Categories
transport

Having the bus pull out just as the crowd off the train approaches is not good customer service

For the second time in a week, I’ve watched as tonight’s 6:31pm route 703 bus pulls out just as the train (due at 6:30pm) departs Bentleigh station and a crowd of people off the train approaches the stop. Now, I accept that buses should run to time. And the operator contract probably penalises late-running (bearing  ... [More]

Categories
transport Travel

Could High Speed Rail from Melbourne to Sydney be as fast as air travel?

The Federal government’s High Speed Rail study assumes a route from Melbourne via Canberra to Sydney of between 823 and 842 km (mostly following existing highways), with trains reaching up to 350 km/h, and a three hour trip time from Melbourne to Sydney. Some people who argue against the idea like to claim there is  ... [More]

Categories
Culture Melbourne

It must be Christmas time

In the city tonight…

Categories
dreams music Net

Quick random thoughts

The Herald Sun paywall launched in March, and offered free 2-month passes. Any word on what’s happened now those have run out? Strange dream: Woke up with the most enormous sideburns. Struggled to get them removed before having to go to work. Another dream: Was invited to a very elaborate dinner party at Alan Kohler’s  ... [More]

Categories
transport

798 is NOT the capacity of a Melbourne train

This seems to cause endless confusion: A figure of 798 (or 133 per carriage) is often incorrectly implied to be the capacity of a Melbourne train. According to Victorian government standards, a six-carriage train is considered “full” if more than 798 passengers are aboard. — Age 17/5/2011: Peak-hour trains still a horror trip But 798  ... [More]

Categories
transport

PT fares expected to go up 7% – How can you beat the rise?

My best guess is that PT fares are expected to jump by about 7% on January 1st. They generally go up by CPI (which the ABS says was 2.0% in the year to the end of September) but as part of a two year plan originally hatched by the ALP and followed by the Coalition,  ... [More]

Categories
Melbourne Photos

Pics from last week

You can tell I don’t have a good blog post ready to go when I post a bunch of pictures. Here’s a few from last week (that you may have seen if you follow me on Twitter). Mer Chri! — This was on Thursday night — by Friday they’d put up the other letters. Below  ... [More]