1929 metropolitan plan: “the tramcar is the most efficient user of street space”
From page 54 (Chapter 2, part 1) of the 1929 Melbourne Plan for General Development, commissioned by the Metropolitan Town Planning Commission.
Other highlights include Chapter 2, part 7, which has a bunch of stuff about railways, including a discussion of a railway to Doncaster (page 132) and a strong argument for a combined transport authority (page 143).
Federal budget
The budget last night included no funding for big-ticket transport projects in Victoria. This is as I expected — they are now desperately (and misguidedly) pursuing a surplus instead of chasing economic stimulus/growth.
And the Feds probably felt Victoria has had its share of Federal transport funding for a while, given they provided over $3 billion for the Regional Rail Link project.
The bright side? The flawed east-west road tunnel didn’t get funding. And the lack of new mega projects may force the state to do better with the (considerable) transport infrastructure we already have, using smaller targeted upgrades to unlock capacity, for example:
- Signal upgrades and operational changes to get more trains to run
- Better feeder buses in the suburbs to give motorists a way of switching their trips onto PT without fighting for a car spot at their local station
- Tram and bus traffic priority and route reform to allow more trips to run with the current fleet
- Projects like the inner-city Blue Orbital Smartbus, and short extensions of tram lines to connect better with railway stations, which would help people move around the inner suburbs without going via the CBD, improving mobility and relieving the busiest parts of the PT and road network.
Myki myths 3: credit expires after 90 days – no it doesn’t
One persistent myth of Myki is that the money you put onto it expires after 90 days. This popped up last week in a letter to the Bayside Weekly, and also more notably ABC radio’s Jon Faine put it to Public Transport Victoria boss Ian Dobbs, who unfortunately failed to deny it. (PTV doesn’t actually have responsibility for Myki yet.)
Here’s some of the original text from the accompanying ABC Online story:
The Transport Ticketing Authority may extend the time people have to
use their Myki credit.Currently credit on a Myki card expires after three months, which has
provoked anger from occasional users.
To their credit, the ABC have now corrected the text.
What some people think happens (but doesn’t)
You load credit (“Myki Money”) onto the card. If you don’t use it within 90 days, it disappears. This is not true.
What actually happens
Myki Money does not expire. But there is a limitation with off-system topups.
Some context: It’s important to understand that the Myki system, and other public transport smartcard systems, hold your card balance on the card itself. This means each transaction is (theoretically) relatively quick, and does not rely on a network connection back to a central server to verify the card’s balance and determine if the card is valid for travel.
When you topup your card on the system, that is, over the counter at a retailer or — eventually — a railway station, or at a vending machine, your card is presented and the new balance is updated straight away, without delay.
When you topup your card off the system, that is, by phone or from the web site, the transaction is sent from the central computers to every Myki device (readers, vending machines) in the state, to await the presentation of your card. When your card is presented (such as putting it on a vending machine to check the balance, or touching-on) the transaction is transferred onto the card, updating it. It’s then removed from all the devices.
Following so far? Okay.
The limitation of 90 days is that if you do the phone/web site topup, but don’t present your card anywhere on the system for 90 days, then the system “archives” the transaction – takes it back off all the Myki devices and puts it back in the central computer, presumably so as not to clog up all those devices with too many unactioned transactions.
If/when you eventually show up with your card on the system, it “re-activates” the transaction… but because the communication is not realtime, it might take a few hours (up to 24, they say) for the transaction to be ready again for transfer onto the card.
So in summary…
So in summary: the balance, once on your card, does not expire after 90 days of not getting used.
Nor does your card expire after 90 days of not getting used.
What does happen is that online/phone transactions get “archived” if you don’t complete them within 90 days.
How do other systems do it?
Queensland’s Go Card has a similar timeout, also 90 days, but if you don’t complete the transaction the money goes back to your bank account:
Travel credit will be available on your go card within 48 hours. It’ll appear on your transaction history next time you touch your go card to a card reader. If you don’t do this within 90 days, the money will be returned to your credit card.
