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Mayor Robert Doyle’s ”Damascus” conversion on Swanston Street has led to a good plan. But on design and location of tram stops, it lets the city down badly.
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With the new Myki ticketing system having been in public use for one month, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has compiled a list of problems with it, and has called for the government to ensure the system is running more smoothly before switching more people from Metcard to Myki.

“We are continuing to advise passengers not to use Myki, but to stick to Metcard instead. By all means get a Myki card while they’re offered for free, but stick it in the drawer for a few months until the system works properly”, said PTUA President Daniel Bowen.

“While Myki on trains has so far been reasonably reliable, a number of people have had problems with it, and there have been enough issues that it would cause chaos in peak hours should large numbers of people use it.

“We have also received numerous complaints about the Myki web site, and in particular online topups.”
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The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has wished departing Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky well, noting that her successor will have a big job ahead to reform Melbourne and Victoria’s public transport network.

“Lynne Kosky has been much maligned, but she inherited a number of problems from former minister Peter Batchelor, including poor maintenance practices and the poison chalice that is the Myki ticketing system”, said PTUA President Daniel Bowen.
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The Public Transport Users Association has commended Melbourne’s new train operator, Metro Trains Melbourne, for its support of the PTUA’s ‘Every 10 Minutes to Everywhere’ campaign.

In a statement to The Age on 16 January, Metro Trains chief executive Andrew Lezala referred to the PTUA’s campaign to run trains, trams and buses every 10 minutes, and said “this was the correct approach”. “I like the tram network because the frequency is such that you do not need to understand the timetable.” The train network needed that frequency, he said.
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