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Category: Melbourne and suburbs

  • Brumby to blame for poor Federal transport priorities

    Public transport infrastructure announced for Melbourne in this year’s “nation building” Federal Budget may not deliver any real benefit to passengers – and the Brumby State Government is entirely to blame, says the PTUA. “All indications are that when it comes to Victorian public transport, Wayne Swan will be ploughing all the available money into…

  • PTUA Advances Liveable Transport Plan Alternative

    Melbourne’s train services would double, buses would run every 10 minutes on every arterial road, and more country rail lines would be restored. And this would only cost 40% of the government’s $38 billion transport plan, according to a new report released today by the PTUA. The Connecting to the Future report is billed as…

  • Swanston Street should have less cars

    The Public Transport Users Association has made a submission into the City of Melbourne’s public consultation on the possible redevelopment of Swanston Street. Of the options proposed for development, there is only one that is fully consistent with the prevailing uses of the street and with Council’s liveability objectives, and that is Option 6: Decreased…

  • Connex’s demonstration train layout

    Here are some pictures of Connex’s demonstration train, which is a test of modifications to the layout. We asked Connex’s Lanie Harris to talk us through the changes. The PTUA’s view is that the current design of most carriages on the Melbourne train network is inefficient. Standing passengers naturally gravitate around the doorways where it’s…

  • PTUA calls for station “gateway” flags

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for the Australian flags on the Westgate bridge to be moved to Footscray station, in recognition that the station carries more people through it than the bridge at peak hour. (Artist’s impression) The Westgate Bridge was fitted with two flags in 2008, costing $350,000 (plus $17,000 per…

  • Opposition to Sunbury electrification an indictment of Connex

    Community fears betray poor standard of metro train service, says PTUA Calls by sections of the Sunbury community to retain the existing V/Line service in preference to more frequent suburban train services are “an indictment of Connex’s poor standard of service”, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) said today, while restating its support for the…

  • Service ‘useless’ without stops

    Following intense lobbying from community groups such as the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) and Templestowe Road Reference Panel, recent State Government bus service reviews have finally provided two-directional public transport services along Templestowe Road. However, without any bus stops on the northern side of the road, the new service is useless if it cannot…

  • Passengers give thumbs-down to failed Myki

    The Public Transport Users Association has flagged the first week of operation of Myki on Geelong’s buses as a failure, following feedback from Geelong commuters. PTUA President Daniel Bowen said the association’s Geelong Branch had closely watched the introduction of the multi-million dollar Myki ticket system, and passengers had given it a big thumbs down.…

  • Passengers welcome Parliamentary Rail Inquiry

    The Public Transport Users Association has thrown its weight behind the announcement by the Greens MP, Greg Barber, that he will seek a parliamentary inquiry to investigate failures on Victoria’s rail system. PTUA President Daniel Bowen said the extraordinary number of train cancellations over January – well over a thousand – were “simply unacceptable” for…

  • Public transport meltdown

    Why does Melbourne’s public transport lurch from one crisis to another? This week’s spate of train and tram cancellations in relentless 40 degree heat made the national news. But it’s hardly the first such crisis to embarrass those in charge. Continue reading this article from PTUA Secretary Tony Morton on the ABC Unleashed web site.

  • Government must act on trains

    With large numbers of cancellations causing chaos on the rail network, we’re now tracking the number of daily cancellations on our web site. Watch for the last weekday’s cancellations in the top right of page, and daily totals will be listed here. Trains in peak hour can easily carry over a thousand people. This means…

  • Melbourne fares still the highest

    The PTUA has updated our comprehensive comparison of public transport fares from cities across Australia. Melbourne once again came out with the highest prices for most trips. The exceptions were short trips (where Adelaide is more expensive) and some long ones (thanks to the removal of Zone 3 in 2007). The comparison was done by…