Category: Media releases
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Transport: Business as usual strategy needs rebalancing with community input
Infrastructure Victoria has restated a “business as usual” approach to transport in its draft 30 year strategy, and should take the opportunity to reflect more views from outside a cloistered Collins Street bureaucracy, the Public Transport Users Association said today. “Infrastructure Victoria has the potential to be a great independent advisor to the State of…
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Are we actually paying more for transport?
Figures produced for the Australian Automobile Association give the impression that transport costs to households are rising. But overall they’re actually falling. Official statistics show that household expenditure on transport fell from 13% of household income in the 1990s to 11% in 2009-10: (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Household Expenditure Survey 2009-10 Summary of Results)…
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Citizen juries back public transport
Support Juries with More Time and Resources, urges PTUA The Public Transport Users Association has welcomed the release of reports by Infrastructure Victoria’s first metropolitan and regional citizen juries. After six days of deliberations, the juries have strongly endorsed public transport service expansion, and active transport initiatives, as a priority over new roads. But the…
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Services packed while seven trains sit idle – where is the new timetable?
With trains sitting idle, and services getting more crowded, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called on the state government to run extra train services on Melbourne’s crowded rail network. “Regional Rail Link opened more than a year ago. This opened up space on the Metro network for dozens of additional peak hour trains…
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PTUA forms Ballarat Branch
For the last 40 years, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has been fighting for better public transport in Melbourne. The Geelong branch of the PTUA has existed for over a decade, and has campaigned for the whole of regional Victoria. The PTUA is pleased to announce the formation of a Ballarat branch, which will…
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Penalty fares gone and so is the war on Victorian PT users
The Public Transport Users Association has welcomed the “end of the war on passengers” with the scrapping of $75 penalty fares and introduction of a warning system in certain circumstances where people are without a valid Myki card. The PTUA’s recent survey of 500 users showed that many people have been caught up inadvertently in…
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Will Malcolm Turnbull fund Victorian PT and not just snap selfies this election?
The Public Transport Not Traffic campaign and the Public Transport Users Association have created a unique way for public transport users to get a message to Malcolm Turnbull this election. We will be travelling the transport network visiting train stations, tram stops and maybe even some buses to give regular users the chance to snap…
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New thinking still needed, but Infrastructure Victoria options paper welcome, says PTUA
The Public Transport Users Association has welcomed the options paper “All Things Considered” by Infrastructure Victoria, calling it an important opportunity to ‘reset’ the debate over transport infrastructure in Victoria. At the same time, the PTUA has cautioned the new agency not to fall captive to ‘groupthink’ stemming from a half century of encouraging dependence…
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State budget brings good news for train users
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed much needed investment and priority for rail projects for both for Metro and regional passengers. PTUA spokesman Daniel Bowen said it was pleasing to see public transport investment finally on par with roads. “We welcome the state’s commitment to fully find the Metro Tunnel project, but encourage…
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PTUA calls for better stations with skyrail
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for all stations rebuilt as part of the Caulfield to Dandenong “skyrail” proposal to be upgraded to Premium status, and for better facilities and more weather protection than proposed by the government. The PTUA’s submission to the Level Crossing Removal Authority called for escalators at all stations…
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Turnbull prolongs Abbott roads-only agenda
PTUA slams neglect of public transport in $1.5 billion funds reallocation The reallocation of $1.5 billion of Federal transport funding to Victorian projects is just a continuation of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s ‘roads only’ agenda, the Public Transport Users Association said today. “Virtually all of this money is going to roads, and the majority…
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PTUA Calls for Fairer Fines
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has presented the results of a recent passenger survey on public transport fines. The survey results form the basis of the PTUA’s submission to the State Government review in Public Transport Enforcement Fares, which is currently underway. PTUA President Dr Tony Morton said “we were overwhelmed with the response…