London’s Oyster card has much greater limitations. Topups can’t be “collected” onto your card on buses; you have to nominate a specific station to collect it. And there is a much shorter timeout for online transactions:
If you don’t collect your online renewal, your order will be cancelled and you will get a refund:
- If you ordered a Travelcard, your order will be cancelled two days after your chosen start date
- If you topped up the pay as you go credit on your Oyster card, your order will be cancelled seven days after your collection date
Refunds will not be processed until at least four days after the date your order was cancelled.
Note that it also appears you have to nominate the start date of a Travelcard/Pass (with Myki Pass it activates on the first day you travel in the zones it applies to).
How could Myki handle this better?
Obviously they could bump out the 90 days to something longer, if it didn’t cause other problems. It’s unclear if this is viable.
They could send the transaction all the way back to your bank account, as with Go Card. Then at least people wouldn’t feel as if Myki had “stolen” the money. They might also notice it on their bank statement — a reminder that it hadn’t been completed.
Myki could also make this limitation more widely known, particularly on the web site when people go to do an online topup, in big bold bright letters.
Finally, for some crazy reason the Myki Check (blue) devices seen in some stations do not process topups. They’re not even hooked up to the network. All they can do is look at what’s on the card. This is counter-intuitive, and appallingly bad design. Ensuring these devices can process topups would help people bypass queues for vending machines in order to verify their topup has arrived correctly.
One last tip
Note that at a railway station, apart from checking via a vending machine, you also can touch-on to verify if your topup has arrived and complete the transaction. Remember to hold the card to the reader for as long as you need to see what’s on the screen.
If you don’t want to travel, simply wait 30 seconds (the timeout to prevent accidental double-touches) and touch-off. The “Change of mind” feature means if this happens within 15 minutes, you don’t get charged; nor does any dormant Pass activate.
- There’s also confusion over the $9.80 fee for getting a refund. This was abolished in January for Myki, but incredibly, still appears on their online PDF forms
The view out the front window
When I was a kid, I liked to kneel on the front seat of the (W-class) tram, looking out the front, and watching the driver, trying to figure out how it all worked.
I reckon the front still gives you the best views.
Back in the day I recall a control to apply the power, another to brake, with a big wheel as the backup brake (akin to a handbrake I suppose — I was once on a tram whose main brake had failed, and we rolled slowly up Carlisle Street, with the wheel being used to bring us to a halt at every stop).
Many trams didn’t have doors, but those that did had an extra lever to open and close them. These days there are various other newer controls in the cab.
Would you like a jellybaby? (Making of a visual stunt)
The first Tuesday of May is Victorian State Budget day.
On Budget day, journalists and some interest groups (well, those that have the resources) attend the Budget Lockup, where from about midday to the 3pm public release, they get to peruse the budget papers, but can’t communicate what they find with the outside world.
They are let loose at around 3pm, and often gather in the grounds of Parliament House, where representatives from the interest groups will form a (reasonably orderly) queue up to give their comments to the waiting media.
On a rainy day, they might all huddle under the small shelter at the back door to Parliament. Otherwise, they might head for the garden.
This year there was an added bonus in the garden: Trades Hall had come along with a multitude of jellybabies, representing the 43,000 jobs lost in Victoria in the past 12 months.
They poured them onto the lawn before I got there…
…then they decided to pick them all up again…
…and after some consultation with the TV cameramen…
…poured them all out again for the cameras…
…shot from multiple angles…
Naturally it made for great television.
- Video: Budget blues strike public sector (7pm TV News VIC)
- Bonus pic of yours truly taken by Adrian Lowe from The Age
And the budget in summary? Well for PT, apart from extra V/Line carriages, confirmation that the very successful 601 Huntingdale to Monash Uni shuttle has got recurrent funding, and three grade separations, not much else. Certainly it was a tight budget, but roads seem to have got more new money yet again.
Tullamarine terminal 4 arrivals. What a dump.
So this is Terminal 4 Arrivals — where you greet passengers arriving in Melbourne on Tiger Airways:
You can’t go in, they can only come out. There’s no shelter to speak of — if it rains, you’d better wait in your car (if you brought one).
