It shows there is more capacity to be squeezed out of the network, and smarter timetabling can get more trains on to the tracks.

But there will be no doubling of peak hour trips to the CBD. The vast majority of CBD commuters already use public transport, and the peak hour commuting population is only expected to grow by 20 per cent to 2020, according to City of Melbourne projections.

Outside peak hour, there is ample space on the public transport network to attract more people away from cars and cut traffic congestion by providing frequent services, seven days a week.

We look forward to Metro and the Government boosting services to get more people on board.

Daniel Bowen, president, Public Transport Users Association

(Published in the Herald Sun, 5/3/2010)

Although extra platforms will be provided at both Footscray and Southern Cross stations as part of the $4.2bn project, the Department of Transport has told the PTUA that platforms at North Melbourne won’t be provided, apparently to keep costs down.

North Melbourne is currently a major interchange point for travellers on the Geelong line, providing connections to City Loop services, as well as the recently-introduced 401 shuttle bus from North Melbourne to the university and hospital precincts in Parkville. The 401 was established in part to assist Geelong line commuters.

“Given that $4.2 billion is to be spent on this scheme, it is completely unacceptable that such a vital and well-used interchange point will be by-passed,” PTUA Geelong Branch convenor Paul Westcott said.

“Doing that will inconvenience a large number of Geelong rail passengers every day.”

Geelong passengers wanting to transfer to the City Loop will be forced to change trains at Footscray, from where they will only be able to use Sydenham line trains to gain access to the Loop, because Werribee trains travelling though Footscray only run direct to Flinders Street.

“The Sydenham line is the most overcrowded in Melbourne, so forcing Geelong passengers squeeze onto these already packed trains in peak hour is a recipe for chaos,” Mr Westcott said. He also noted that suburban trains to Craigieburn, Upfield and Melbourne Showgrounds stop at North Melbourne, but do not run to Footscray.

“The revelation of this plan only adds to the impression that Geelong commuters will be short-changed by the Regional Rail Project. We have no real idea how the line is to be operated, and there’s certainly no likelihood that it will offer any time savings to Geelong travellers.

“Fortunately there’s still plenty of time for the short-sighted idea of by-passing North Melbourne to be ditched, as it must be,” Mr Westcott concluded.

Every tram user will be affected: as on Collins Street, trams will halt more despite fewer stops, as trams have to stop at each set of traffic lights, and then at the tram stops.

The solution is simple: shorter platforms at every interchange, and traffic light priority to prevent long tram queues. A brief green light when trams want to cross the intersection is all that is required. This small change would show genuine leadership on transport.

Tim Petersen, Public Transport Users Association, Melbourne

(Published in The Age, 30/1/2010)

“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.”

Mr Bowen said there was a range of problems, including delays at station gates, incorrect charging, some stations lacking any machines to top-up, and funds paid through the web site simply disappearing.

“The web site is a disaster area. How a system costing hundreds of millions of dollars can have such a shoddy web site is a real mystery. It doesn’t work with some of the most popular web browsers, it uses confusing jargon, it pedantically rejects names and addresses, it produces transaction reports which are not suitable for business and taxation purposes, and unbelievably it regularly takes people’s money and then loses it.

“All of these problems must be fixed. While it would make sense to make Myki valid on trams and buses as soon as the scanners are working reliably, the government must rectify these issues before getting more people onto Myki. Slow and unresponsive gates, for example, will cause chaos at busy city stations if more people start using it.

“Passengers face enough issues using public transport; from late and packed trains to slow trams to infrequent buses. They just want a ticketing system that works, and public transport that’s fast, frequent, clean, and reliable and gets them where they want to go”, concluded Mr Bowen.

