Category: Campaigns
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PT Problem of the Day: Evening tram overcrowding
Melbourne’s getting busier at night, but most evening trams haven’t increased in frequency for decades. It’s now commonplace to wait 20-30 minutes and have to stand on a packed tram — while dozens of spares sit in depots. This picture shows route 19 at 9:30 at night. Despite regular crowding, budget papers released yesterday show…
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PT Problem of the Day: Train delays rife
Late trains lead to overcrowding, missed connections, and of course a longer than necessary trip. A single train delayed can directly affect a thousand people in peak hour, and often causes knock-on delays that affect thousands more. There are many causes, including poor maintenance leading to track, signal and train faults, and single-track bottlenecks. This…
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PT Problem of the Day: Smartbus signs still don’t work after six months
More than six months after the introduction of four Smartbus routes running along Lonsdale Street to the Doncaster area, the automated signs to show departure signs along Lonsdale Street and Hoddle Street still don’t work. Help our campaign for better public transport. Join the PTUA now. We rely entirely on member funding and enthusiastic volunteers…
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PT Problem of the Day: Trains packed on weekends
As Melbourne gets busier, overcrowding is increasingly occurring at non-peak times. This train to Pakenham was leaving Flinders Street on a recent Sunday afternoon. It wasn’t full of football fans or racegoers, but people heading home from visiting the CBD. Why should people wait 20-40 minutes for a train, then have to stand for long…
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PT Problem of the Day: City station gates left open and unattended
For all the fuss about fighting fare evasion, some major stations regularly have their gates left open and unattended, allowing those without tickets to travel unchecked. This photo was taken two days before the current fare blitz began. The only way to permanently cut fare evasion is by putting more staff on the system so…
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PT Problem of the Day: Tram overcrowding becoming commonplace
It’s not just trains that get packed. This is tram route 8 in the evening peak. Increasing numbers of tram services are suffering from overcrowding, with many cases of passengers being left behind, unable to board. While the former government finally got around to ordering 50 new trams, the first of these won’t arrive until…
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PT Problem of the Day: South Yarra station packed
Weekday peak-hour at South Yarra station. Queues of people heading in and out have to wait to get through just a handful of fare gates. Despite strong patronage growth in the last ten years, nothing has been done to expand the entrance, in fact a bypass gate takes the space that could be used by…
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PT Problem of the Day: Monash Uni buses
Welcome to our new daily series of pictures. Each day we’ll be aiming to highlight problems from around the public transport network. It’s been like this for decades: Every day, Monash Uni students endure long queues and packed buses between Huntingdale Station and Clayton campus. The solution in the short term is more buses, and…
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Eastern train service off track
Services on the Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein and Glen Waverley lines are still operating below acceptable standards outside peak hours according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), which has called for all political candidates to commit to upgrading services. “Trains should operate every 10 minutes from 6am to midnight seven days-a-week, bringing train services up…
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Bus users call for 10 minute service — Stud Road
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for an upgrade of buses to every ten minutes on Stud Road, to make better use of new bus lanes. The upgrade from the existing 15 minute service would add two extra buses an hour. “Although we applaud the installation of new bus lanes, they would be…
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Poor connections leave passengers waiting
A study by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has highlighted the poor co-ordination between train and bus timetables on many routes around Melbourne. It found that just 37.5% of train arrivals have bus connections at stations — 39.8% on weekdays, 32.3% on Saturdays, and just 25.3% on Sundays. Of those connections, 42.5% require passengers…
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Melbourne Metro by name, but not by nature
A study into the developed world’s biggest cities has concluded that all but a handful have metro systems — but that handful without metros includes Melbourne and Sydney. The study by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) showed that of biggest 30 cities in the developed world by population, all but seven have metros: the…