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Photos from ten years ago Toxic Custard newsletter

Old photos from March 2008

Another in my series of ten year old photos; here’s March 2008. ACMI’s Game On exhibition had some great old games to play. Here’s son#1 Isaac playing Pong. …but it was the 80s-era arcade machines that I really enjoyed the most, re-living my teenage years. (I’m still tempted to buy an old machine.) The old  ... [More]

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transport

Public transport compo: what is the threshold?

If you’re confused about tram and train compensation thresholds, you’re not the only one. PTV announced earlier this month that: PTV CEO Jeroen Weimar said both Metro and Yarra Trams narrowly missed their new targets for punctuality in February, but met their targets for reliability. PTV’s web site has figures for February 2018 that clearly  ... [More]

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transport

Smartbus vs train: What’s faster for orbital travel?

One of the promises of the orbital Smartbus routes was to cater for crosstown travel. The Bracks Government’s 2006 Meeting Our Transport Challenges document said this: The Government will invest $1.4 billion to create a crosstown transport network for Melbourne. Major new SmartBus routes, supported by improved local bus services, will connect with the rail  ... [More]

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transport

Caulfield to Dandenong skyrail nears completion

Now that the new Noble Park station (aka “Area 3” of the Caulfield to Dandenong “skyrail”) is open, what of the rest of the project? It’s moving fast. “Area 2” in the Clayton area is coming along, and a rail line closure from the 3rd to the 15th of April will allow construction workers to  ... [More]

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transport

Three bus stops outside Huntingdale, Victoria

Monday was Labour Day, and I went for a long morning walk. Well okay, I caught a 703 bus from Bentleigh to Centre Road/Huntingdale Road — despite the PTV app incorrectly claiming it wasn’t running most of the day. Then I walked to Huntingdale Station, then west along North Road, and gradually back home. Here  ... [More]

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Toxic Custard newsletter transport

Ten things about London Underground, and lessons for Melbourne

Britain is a place many Australians look to with fondness, with many of us having relatives there, and it being a top destination for Australian tourists. As a result, London is sometimes seen as a city to emulate, especially as our cities get bigger. Our current crop of public transport managers certainly have links to  ... [More]

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transport

Is the Smartbus branding dead? Why not make every bus a Smartbus?

Smartbus was devised in the dying days of the Kennett government originally as a mostly hardware-based upgrade: traffic priority, real-time information at stops, distinctive bus stop signs and buses. Originally it didn’t include service upgrades (which sparked derision from the PTUA at the time), but this was changed early on during the Bracks government, with  ... [More]