Inside there’s just luggage collection. No trolley until you get outside. Up the back there were some toilets and chip machines, and possibly a bench or two for waiting if there’s a luggage delay. It’s open to the wind, and there’d be no air-conditioning, but at least you’re undercover:
Wow. What a dump.
But anyway — welcome to my cousin Justin, new to Melbourne!
PS. Tuesday night — Matt from the Corporate and Public Affairs department at Melbourne Airport has been in touch to point me to plans for a new domestic terminal, and to note that the proposals for this redevelopment are now open for public comments. He also says Smartbus facilities will be “significantly improved” and that they’re talking with PTV about getting a Smartbus stop into the main forecourt.
V/Line’s possible timetables circa 2021
Following up my post the other week about proposed possible Metro timetables in 2021…
The other thing that’s become apparent from the Travel Demand document is how the Regional Rail Link (and the other V/Line routes) could work.
Frankly it’s a relief they have some idea of how RRL would run, as so far they’ve been unwilling or unable to articulate what type of services will use the new line, which is pretty poor considering it’s costing them billions of dollars to build.
Caveat: this information from the document is a 2021 plan based on current and confirmed infrastructure. Doesn’t mean the funding for service upgrades will eventuate, or that they’ll be in place as soon as the Regional Rail Link project is completed in 2014ish.
Also: it appears that longer distance trains are not included here, and would be in addition to those listed below. And note that the stops on the electrified network are annotated as being “set down only” (inbound).
And I must emphasise that the below descriptions are my interpretation of the document, and are not guaranteed accurate. (eg I might have messed something up.)
Geelong line
In peak hour:
- 4 trains per hour: Marshall, South Geelong, Geelong, Nth Geelong, North Shore, Corio, Lara, then express to Footscray, then Southern Cross.
- 4 trains per hour: Geelong, Nth Geelong, Lara, Little River, Wyndham Vale, Tarneit, Footscray, Southern Cross.
In the inter-peak hours you’d have:
- 4 trains per hour: Marshall, South Geelong, Geelong, Nth Geelong, North Shore, Corio, Lara, Little River, Wyndham Vale, Tarneit, Footscray, Southern Cross.
So in off-peak hours, a big upgrade from today’s hourly service — close to a suburban level of service, in fact — just as well because it includes the new suburbs of Tarneit and Wyndham Vale. A train every 15 minutes is not too bad for those areas (but of course for it to be workable there needs to be frequent connecting buses for those not lucky enough to be close to the two new stations).
What’s less clear is how the longer route will impact on travel times. Potentially the expresses could move through the new line at up to 160 kmh, with probably closer to 80 kmh on the inner-suburban section. That could overall be as about quick as the existing route, but it’s not really clear if this will be possible given the operating patterns and other constraints.
No hint as to what will be provided for the current people travelling between Werribee and Geelong, though some kind of shuttle bus from Werribee to Wyndham Vale has been mooted in the past. For some (eg between Geelong and the Newport and the Altona area) it might be easier to double-back via Footscray.
And of course the other issue worth pondering is if Tarneit and Wyndham Vale boom, will we have the same problems there that we currently have at Sunbury — suburban loads trying to fit into regional/long distance services? RRL apparently includes provision for additional electrified tracks, but it’s unclear if these would ever be funded for construction.
Ballarat line
In peak hour:
- 2 trains per hour: Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Footscray, Southern Cross. (Some to also stop at Melton)
- 3 trains per hour (implied 5 over 2 hours): Bacchus Marsh, Melton, (Caroline Springs), Deer Park, Ardeer, Sunshine, Footscray, North Melbourne, Southern Cross.
Inter-peak:
- 1 train per hour: Ballarat, Ballan, Bacchus Marsh, Footscray, Southern Cross.
- 2 trains per hour: Melton, Rockbank, (Caroline Springs), Deer Park, Ardeer, Sunshine, Footscray, North Melbourne, Southern Cross.
Not terribly ambitious, but a half-hourly service to the western suburbs such as Melton and Deer Park, Ardeer would be a big improvement over the service there now, which is roughly every two hours in some cases.
