences like these are probably done in the name of safety — protecting tram passengers from car drivers who should know to stop for trams, but sometimes don’t. The effect however can be delays to trams, as at busy stops the boarding and alighting passengers get funneled through the gaps in the fences. Surely there…

One of the features of Smartbus routes is the connections to other trams, buses and trains — which are essential to provide a public transport network capable of anywhere-to-anywhere travel. At some stops, the automated signs are meant to show the times of those connecting services… but don’t. These two are at Bentleigh and Bundoora…

The Elizabeth Street and Southbank entrances to Flinders Street Station close at 10pm, even on busy Friday and Saturday nights. Some passengers are unaware until they find the closed gate — and some decide rather than walk around, to climb over it. Passengers attempting to enter from Southbank and Elizabeth Street have to walk up…

Before May, Altona to Parliament off-peak on weekdays was a 30 minute trip with no changes. Now it’s two changes (Newport, 7 minutes, and North Melbourne, as much as 9 minutes if following the Metlink Journey Planner), for a total trip time of some 46 minutes. Connection times at Newport are worse than those formerly…

Is it unreasonable to expect that that train network maps at Melbourne’s major CBD stations should be kept up to date? This one, snapped last week, isn’t. Missing is Coolaroo station, on the Craigieburn line between Broadmeadows and Roxburgh Park. It opened just over a year ago, on 6th June 2010. Other stations have up-to-date…

It’s not just traffic that gets delayed by level crossings. Pedestrians, including train passengers, sometimes have to wait long periods for trains to pass. Often for those trying to enter stations, it can mean the difference between making the train and missing it… never a problem at stations where the level crossing has been grade-separated.…