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Month: October 2011

  • PT Problem of the Day: #MetroTrains Coolaroo station missing from online maps

    We’ve highlighted before that despite opening in mid-2010, Coolaroo station has been missing from maps at Southern Cross Station and elsewhere. It might be a lot of work to update maps right across the network, but the same is not true online. Yet 16 months after Coolaroo station opened, it is still missing from the…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Poor information during disruptions

    There were widespread disruptions to CBD trams last Friday due to police clashes with Occupy Melbourne protestors. Trams in Swanston Street didn’t run for several hours, but for much of the time there were no indications of the blockage on the “realtime” information screens provided at stops. While some passengers at nearby stops could (provided…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Adverts get in the way at Southern Cross Station

    Most people are accepting of advertising on and around public transport, as long as the advertising is unobtrusive, and in the hope that the revenue goes into funding better services. Unfortunately this advertising at Southern Cross Station is far from unobtrusive. Instead, it obscures wayfinding signage designed to help people find the entrance to their…

  • Legislation for public transport authority introduced

    From the September PTUA Newsletter Legislation establishing the Public Transport Development Authority was introduced to State Parliament on 14 September, and is expected to be debated this week. On this vitally important policy initiative the government is proceeding broadly in the right direction. The structure and powers of the PTDA in this legislation largely mirror…

  • PT Problem of the Day: #MetroTrains priority seats that are hard to shift

    It must be some kind of cruel joke that the priority seats (that is, those designated to be prioritised for passengers with special needs, such as the elderly and those with mobility issues) are so difficult to use on Siemens trains. It is common to see even able-bodied passengers struggle to pull them down into…

  • Tram passengers fenced-in

    Boroondara is fencing in tram passengers, delaying trams and resulting in greater road congestion according to the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA). Pedestrian fencing exists at a number of tram stops in the City of Boroondara, including the intersection of Glenferrie and Riversdale roads, Hawthorn and is making it difficult for passengers to board and…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Green buttons that don’t work

    At many stations the only real-time information provided is the green button. Often this doesn’t work, repeatedly returning only an engaged signal, as if Metro has forgotten to pay its phone bill. Passengers would benefit enormously if these buttons worked, or if more stations were upgraded with visual displays or screens, and — dare we…