The Siemens train seats are notorious for showing the dirt. At one stage a multi-coloured design similar to the Comeng fleet seats was tried, but now Metro have introduced a new design which is supposedly more vandalproof (and uses their corporate design, not Connex’s). It’s on one 3-car Siemens set so far (for the gunzels, ... [More]
Month: September 2012
The Committee for Ballarat has an excellent campaign going to improve rail services. Unfortunately as sometimes happens, some myths crept into the rhetoric around the launch of the campaign. “In the early 1900s you could do the Ballarat to Melbourne trip by steam rail in an hour — these days it takes an hour and ... [More]
It’s local council election time again. Candidates have been prominent around the streets of Bentleigh, and at least one billboard has popped-up, nicely located so you can see it as you come down this street: I haven’t decided who to vote for yet. Oscar Lobo, pictured above, is running again, and was one of those ... [More]
Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea. (Credit: Marita spotted it first.) Could be a sequel to this: Everything in the entire world except this bus stop sign is at a funny angle.
Observed at Southern Cross Station this week: IKEA seat covers. They seem to be confined to platforms 11 and 12, though if you’re trying to get to IKEA by public transport, platform 9 (train to North Richmond, then a tram) is probably a better bet. Not every seat has them, and there are no cushions ... [More]
Many years ago the German city of Munster set up a photo comparing the road space taken by people in a bus, on bikes, and in cars. Earlier this month the Cycling Promotion Fund recreated that picture in Canberra, and yesterday they released it. On Sunday 9th September 69 volunteers, 69 bicycles, 60 cars and ... [More]
Yes it’s true. I have decided not to renominate as the PTUA’s President, and will stand down at the Annual General Meeting on October 11th. The Age: After almost a decade, Melbourne’s chief public transport complainer has finally had enough. PTUA: PTUA President to step down Basically, after nine years, I need a break. It’s ... [More]
I think most people would agree that with Myki we’ve got a problem. A system which is enormously expensive, which is generally less responsive and reliable than similar systems elsewhere, not to mention not offering a single use ticket option. But one argument I don’t buy is that Metcard is perfect. The bureaucracy will claim ... [More]
Pretty funny: Southern Cross Station has departure signs sponsored by Red Rooster. In part because they show less information, they actually have fewer errors than the official signs — but beware — it appears they don’t show trains departing in less than 10 minutes (because they want you to think there’s time to go and ... [More]
Categories
Simple jobs
Here’s another blog post inspired by a discussion with the kids. Relatively simple things, it appears, can also be quite profitable. Back when I worked at Hattams as a 16-17 year-old, the alterations for trousers and jackets and things were done by a bloke called Telly who lived up the road. Trouser shortening was $5, ... [More]
So, how has Melbourne’s “boardings per person per year” gone over the years? Thanks to PTV putting out their “Patronage Long Run Series” report of patronage since 1946, we can see it — I’ve plotted the total boarding figures from 1946 to 2011, every five years (in red) against the boardings per population (in green): ... [More]
On Sunday Channel 7 showed this CCTV footage shot at Southern Cross station. A toddler slipped between the train and the platform. I found it quite difficult to watch, but there’s an obvious safety message here which was emphasised in Monday’s followup story: you do need to take the utmost care when boarding and alighting ... [More]