Category: Campaigns
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PT Problem of the Day: Whose bright idea was it to shut the Sydenham line on Grand Prix weekend?
Next weekend, the Grand Prix weekend is one of the train network’s busiest. No wonder, as big public events are what public transport does best, and organisers quite rightly encourage people not to drive. Apart from efficiently moving crowds, it’s also a chance to show off the system to occasional users who (if they have…
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Metro’s trains every ten minutes welcomed – more please!
Trains every ten minutes on weekends on the Dandenong, Ringwood and Frankston lines have been welcomed by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). PTUA President Daniel Bowen said the proposed services, due to start in late-April[1], would be a good step towards more frequent train services, seven days-a-week, that would encourage people out of cars.
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PT Problem of the Day: #MetroTrains unique in Australia: no internal carriage numbers
What have the train carriages in Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney, as well as Melbourne’s trams all got, that Melbourne’s trains don’t? Internal carriage numbers. On suburban trains in every other state in Australia, the carriage numbers are marked on the inside, which makes it easier for passengers to report issues such as vandalism, faults…
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PT Problem of the Day: #Myki gate problems last week – due to a buggy software release?
If you noticed problems with station gates last week, you weren’t alone. Many (both the older Metcard gates retro-fitted with Myki readers, and the newer Myki-only gates) didn’t respond, and at one stage at Parliament station, all gates were thrown open to prevent huge delays to peak hour crowds. We received unverified information that the…
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PT Problem of the Day: Regional station #Myki readers not in use years after installation, heavily vandalised
Continual delays to Myki have led to many regional stations having equipment for the new ticket system which is still not in use, some years after it was installed. This reader at the unstaffed Trafalgar station is looking very much the worse for wear. Who knows how much taxpayer’s money has been wasted following vandalism…
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PT Problem of the Day: Poor weekend services don’t help traffic congestion
Punt Road on the weekend — it’s not surprising there are so many cars on the road. The Punt Road 246 bus runs every 20 minutes on Sundays, which is better than most other buses, but not great if you’re making a connection from other services. More significantly, many of the suburbs these cars are…
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PT Problem of the Day: Safety zones – relic of a bygone age; cramped, not accessible, no shelter
They’re called “safety” zones, but for passengers packed into a narrow strip of bitumen between the traffic and the trams, they can seem anything but. While some such tram stops have been replaced by platform stops, which provide seating, shelter and accessibility for wheelchair users, many safety zones remain, including at busy CBD stops such…
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PT Problem of the Day: Docklands bus stops
Much has been spent on providing many tram platform stops around Docklands, with shelters, realtime displays, and level access — nothing less than tram users deserve. But the 220 bus, which provides a frequent seven-day-a-week link from Docklands to Footscray, has been neglected. All bus users get is a bus stop sign. No shelter, no…
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PT Problem of the Day: Inadequate shelter at the renovated North Melbourne station
One of the basic requirements for a shelter is that it should provide shelter. This clearly isn’t the case at North Melbourne following the $35 million upgrade completed in 2010. Many have noted the escalators are somewhat open to the weather, but this picture shows that even the platform shelters are inadequate; for some reason…
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PT Problem of the Day: #MetroTrains Twitter feed no longer timely or accurate
As noted in The Age recently, Metro has changed its Twitter feed, with minor (less than fifteen minutes) disruptions no longer posted, and instead more interaction with other Twitter users. But it appears this has also led to problems with major disruption information. Yesterday was a prime example: there was a suspension of services on…
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PT Problem of the Day: Is Metro’s “bringing stations to life” programme a flop?
“Bringing Stations to Life will turn train stations into hubs of community activity.” — Metro The theory of Metro’s “Bringing Stations To Life” programme makes sense: encourage development around stations, to help provide passengers with services nearby, boost safety through “passive surveillance” (a place busy with people is safer than one that’s empty) and grow…
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PT Problem of the Day: Bus zone hours not updated to reflect new bus timetables
We’ve highlighted before the lack of planning coordination in public transport — the myriad of organisations involved, and the problems that ensue when they don’t talk to each other. So what’s the problem this time? The problem is that the bus zone for this bus stop matches the hours the bus used to run. This…