Category: News
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Call to probe policy and governance failures
The Public Transport Users Association has joined with other transport policy and urban planning groups to issue an open letter to incoming Premier Ben Carroll and Opposition Leader Jess Wilson. Our letter is motivated by concern that the terms of reference for the upcoming Royal Commission on the Big Build may focus too narrowly on…
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Zip line plan for Fishermans Bend
With the State Government failing to commit to major public transport upgrades into the growing Fishermans Bend precinct, such as the Metro 2 tunnel or even tram extensions, a plan has emerged to run zip lines into the area. Stage one would see a zip line from a major CBD building to Fishermans Bend. Candidates…
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Dandenong bus service needs recognised in award ceremony
The need for better seven-day buses in Greater Dandenong was recognised at the Public Transport Users Association Annual General Meeting, held in Melbourne on Thursday November 14. The association’s annual Paul Mees Award for public transport advocacy went to Peter Parker and the FixDandyBuses campaign. This campaign succeeded in gaining government funding for an upgraded…
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Call for heritage listing for Melbourne’s public transport timetables
PTUA calls for heritage listing for Melbourne’s public transport timetables
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V/Line: coming fare cuts set to worsen crowding
Service upgrades, including full length trains, are needed to cope with crowding.
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Limos to fix station car park pain
The PTUA has welcomed a new government plan to provide access to public transport by hiring limousines to collect passengers from home to get them to their local station. With some car parks costing more than $100,000 per space, taking train users to the station by limousine has been found to be cost-competitive with the…
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New logos on the way, as PTV and Vicroads merge
The PTUA has uncovered Department of Transport (DOT) plans to further integrate public transport and road operations, following the integration of Vicroads and Public Transport Victoria into the one broader organisation in 2019 [1]. The next stages of this integration are about to take effect, starting with the merger of the PTV and Vicroads brands…
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Fares discussion welcome, but better service is still the main game
The Public Transport Users Association has welcomed the conversation on public transport fare reform sparked by the release of a new Infrastructure Victoria report “Fair Move: Better Public Transport Fares for Melbourne“. But PTUA President Dr Tony Morton said many of the proposed measures, like off-peak discounting, would only work properly in the context of…
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COVID-19 smashes the life from cities, which is why we must smash COVID-19
by Tony Morton As COVID-19’s second waves wash over our technologically advanced civilisation, so follows the commentary on what this pandemic means for cities and for daily life in the future. Public transport sits at the heart of the discourse, and for good reason. In normal times, public transport sustains the life of the world’s…
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Australia must ‘move on’ from freeway fantasy, not High Speed Rail
In response to the Grattan Institute’s calls for Australia to ‘move on’ from High Speed Rail, the Public Transport Users Association notes the limitations of their analysis, and calls for urban megaroads projects to receive the same level of scrutiny. Evidence has shown again and again that urban motorways induce more traffic, rather than “busting”…
