Category: Transport
When through running trains don’t
One of the benefits of having a blog is the ability to have a place to whinge. Here is my latest one based on a recent train journey. Through running In January 2021 PTV reformed many of Melbourne’s timetables. You can read the full writeup on Daniel Bowen’s blog here and see some of the…
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…
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…
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.
Another bad week for PTV communications
Regular readers of this blog will know that one of my hobby horses is transport wayfinding and communications. This week unfortunately provided yet more examples of how far we still have to go before we have a consistent, intuitive and accurate information system for public transport in Melbourne. In the space of just the past…
Wrong and missing PTV information for Easter 2024
This is part of the continuing series about the improvements that are badly needed to the passenger information provided to public transport passengers in Victoria. Here we’re going to look at the 2024 Easter long weekend. This is a period where travel demand is particularly high. It’s the start of school holidays and people are…
Bus stop misdirection and how I nearly missed my flight
I have previously written about the importance of accurate public transport information. Unfortunately this is all too common and can cause serious problems for passengers trying to navigate the network. I present my recent experience as a brief case study on this topic. A simple bus stop I had to reach Melbourne Airport. As usual,…
