Frequent services and realtime information. Time to throw away the timetable?
Transport minister Terry Mulder:
“We’d like to think we’ll get to a stage down the line whereby you can throw the timetable away, and we run ten minute frequencies. I think that’s what the community are wanting.”
Spot on Terry. I’ve already thrown my timetable away.
(Nah, I haven’t really.)
Frequent services, 7 days-a-week
The start of 10-minute services on weekends on three lines (which those three are at least every 10-15 minutes at most times) is a big step towards being able to travel around Melbourne without a timetable. This is a vital part of making public transport competitive with car travel.
As Jarrett Walker says, “frequency is freedom”. Freedom from waiting, freedom from living your life by a PT timetable, freedom to hop on, hop off and travel spontaneously without a huge time penalty, and freedom to make trips requiring connections, without a long wait if you miss one. This last point in particular is important because it means different lines can work better together as an anywhere-to-anywhere network.
Realtime info
Ultimately if I’m catching a public transport service, I shouldn’t have to care what time it’s scheduled — I just care about how soon it is. So what becomes important is frequency and realtime information — particularly on people’s mobile phones.
We’ve already seen this happen with tram travel in Melbourne. Trams already run every 10-15 minutes every day (well almost), and combined with realtime information (Tram Tracker, and other related technologies), many people have stopped using timetables.
As one PTUA committee member remarked to me: “It’s changed the way I catch trams.”
For trains and buses, realtime information is available at stations (green buttons and Passenger Information Displays) and at some bus stops, but it’s not yet on people’s mobile devices (apart from high-level train disruption information). However recently it was confirmed that real-time information is coming soon for buses and trains on mobile phones.
More high-frequency routes needed
Unfortunately few buses run frequently enough, but there are some, in particular the two university shuttles, Smartbuses (at least on weekdays) and some of the former tramways bus routes.
Expanding frequent services to all train lines, as is evidently planned (almost; some lines may miss out), and introducing more Smartbus routes, along with realtime information for all modes, will help mobility around Melbourne immeasurably.
For decades Melbourne’s 7-day frequent network has been rudimentary. Terry Mulder’s quote above indicates that finally, it seems, there’s some recognition that this needs to change, and the new timetables expand the frequent network markedly.
The more of Melbourne that has access to this frequent network, the more people can and will make use of it to cut their car use.
And that way, everybody wins.
Idiot of the day
About an hour ago at Highett station: the train to Frankston had just left, and a city-bound train was approaching.
This idiot cyclist rode across in front of the city-bound train. The train driver tooted his horn loud and long. The cyclist entered the station, and appeared to want to catch the train — I’d be surprised if the driver didn’t verbally berate the cyclist over the PA.
Mckinnon’s only #Myki reader – queues getting longer
So, let’s check back in at Mckinnon station, where the presence of only a single Myki reader on the main platform results in long queues every evening peak hour, as increasing numbers of Myki users wait to touch-off.
There’s plenty of space to put in additional Myki readers. But it still hasn’t happened yet, despite extras going in at the next and previous stations, Bentleigh and Ormond.
TTA, are you trying deliberately to annoy these people?
Update 24/4/2012: Yesterday work started on the installation of additional readers.
Tags: Mckinnon, Myki
16 comments
Possible 2021 Metro timetables
They really don’t like talking about this stuff, but if you’ve been wondering what your future train service might look like, check this:
This map is based on an appendix tucked-away in the Rowville rail study documents, and shows a proposed operating plan once Regional Rail Link and a handful of other minor (already pledged) changes are made.
Note the fine print however: it’ll only happen if funding is made available.
Overall it looks pretty good. Most stations seem set to get 10 minute services outside peak (and better during peak). Those that miss out are primarily on lines with single track, which just emphasises how important duplication is (though they could be more bold and run frequent trains at least on the duplicated sections).
What the government needs to do is recognise that this type of plan for frequent services across the city, all day every day, would make a huge difference to the mobility of Melburnians.
In fact along with upgrades to connecting buses and trams, it’s the best weapon we have for keeping the city moving in the face of increasing traffic congestion.
And it doesn’t take major multi-billion-dollar (unfunded) infrastructure to do it. It’s all possible with the network and fleet we have now… all it requires is some more drivers and maintenance.
(Level crossings clogging up may become more of a problem at peak times if grade separation doesn’t happen in more places, but the bigger difference to train services would be at off-peak times. Trains every 10 minutes won’t paralyse a suburb with a level crossing.)
- Age article: Glimpse of train service in 2021 emerges (Is it just me, or do many of the comments on the article appear to miss the point?)
- PTUA: Hidden rail plan uncovered: Some lines to miss out on frequent all-day services
Tags: Metro, public transport, trains
10 comments
Flinders Street’s entrance crowding problem
A new Myki-related problem has emerged — during evening peak, crowds heading into Flinders Street Station’s Elizabeth Street entrance back up onto the road. This video shows it (though I’m sure I’ve seen worse crowds on occasions)
It’s not entirely down to Myki — it’s a combination of surging passenger numbers, space limitations at that entrance (due to part of the subway being dedicated to foot traffic to Southbank) and slow responses from Metcard gates to Myki cards.
Apart from getting the switch over to the new faster gates happening, perhaps the answer is to simply widen the footpath at the intersection. Given the number of people and the small amount of westbound traffic (unlike eastbound), it would be justified.
