I’m a troublemaker sometimes
One would hope that the budget following an election would fulfil the promises made during that election, although it would not be beyond the bounds of reasonableness to spread them out over the term of government. Somewhat surprisingly, at least to me, the Baillieu government has largely fulfilled all of its promises with its first ... [More]
A number of seats in the November state election were won and lost because of public transport — and the Frankston line in particular. Statistics continue to show that the line is the worst for punctuality in Melbourne, with a 12 month average of just 69.6% of trains on-time within five minutes. Perhaps it’s fitting ... [More]
(Pic originally posted in October. Accompanying Facebook group.) No doubt this will sound familiar to those who are active in voluntary advocacy groups: “I DEMAND TO KNOW WHY YOUR GROUP OF OVERWORKED VOLUNTEERS, WHICH I AM NOT A MEMBER OF, IS NOT PURSUING MY PERSONAL GRIEVANCE.” I suspect many people have a genuine grievance, but ... [More]
Some thoughts on the new state government, and trams
The electorate office of new member for Bentleigh, Elizabeth Miller, has been vandalised. The stencil, which reads “Long live the queen” with an image of Miller, appears to indicate some preparation was involved. Given the “The king is dead, long live the queen”, I can’t work out if this is pro-Miller, or pro-ex-member Hudson, or ... [More]
A sign of the times: former Bentleigh MP Rob Hudson’s office, now vacated and up for rent. I wonder if anything gets handed across to the new member Elizabeth Miller’s office? In Federal land, Greens MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt took over former member Lindsay Tanner’s office, but I suspect there was a big clearout ... [More]
The PTUA’s Annual General Meeting was last night. There was some optimism amongst the committee and membership about where public transport is going since the change of government, but even before that, the political debate has been moving along nicely. An example we talked about last night… At a parliamentary hearing last year as part ... [More]
Among the 12 (or more) seats lost by Labor in Saturday’s election were four in Melbourne’s south: Frankston, Carrum, Mordialloc, and Bentleigh. What do these have in common? The Frankston line. The Frankston line is the poorest performing in Melbourne. While overcrowding has eased since the June timetable change, punctuality is the worst in the ... [More]
Elizabeth Miller for Bentleigh. Energy, Trust, Commitment, and Snoopy. I certainly didn’t expect Bentleigh to go marginal in such a spectacular way. Apparently counting will resume at 4pm, and the result here may well determine the election. Earlier I spotted a journo and a photographer knocking on Rob Hudson’s door — without success. They then ... [More]
So how am I voting tomorrow? No comment. But I will tell you what I know about the policies on my pet topic: The Greens, as you might expect, have the best, most comprehensive public transport policy (though it’s not flawless by any means). Of course, we all know they are unlikely to be forming ... [More]
I’m not having a go at anybody in particular here, but making a point. I tweeted what I thought was an amusing comment from someone I don’t always find myself in thorough agreement with, Roads Minister Tim Pallas: Tim Pallas’s pledge: “I will never, ever, wear lycra in public.” http://j.mp/9Z9zlB #vicvotes — danielbowen A couple ... [More]
Graph: The number of transport-related govt press releases is steadily increasing each week