Category: Melbourne and suburbs

  • End of the line for Rowville rail excuses

    Commuters have called on the Brumby Government to stop making excuses for the lack of progress on Rowville railway line and to simply fund it. The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) says commuters are sick and tired of hearing the same old Government rhetoric when action is what is needed.

  • Bus lanes to curb congestion on Springvale Road

    Commuters save 15 minutes The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has renewed calls for bus lanes to be installed on Springvale Road in each direction, to coincide with the opening of Eastlink. With petrol prices widely expected to reach two dollars a litre by 2009, public transport improvements are essential.

  • Private companies benefit from patronage gains

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for a restructure of the tram and train contracts, as the government prepares for the next phase of privatisation. PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that moving to a “fee-for-service” model (also known as “gross cost”) would ensure that growing patronage benefited commuters, rather than the private companies’…

  • Evening trains overcrowded – Urgent upgrade required

    In response to overcrowding, public transport users are calling for an urgent upgrade to evening off-peak train services in Melbourne. According to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA), evening services should be upgraded to operate at the same interval as daytime (between peak) services. This move would apply to all lines, with evening trains operating…

  • Commuters Reignite TrackDown Call

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed the Commonwealth and State Governments’ pledge to grade separate the Springvale Road level crossing in Nunawading. However, it says that Springvale Road should not be done in isolation and that other crossings on the line need to be eliminated simultaneously. “Springvale Road and Mitcham Road are two…

  • Langdon’s freeway not welcome

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has slammed Ivanhoe Labor MP Craig Langdon’s call for a freeway between Bulleen and Greensborough. This recent move by Langdon comes despite multiple promises that he would resign if this freeway were ever constructed.

  • Speeding towards dangerous climate change

    Slides now available for download Public forum: 15 June 2008 Hear what the world’s leading climate scientists are discovering about the speed of climate change, the potential impacts on our way of life, and what we need to do to safeguard our future.

  • Re-design to help bring more trains

    Because it will help enable more frequent services, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has cautiously approved of proposals to re-design suburban train interiors. “The current design of carriages is grossly inefficient”, said PTUA president Daniel Bowen. “The ‘wall’ of seats in the Comeng and X’Trapolis trains results in almost all standees milling around the…

  • Alamein upgrade call

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for an end to the archaic practice of terminating Alamein shuttle trains at Camberwell. “This practice is way out of date and ought to be replaced by running direct Flinders Street trains,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s Outer-East Convenor.

  • High petrol price signals Rowville Rail need

    With petrol prices expected to hit $1.60 in the next fortnight, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has warned the State Government that urgent action is required. According to the association, the Rowville railway line is the only sure-fire way to ensure economic stability in the Monash region, as petrol prices continue to rise.

  • Tram-like buses to solve transport woes

    In response to bus reviews in Manningham/Monash/Whitehorse, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling for principal ‘tram-like’ bus routes to be established on all main roads in the three municipalities. “The current bus network with all its spaghetti-tangled routes, just doesn’t meet our travel needs in the 21st century,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s…

  • Changes to metropolitan train timetables

    From November, Werribee trains will not run via the loop in peak hours, and Epping/Hurstbridge line trains will run permanently clockwise through the loop. These changes will allow more trains to run. And daytime trains on almost all lines will run as 6 carriages from late-April. (See links to details, below.) Why is the PTUA…