Author: Philip Mallis
2024 in photos
I must admit that I have neglected this annual photo update for the past couple of years. But I’m hoping to get back into good habits starting with 2024! I’ve clocked up a total of over 28,000 photos on my Flickr account stretching back over a decade. I hope to continue adding many more. There…
Doncaster Park and Ride will soon close for three years
Doncaster Park and Ride is one of the busiest bus interchanges in the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne with eight routes serving the stop. This includes local routes and the 907 and 908 Smartbuses. This major interchange will now be closed until 2028 by the Victorian Government’s massive $20 billion North East Link, which includes widening…
Catching buses in George Town, Penang
A good holiday is never complete without sampling some of the local public transport. I visited George Town in the state of Penang in north-west Malaysia earlier this year. It doesn’t have any railways (yet) so the workhorse of public transport in the city and on the island is buses. Public buses on the island…
A farewell to Twitter
A final farewell to Twitter to stop my content being used without my consent (and how you can too!)
Which were the least and most used stations in Victoria in 2023-24?
I recently posted about the updated data that has been released for metropolitan and regional station usage in Melbourne and Victoria. From this new information we can look at which stations were the most used and least used during the 2023 – 2024 financial year. Most used stations in Melbourne For the metropolitan network these…
Something good is happening to Melbourne’s cycling levels
The Victorian Department of Transport & Planning maintain a very useful dashboard that compiles data from most of the permanent bicycle counters in Melbourne. If you haven’t seen it before it’s available on this page under ‘Bicycle Speeds and Volumes’. In the years since the end of the COVID-19 lockdowns there was a noticeable dip…
Railway station patronage for Melbourne and Victoria 2008 – 2024
Since 2019 I’ve been keeping abreast of patronage data for the train and tram network in Victoria. While previously I have had to lodge specific requests I am pleased to report that the open data situation has improved significantly. Most of this information is now publicly available on the data.vic.gov.au portal. With the release of…
How many people live within walking distance of frequent public transport in Melbourne?
Recently I presented this project at Transport Camp Melbourne 2024. This post is a version of that as well as more information and background data. There is a link to the presentation and code at the bottom of this article. Frequency of public transport is one of the most important determiners of its usefulness. It…
New tram stops on La Trobe Street
Last week PTV and Yarra Trams finished building six new level access platform tram stops on La Trobe Street in Melbourne’s CBD, together with some complementary improvements. Details of the $68 million project were first announced in November 2023. Unlike LXRP and other ‘Big Build‘ infrastructure projects, it seems these were opened to almost no…
PTV disruption information & extreme weather
Victoria’s public transport has been affected by recent storms. This needs to be communicated to passengers but the current setup leaves a lot to be desired.
