Category: Melbourne and suburbs
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Side Letter sign of road lobby’s anti-democratic desperation
The unprecedented letter of guarantee on the East West Link is part of an ugly, anti-democratic “end game” by the road lobby in the face of public rejection, the Public Transport Users Association said today. Former Treasurer Michael O’Brien signed the deed on 29 September last year, eight weeks before losing the November state election,…
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East-West travel less than 6% of journeys to work – PTUA study
Fewer than 1 in 17 Melburnians travels between the eastern and western suburbs to go to work. But 45% work close to home and another 20% in the inner city, according to PTUA analysis of journey to work data from the 2011 Census. It has been known since at least the 1990s, largely based on…
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Rise above doubters on Doncaster rail, says PTUA
Study author re-think on Rowville suggests way ahead on Doncaster The Public Transport Users Association has backed a renewed push on rail service to Doncaster Hill, and called for signalling upgrade works on the Dandenong rail corridor to be expanded to include the South Morang and Hurstbridge lines. “We’ve all heard the arguments about there…
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Victorians sold out by reckless road contract
Taxpayers on the hook for decades unless contracts annulled, says PTUA The ‘reckless haste’ to sign East West Link contracts before November’s State election has been slammed by the Public Transport Users Association, who warned the decision could torpedo the state’s transport policy for decades. “Premier Napthine is attempting to tie the Victorian public’s shoelaces…
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Open letter to Premier Napthine reminds Coalition of their promise to fix public transport not build East-West toll road
The Public Transport Users Association today published an open letter to Premier Napthine in the Herald Sun reminding the Government of their promise to fix public transport rather than build the East-West toll road. “With our public transport network falling apart, Victorians are shocked that the Government is prioritising this half-baked toll road project without…
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Neat, plausible and wrong: East West Link
PTUA President Tony Morton’s in-depth article on the history and folly of East West Link, originally published in Eco-Logica: World Transport Policy and Practice, is now available online on the YCAT web site. The state of Victoria, Australia, has long been a site of tension between an incumbent and powerful road lobby and a community…
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East West Link: submission
Click below to read the PTUA’s submission to the East West Link hearings in April. The submission identifies a number of important issues not flagged in the Comprehensive Impact Statement, including problems with traffic modelling, local impacts on trains, trams and buses. East West Toll Road: Impacts Missing From the Comprehensive Impact Statement (PDF, 539…
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Zone 2 residents likely worse off, not better off from fare changes: PTUA
The Public Transport Users Association has slammed the Napthine Government’s announcement of a flat fare cap for Melbourne as a “lost opportunity” to reform fares in a sustainable direction, and as a longer-term hit on people in the suburbs that the scheme is supposed to help. “If Premier Napthine really wanted to make public transport…
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Big win for south east, no win for west and north, masks ‘split personality’ on transport policy
The Napthine Government’s announcement of $2 billion of rail infrastructure upgrades and new trains for the Dandenong, Pakenham and Cranbourne corridors has won the strong backing of the Public Transport Users Association, who have labelled it “a template for fixing the rail network across Melbourne”. But it is a shame the improvements are entirely confined…
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Planned overcrowding – Reduced summer timetable results in passenger crush
In the wake of severe overcrowding on some train services, the PTUA has criticised the continued reduced timetable, which has cut services on some lines by as much as 50% until late January.[1] The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) released photos and video [see below] showing crammed conditions on a Frankston line train on Wednesday…
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PTUA presents inaugural Paul Mees Award to ‘people power’ transport activists
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has presented the inaugural Paul Mees Award for transport advocacy to Darren Peters and Trevor Carroll of the South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance. PTUA Tony Morton presented the award to Mr Peters and Mr Carroll at the PTUA’s 2013 Annual General Meeting. “Darren and Trevor are worthy recipients…
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Premier not listening
CityLink was supposed to have solved congestion a decade ago. Before that, the extension of the Eastern Freeway to Donvale was supposed to reduce congestion in the eastern suburbs. We’ve had long enough to pronounce a verdict on the evidence. That new roads increase congestion, rather than relieving it, is contrary to naive intuition but…