Month: May 2010

  • We were wrong: Concessions

    In yesterday’s Herald Sun we said that low-income full-time post-graduate students are unable to get concession public transport fares. This is incorrect. Recent rule changes mean that anyone eligible for a Centrelink Healthcare Card (including Low Income Health Care Cards) can now get concession fares.

  • Full link not viable

    THE RACV wants us to believe that while WestLink may not be economically viable on its own, the full east-west freeway link would be (”Freeway not worth the cost: report”, The Age, 21/5). But it is not so: the Eddington study in 2008 found that the full East-West freeway had a benefit-cost ratio of just…

  • Poor connections leave passengers waiting

    A study by the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has highlighted the poor co-ordination between train and bus timetables on many routes around Melbourne. It found that just 37.5% of train arrivals have bus connections at stations — 39.8% on weekdays, 32.3% on Saturdays, and just 25.3% on Sundays. Of those connections, 42.5% require passengers…

  • State budget: Bus users miss out

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed rail and tram spending in the State Budget, but expressed disappointment at the lack of upgrades to bus services. “The total amount being spent on public transport certainly sounds impressive, but most of that is a re-announcement of the $4.3 billion Regional Rail Link project, largely funded…