Categories
transport

Why are train cancellations rising? Is it because the government skimps on signalling?

Mr Lezala also took a swipe at the State Government for failing to invest properly in signalling. “We have new signalling systems here … with no redundancy in them so when we get a thunderstorm it fails – brand new systems – because we didn’t have enough money to build redundancy in,” he told a  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Some thoughts on PTV’s rail wishlist, umm I mean Network Development Plan

I had been writing a blog post about proposed rail lines, and even went to the trouble of drawing a map of what was known about the various proposals floating around. Yesterday a very detailed PTV Network Development Plan for the rail network was released with lots of much prettier and more comprehensive maps. The  ... [More]

Categories
music Retrospectives

My retro iPod

I just realised my iPod is nearly nine years old. That’s an age in the world of computers and electronics… does that make it a retro item? It’s a third-generation iPod, back from before they had silly features like apps, movie playback, and colour screens… And yes, it’s still going strong, though admittedly most of  ... [More]

Categories
Going green

Going solar – when should I jump, and how many panels?

Pondering adding to the solar hot water on my roof with PV panels for electricity generation. My last electricity bill says I used up 659 kWh in 92 days, costing $187.61 (only including the cost for power and the 100% GreenPower surcharge; excluding the $76.41 service charge which I’d incur no matter how much power  ... [More]

Categories
transport

How many errors can you find in the Parkiteer map?

Parkiteer is a good programme… from my observations, more and more people are using it for secure bike parking at stations. But how many errors can you spot in this bike cage map that has been appearing in MX for the past few weeks? “Glen Waverly” spelt wrong “Glen Waverly” in the wrong spot —  ... [More]

Categories
transport

Should parking at Melbourne railway stations be free?

Here’s something I didn’t know: Perth’s Transperth transport system has some paid parking, and you can pay for it with a Smartrider card. Pay ‘n’ Display car parks are also fenced, but are patrolled by car park attendants between 7.00am and 9.00pm Monday to Friday excluding public holidays. A flat fee of $2.00 per day,  ... [More]

Categories
Culture News and events

My late father’s account of the newspaper story in 1964 that led to a suicide

In looking through my late father’s papers, I found the following, which he wrote about an incident on Rupert Murdoch’s Sydney Daily Mirror in the mid-1960s. I found it fascinating in light of the News Of The World controversy that was uncovered during 2011, though of course one should not jump to conclusions about the  ... [More]

Categories
News and events

Priority seat: for people who are disabled, pregnant, less able to stand, and The Pope

The new Pope Francis is known for using public transport. Perhaps out of courtesy to the pontiff it’s time to update the signs? (Sources: pic, font)

Categories
transport

How long does it take to top-up cash onto a #Myki card? 1-2 mins? No, about 30 seconds.

One of the reactions to the news of top-ups on buses was that it would slow down buses because top-ups take too long. Some people claimed it can take well over a minute to do a top-up. I was doubtful about this, so I tried it. I used a note and a couple of coins  ... [More]

Categories
transport

#Myki topups coming soon to buses (but will they avoid the issues of slow transactions and security?)

Leader Newspapers is reporting that Myki topups will be allowed on buses from next month. A maximum of $20 will apply. Well, that’s about time. This is good news for passengers. Firstly, it means the Myki consoles will be activated, with Metcard equipment removed. The coexistence of the two systems has caused a lot of  ... [More]

Categories
Going green

A record 9 days above 30 degrees

Thank goodness that scientists aren’t warning of any kind of permanent warming of the climate that might prove, y’know, dangerous — otherwise a record-breaking run of hot days might be a tad alarming. One shouldn’t jump to conclusions of course. As Jon Stewart quipped: “Global warming is a total hoax. And I’ll tell you how  ... [More]

Categories
Travel

The long and winding road

We went to Walhalla for a night to camp on Sunday (it’s been about a year since last time). Apart from a little rain on the way up, nice weather — though a little hot when the sun got going. The rain didn’t affect the camp site when we were there, but had other consequences.  ... [More]