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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is cautiously throwing its weight behind a Yarra Trams campaign to promote greater traffic priority for trams and buses.

Independent Melbourne Partners Against Congested Transport (IMPACT) is an industry coalition formed to oversee implementation of tram and bus priority measures in the government’s Keeping Melbourne Moving strategy. Members of the group include Yarra Trams, the Bus Association of Victoria, RACV, Victorian Taxi Association, Victorian Transport Association and Bicycle Victoria.

The PTUA is hopeful that its membership of IMPACT will help focus the group’s efforts on priority measures that are provably effective. “We’re hopeful that this group won’t simply be pushing clearways,” PTUA President Daniel Bowen explained. “Some of the biggest delays to trams actually occur in places where they’re already separated from cars, and are due to traffic lights. The congestion strategy includes measures to allow trams to change signals to speed them through intersections, and with so many of the major players in this group, there’s a good chance that with our participation we can finally get some action on traffic light priority.”
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Please join the PTUA to receive regular newsletters.

July 2008 edition articles:

• PTUA calls for services ‘Every 10 minutes to everywhere’
• PTUA members provide customer service suggestions
• Response to Eddington: Please try again, sir
• Victorian Budget – Backtracking again
• Eastlink’s open – now the road lobby wants the “missing link”

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The PTUA has made a submission to the government on east-west travel options (aka the Eddington report). It can be downloaded here (PDF, 515Kb)

18/7/2008: The Department of Transport has started making some of the many submissions available on their web site.

The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has expressed dismay at the Premier John Brumby for considering the building of the so-called `missing link’ freeway as part of a metropolitan ring road. The PTUA said that major public transport investment is needed instead.
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The PTUA participated in a media event on Tuesday morning with the Bus Industry Confederation to highlight the need for Federal funding for urban public transport. The BIC media release is below.

July 8, 2008 — $10 BILLION TO HELP FIX PUBLIC TRANSPORT CRISIS SAY EXPERTS

A group of public transport experts today called for a $10 billion investment from the Federal Government to help fix public transport.
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A Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) plan to upgrade evening train services would be a boon to the local economy in Whitehorse. Under the PTUA’s proposal, trains would operate every 15 minutes on all lines, including those to Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein and Glen Waverley, seven days a week.

“The current half-hourly evening train services are inconvenient and overcrowded,” said Jeremy Lunn, the PTUA’s Outer East Convenor. “As a result, many people are choosing to stay at home or to drive to their evening destination instead.”
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