* * *

Myki system problems:

Confusion over Myki being valid on metropolitan trains, but not on trams or buses (particularly as trams and buses do not display “Testing only” notices in vehicles or on the scanners)**

Some City station gates do not respond to cards, or respond very slowly

Scanner response time is unpredictable – sometimes fast, sometimes slow**

Scanner beep tone does not differentiate between touch-on and touch-off (yet it does distinguish between full fare and concession, which is useless to passengers)

Confusion over fares, because scanners display the price of the fare (eg $2.94), but not what the fare is or when it expires (eg 2 hour Zone 1, expires 10am)

Reports of some trips from zone 2 through zone 1 to zone 2 (eg Greensborough to Highett) being charged at a zone 2-only rate (the correct fare is zone 1+2)**

Reports of some Myki Pass trips being charged a default (two zone) fare when not touching-off, which is not meant to happen

Delays in processing mean some cards require activation at station machines and/or registration on the web site, despite cover letter claiming they are already registered

Call Centre staff unable to fix anything other than the simplest problems; in many cases they are sending extra cards out instead

Cases of call Centre “service request” referrals for more complex problems resulting in the problem not being fixed, but irrelevant publicity material being emailed to the customer instead

21 stations have no Myki vending machines, including busy stations such as South Yarra, Box Hill, Frankston. Most of these are staffed stations, where a Metcard machine could be replaced by a Myki machine, leaving numerous other Metcard machines and booking office staff able to sell Metcards.

Some suburban stations have insufficient scanners to cope with peak hour crowds (particularly evenings when large numbers of people will need to touch-off their Myki tickets in quick succession)

* * *

Myki web site problems:

Excessive delays between online topups and the money being available on the card

A number of reports of online topups or pass purchases going “missing”, despite the money being taken out of the customer’s bank account

Delays in some cards ordered online arriving in the mail**

Delays in travel history being listed on the web site

Travel history excludes some trips

Travel history zone information is blank

Some parts of the web site incompatible with some web browsers, including some versions of Firefox and Apple Safari, and all versions of Google Chrome

Web site order form is difficult to use: rejects suburb if missing a space, even if it is a common spelling such as “Glenhuntly” (which is not technically correct, but matches the railway station name); rejects given names if there is a space at the end of it. In most cases the web site will reject the entry but not tell the user specifically what the problem is.

Web site terminology confusing (eg “Waiting patron call” appears to indicate an ordered card has been sent)

Pass expiry date shown on web site is misleading, for instance showing February 5th when it is actually 3am on February 5th, eg the ticket effectively expires at the end of the day of February 4th. (Platform scanners show the full date/time, which could also be misleading, but at least is accurate.)

Transaction PDF report does not immediately download, but is emailed later, but some PDFs do not arrive, or are delayed

Transaction PDF report does not show all charges incurred; shows “zone 2″ for stations in the zone 1/2 overlap; uses complex jargon like “Single Trip Stored Value product (City Saver)”; does not show opening balance; is not in a format suitable for business/tax purposes.

Web site confusingly refers to zone 0 (which is actually the City Saver zone)

• See also: Myki Q+A: Straight answers to your questions

**Update 9/2/2010: We have received feedback from the TTA that these problems have been largely resolved in the last couple of weeks, and this appears to be supported by anecdotal evidence from users. In the case of stations currently without Myki vending machines, the TTA advises that work has commenced on installing them. The TTA also tells us they are unable to replicate the problem of incorrect charging for a trip from zone 2 through zone 1 to zone 2, and that they are working on some of the other problems.

“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.

Mr Bowen said that while Ms Kosky had been criticised for failing to take responsibility and action on the train system, she had started to fix the problems through increased investment in maintenance and infrastructure, the full effects of which are likely to be felt in the next 12-18 months.

“But there is much more to do, and the poor planning and decision making processes that led to our current transport mess are still in place.

“Melbourne is a growing city, and needs more services into growing areas, frequent trains seven-days-a-week, frequent buses properly timetabled to connect at stations, and better traffic light priority for trams.

“To get all this done, we need a public transport minister who will reform the management of the network; a minister prepared to tackle the Department of Transport’s problems of a lack of accountability and poor service planning. Deciding to establish a new Public Transport Authority, in line with the recent Senate report[1], would show that the new minister is serious.

“Right across Melbourne residents are crying out for better public transport that provides a genuine alternative to car travel. The challenge for the new minister is to deliver it.”

[1] The Inquiry into the Investment of Commonwealth and State Funds in Public Passenger Transport Infrastructure and Services, which reported in August 2009, included the point that “Australian Government funding for transport initiatives should be conditional on reforms to state and territory transport and planning departments to create central coordinating agencies along the model of the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia.”
www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/rrat_ctte/public_transport