As you can see from this Nearmap pic, Flinders Street is one lane westbound anyway from Swanston Street; it only widens at the intersection itself. East of the intersection, the left lane is used for restricted parking (mostly buses I think) — west of the intersection, one lane is taken by the tram stop. You wouldn’t get a full lane of extra footpath, but you’d certainly gain a bit.
- Video from ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday: Police could be called in to control Myki barriers
How many catch V/Line in peak hour?
Last night on the TV news they seemed to be struggling for an accurate figure of how many were affected by the closure of the Geelong line. One said “hundreds”, another said “up to a thousand”.
Figures on V/Line’s web site, which summarise the number of people on each train so you can plan your trip to avoid the packed ones, indicate that about three thousand catch the Geelong line each peak hour.
The figures appear to show 100% when the services are over-capacity — eg when people end up standing or sitting in aisles on the trip.
Looking at all the lines, the figures (into Melbourne before 9am; out of Melbourne between 4pm and 6:30pm) are:
- Geelong: AM 2917, PM 3292
- Ballarat: AM 2771, PM 3059
- Bendigo: AM 2612, PM 2572
- Seymour: AM 792, PM 831
- Gippsland: AM 746, PM 859
I knew they’d grown strongly since the Regional Fast Rail upgrades were completed mid last decade, and the 2007 price cut, but I’m almost surprised to see the Bendigo and Ballarat lines up within about 10-15% of the Geelong figures. This probably emphasises why V/Line and the Department of Transport have been so keen on the Regional Rail Link project, to get all the busiest lines on their own tracks within the suburban area.
The Bendigo figures are likely to drop when Sunbury and Diggers Rest stations join the electrified Metro network later this year. This will also free up some carriages to run on other lines.
Obviously off-peak passengers are also affected by line closures, and we don’t have figures for them. To a greater extent Melbourne suburban services, V/Line services are very concentrated in the peak (trains every few minutes in some cases), but quieter outside it (mostly hourly). Something they could/should do to help spread the peak load is upgrade off-peak frequencies.
PS: I see some real figures have made it into an Age Online story this morning.
Tags: Ballarat, Bendigo, bustitution, Geelong, Gippsland, public transport, Seymour, trains, V/Line
6 comments
Metro mosaic
The mural at Patterson station that I noted some time ago has now been completed and officially opened.
It includes a rather neat mosaic version of the Metro logo:
(zoom)
More faces contributed by (mostly) local community groups and schools have been added. Note Bender from Futurama in there.
(zoom)
Apparently they got sponsorship from Bostick for sticking everything to the walls!
It certainly brightens up what was a dreary old underpass. Well done to Pamela Irving, who organised the project.
PTV: it’s more than just rebranding, but will it make a difference?
Much of the tram and bus stop signage around the CBD was modified over the weekend, with PTV (Public Transport Victoria) logos replacing the Metlink logos. And the Metlink web site now forwards to a reskinned (but essentially identical, so far) PTV web site.
But it would be a mistake to assume this is just a rebranding exercise.
PTV is the trading name of the Coalition government’s Public Transport Development Authority, which describes itself thus:
Public Transport Victoria is the statutory authority that administers Victoria’s train, tram and bus services. It provides a single contact point for customers wanting information on public transport services, fare, tickets and initiatives.
PTV was established in April 2012 with the aim of improving public transport in Victoria by:
- Ensuring better coordination between modes
- Facilitating expansions to the network
- Auditing public transport assets
- Promoting public transport as an alternative to the car
- Acting as a system authority for all public transport and an advocate for public transport users.
In terms of who’s in PTV, primarily it’s made up from a merger of the Public Transport Division of the Department of Transport, and Metlink (whch, it must be remembered, was purely a marketing and comms organisation).
Eventually (when the dust has settled on Myki) it’ll include the Transport Ticketing Authority as well. It’s got a CEO (Ian Dobbs) who replaces the former Director of Public Transport (Hector McKenzie), and a board of directors, which (within 12 months of establishment) should include a community representative. Other than that, we don’t know a great deal about the internal structure yet.
Dobbs was head of the Public Transport Corporation in the 90s, under Kennett. Some cynics think this may be the sign of a slash and burn strategy coming up, but I’m thinking (glass-half-full, and remembering that this government came to power in part because it promised to improve public transport) it may mean he’s just good at implementing government policy and finding efficiencies… remembering of course that things like the abolition of guards on trains in the 90s enabled more frequent train services on weekends.
(Maybe you kids don’t remember when Sunday trains were every 40 minutes all day. From April 22nd, they’ll be every ten minutes on the three busiest lines. And weekend trains are double the length of those in the 90s, so we’ll have 8 times the capacity.)
Of course, working underneath Dobbs is essentially the same workforce that was previously there in PTD and Metlink. So it is unclear how much things will change.
Why not call it “Metlink”?
They wanted a statewide name, not a metropolitan-centric one.
OK then, why not “Viclink”?
Dunno, but Viclink isn’t the best ever name, is it.
Will it make a difference?
Too early to say. The goals sound good, and I know from having met him that Dobbs has some good ideas and a determination to make a positive difference… but watch this space.
- PTV CEO Ian Dobbs will speak at the PTUA Members Meeting on 3rd of May
