Author: Philip Mallis
Offer of help: journey planning for your bicycle route
Since the COVID-19 situation has changed rapidly over the past 1-2 weeks and people are now seriously avoiding public transport, there seem to be many more people people riding bikes around Melbourne. Many of them seem to be people who have had bikes kicking around in their garage but have ridden very little in the…
Hike & ride to the You Yangs
Just after New Years Eve and before the smoke had started to set in, I went out to visit the You Yangs – a small cluster of hills about 55 kilometres south-west of Melbourne. Because I don’t drive I usually plan my hiking trips around access to public transport. But the You Yangs have none…
Melbourne bus route patronage data for 2008 – 2019
Download and view the data here. The latest installment of my ongoing publication of transport data for Victoria is two more years of usage data for all bus routes in Melbourne for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 financial years. The Department of Transport obliged with my request quickly and no FOI was needed, so thanks to them…
Road under yacht level crossing removal
In 2005, a level crossing was pre-emptively removed in Melbourne. This is not noteworthy in itself – there have been tens of these types of projects completed in the city over the past few decades. What makes this one different is that instead of involving trains, it grade separated road traffic from boats and fish.…
Things to be grateful for
It’s the beginning of a new year, and sometimes I think that us gunzels complain about things just a little too much. Often these are perfectly valid and being introspective is a very important thing. However, we should also take the opportunity to appreciate what we have as well. Remember – “public transport is always…
Tram roundabouts of Melbourne
With 85 percent of Melbourne’s tram network mixed with general traffic, it is inevitable that they will have to pass through some interesting intersections. In Melbourne, there are 19 roundabouts that have tram track running through them. They are almost all located in the inner south-east (Middle Park, St Kilda, South Melbourne, etc.) or the…
Are more people living in apartments now than in 1954?
65 years ago the Melbourne and Metropolitan Board of Works (MMBW) released the Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Scheme. This formed the foundations for our current planning system. Some aspects, like car parking requirements, remain exactly the same. Combing through the Scheme and its background reports yield some fascinating insights for what town planners considered to be…
Station patronage in Melbourne for 2005-2019
While accountants may be excited by the end of a financial year, gunzels get excited for another reason – new station patronage data! Using the same method as last year, I have asked for and obtained the latest 2018-19 patronage data from the Department of Transport. I’m still waiting for V/Line station data, although I…
Crossing the Rubicon
Last week I crossed the Rubicon River on a hike in north-central Victoria. Unlike Julies Caesar, doing so didn’t start a war. The main reason for this trip was to have a good poke around one of the oldest hydroelectric power stations in the state. You have probably heard of Hazelwood, Loy Yang and Bald…