But what would you do if you want to travel between Ballarat and Melton?
It’s not clear how many trains would originate at Wendouree.
Bendigo line
Bearing in mind the Sunbury line will be electrified by this point, in peak hour:
- 1 train per hour: Bendigo, Kangaroo Flat, Castlemaine, Malmsbury, Kyneton, Footscray, Southern Cross
- 1 train per hour (implied 3 over 2 hours): Bendigo, Kangaroo Flat, Castlemaine, Malmsbury, Kyneton, Woodend, Macedon, Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Clarkefield, Sunbury, Footscray, Southern Cross
- 1 train per hour: Kyneton, Woodend, Macedon, Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Clarkefield, Sunbury, Footscray, Southern Cross
Inter-peak:
- 1 train per hour: Bendigo, Kangaroo Flat, Castlemaine, Malmsbury, Kyneton, Woodend, Macedon, Gisborne, Riddells Creek, Clarkefield, Sunbury, Footscray, Southern Cross
An hourly service outside peak is not great. At least the addition of Sunbury to the suburban network should see the end of trains that are crowded between the City and Sunbury, but relatively empty further out.
It’s not clear how many trains would originate at Eaglehawk.
Seymour line
In peak hour: 2 trains per hour: Seymour, Tallarook, Broadford, Kilmore East, Wandong, Heathcote Junction, Wallan, Donnybrook, Broadmeadows, Southern Cross
Inter-peak: 1 train per hour, same pattern.
Gippsland line
In peak hour: 2 trains per hour (implied 3 over 2 hours): Traralgon, Morwell, Moe, Trafalgar, Yarragon, Warragul, Drouin, Longwarry, Bunyip, Garfield, Tynong, Nar Nar Goon, Pakenham, Dandenong, Caulfield, Flinders Street
Inter-peak: 1 train per hour, same pattern.
Thoroughly unambitious; roughly the same as now. And why no stop at Clayton (or even better, given the 601 bus now in service) Huntingdale for Monash University?
Note it says these trains would terminate at Flinders Street, presumably to reduce congestion on the viaduct to Southern Cross, as well as avoid terminating trains there, using up limited platform capacity… at the cost of regional travellers needing to change trains to reach Southern Cross.
Interchange at Richmond and North Melbourne
We already know that trains using the Regional Rail Link lines (Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo) will not have interchange at North Melbourne, because someone’s decided that having spent a bazillion dollars on the project, they can’t spend a little more and do it properly, with platforms to serve this major interchange.
It also appears (from the document at least) that the Gippsland line will not stop at Richmond.
It’s unclear what passengers requiring interchange from suburban lines or the City Loop will do. Depending on how the Loop operates (and the document provides some clues on this too), it could be okay, or it could make life very difficult for some.
Already it’s an issue for people from the northern/western suburbs on weekends, for instance, who have to catch a suburban train that goes all the way around the Loop before arriving at Southern Cross, because V/Line trains don’t stop at North Melbourne on weekends.
One can only hope they’re looking at this carefully, and will provide interchange opportunities where they’re needed.
- Sources (in case I messed something up): Rowville study: Travel Demand document, and lists of stations from the V/Line web site
A new advertising campaign for Metro
If you’ll pardon my boldness, I’ve worked out a new advertising campaign for Metro.
Digital TV can sometimes look like crap
Where digital TV really fails is handling lots and lots of moving objects on screen at once.
Look at these two grabs from last night’s ABC news. In the first, host Ian Henderson is shown. With little moving, the picture is very smooth — even with the slightly dodgy ABC blue screen.
Now look at the second grab a few seconds later. It’s library footage of Melbourne Storm’s premiership win a few years ago. Tickertape stuff is going everywhere, it’s probably been grabbed in turn off a Channel 9 transmission and reprocessed, and the picture looks like crap.
Admittedly it doesn’t look quite so bad when viewing the footage, as so much is moving around that the eye doesn’t really notice the artefacts as much. But this is once instance where I suspect analogue would actually look much better.
