Would it have killed them to design this playground with some drainage?
For some time I’ve had my doubts about the competence of the City of Maribyrnong engineering department, specifically the people who design and manage drainage.
This is because in the eight years I’ve known Marita, the section of street in front of her house has always flooded at the merest hint of rain.
These doubts have not been quelled by the sight of this brand new playground near the Farnsworth Avenue, on Sunday morning. Granted the playground is not quite complete, but surely adequate drainage is not something that is added at the last minute?
Look! It’s Nessie!
At least there’s a life buoy. It might well be needed.
The Ombudsman’s report on Myki (and other IT projects)
Last Wednesday the Ombudsman/Auditor General report into government ICT (Information & Communications Technology) projects was released. Included in the list of projects gone bad that it investigated was our old favourite Myki, with some interesting findings on the timings and costings:
The TTA business case dated 27 April 2004 had forecast total expenditure of $741.9 million over the life of the project (2004-17). Following the award of the contract in 2005, the budget was revised to $999 million … In April 2008, the budget was increased to $1.35 billion…
In other words, an 82% cost increase between 2004 and 2008, though “only” a 35% increase from the point in 2005 when the contract was signed to 2008. (The 2008 costings still apply today.)
More interesting is what the conclusion is on where to go from here:
In my [The Ombudsman's] view, the TTA focus in the short-term must be to ensure the operational efficacy of myki as soon as possible and replace Metcard. I can see no reason why the TTA cannot immediately commence planned transition from Metcard to myki on a station by station, line by line basis. This will minimise the significant costs associated with running parallel systems.
I think this makes a lot of sense — provided they can come up with a solution to the short term ticket problem, preferably, of course, continued availability using cheap thermal tickets, as seen in Brisbane. They should also do another “free” card offer (perhaps just make the card free with a balance deposit).
It’s not just the costs of running Metcard and Myki, it’s also the problems caused by the two systems coexisting — primarily slow and unreliable/unresponsive “Frankenbarriers” at major stations, and bus/tram location detection problems because drivers have no access to Myki consoles to log what route they’re running, and the GPS apparently can’t work it out on its own.
Other than these issues, Myki pretty much works, and it’s time for the government to bite the bullet and get on with it.
I saw the TTA’s old transition plan as being the logical way to go.
For instance, with trains, one day you’d arrive at your station to find the Metcard vending and booking office machines gone, Myki machines in their place, with only Metcard validators remaining (for existing tickets). Station and TTA staff (Myki Mates) would be there for a few days to explain to you how to buy a card, charge it up and work it, answer questions, solve any problems.
Have a few teams converting a few stations each day, and you’d soon have the biggest part of the network/regular passengers switched (eg “station by station, line by line”, as the Ombudsman says.)
Then do the same on trams and buses.
Residual Metcards (weeklies, monthlies, yearlies, 10×2) would disappear over time and at some point they would offer fee-free refunds on them (as has occurred when other types of tickets were withdrawn). Once they’re all gone, remove the Metcard validators.
(In fact I suspect Metcard Yearlies have almost disappeared, given it was about a year ago when they switched to selling Yearlies only on Myki.)
Sure, there’ll be glitches along the way, but if the government gets on with it, it’ll all be over and done with and working, well before the 2013 state election, and won’t be something that’ll haunt them going into the next poll.
Four days of Movember to go (and a bit of Monty Python)
Four days to go, and here’s this morning’s picture (in the rain).
The whole moustache business reminds me of this Monty Python sketch… skip to 30 seconds in for the relevant line.
At this point I’m looking forward to the end of Movember. From a maintenance point of view, it’s easier to just be clean-shaven, and I thought I’d got used to the itching, but it still bugs me from time to time.
Donations have slowed down, so if you’ve been holding off, jump in now! Any amount, big or small, appreciated!
Tags: Monty Python, Movember
1 comment
Coke ads on the sides of trains
It was bound to happen once they started putting advertising on the sides of trains: Coke ads.
Given trains are seen not just by passengers but also by motorists and pedestrians at level crossings, it could be quite lucrative for Metro. One can only hope the money goes into better services.
My guess is we won’t see these on Comeng trains, due to the fluted sides. Too hard to stick ads onto.
But they are putting ads inside the Comeng trains:
And another recent addition is this trial video screen at Melbourne Central Station:
As with (apparently) the ones at stations in Sydney and elsewhere, it goes blank when a train approaches, so as not to be a distraction.
Maybe all this advertising is paying for the shiny new flat-screens popping on the concourse and platforms at the underground stations.
Hidden gems
There’s vandalism, and then there’s street art.
Some have trouble distinguishing them, but for me, it’s not hard to see that these hidden gems in Finlay Lane (off Little Lonsdale Street, near Queen Street) are clearly the latter.
Well worth a look, if you’re passing (and you can find it!)
Tags: art, Melbourne CBD, street art
6 comments
How much does a train cost?
Sometimes when the media or politicians want to highlight what they see as massive government waste (particularly in the transport arena, but also in other areas), they compare it to how many extra trains could have been bought instead.
While it may seem a little myopic, I think overall it’s a good thing. It’s a sign that public transport is at the forefront of what’s seen as important for the state government to invest in (even if, as we know, there’s a lot to PT beyond trains).
For some time I’ve struggled to find a good reliable solid figure on just how much a train costs, because often the figures for new trains have associated infrastructure such as power upgrades (you need more juice to run more trains) and stabling (you’ve got to store them somewhere) included.
Thanks to the Auditor-General’s report into the state’s finances (page 38) we now have a figure: it’s about $15 million per six-carriage train. (Happily, that’s what I’ve been guessing when asked.)
The same document also has a price on the new trams: $272 million for 50, or about $5 million per tram. … Given these trams will have the capacity of about a quarter of a train, at first glance it appears that the cost is higher per passenger than a train, though the contract in this case includes design, whereas the trains are an existing more-or-less off-the-shelf design.
Of course, this type of thinking entirely about fleet size ignores that a lot more could be done with the fleet we already have, particularly getting more services running more often outside peak hours, when waiting times are generally long, and crowding is sometimes almost as bad as peak hour. (And of course funding is needed to use any extras you add to the fleet.)
Oh, and… how much does a bus cost?
(The pic — yes, I went back to Flinders & Market Sts and got a better shot.)
PS. See, I said sometimes they’d compare government waste to trains: here’s the Ombudsman’s report into ICT projects (including Myki):
“The overall figures quoted above are significant. They represent many foregone hospital beds, trains, teachers, police and child protection workers.”
Tags: buses, politics, public transport, State budget, trains, trams
4 comments
Can you name the man on the couch?
…and if so, how many seconds did it take you?
Update 8pm: Yes, many guessed, some didn’t.
I came across it when I was at home on Monday. Unfortunately I didn’t stay tuned… apart from George Cole (better known as Arthur Daley), Sid James and Joan Sims, there was another familiar face somewhere in there, a one-time associate of the above gentleman.
- IMDB: Will Any Gentleman…? (1953)
Tags: films
16 comments
The mo thing is catching on
Tags: Movember
2 comments
