Author: PTUA
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Motorways: Salami tactics
It almost defies reason that, with our train system virtually falling apart and car use per capita in decline, this government is hell-bent on committing public money to a road project with 50¢ of benefit for every $1 of costs (The Age: “Western end of project could win priority“, 3/5) When the Bolte Bridge was…
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Funding Rail is Vital but Avoid Hasty Promises, urges PTUA
The Public Transport Users Association today released a list of urgently needed Victorian rail projects they say should take priority over the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel and East West tollroad for Federal funding. “We are encouraged by the Gillard Government’s strong stand in favour of Federal funding for urban rail in Australia,” said PTUA President…
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Axe Myki and use e-Tag instead, says PTUA
Following the Napthine government’s announcement that single-use public transport tickets will no longer be available from this month[1], the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has urged the government to abandon the trouble-plagued Myki card and instead rollout e-Tag on the public transport network. Most regular users of CityLink and EastLink have an e-Tag, while many…
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Another Myki mess – Government scraps our most popular ticket
The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) revealed today the Victorian Government will scrap the use of short-term tickets on Geelong buses in the middle of next month. PTUA Geelong Branch Convenor Paul Westcott said that move was the worst decision since the introduction of Myki itself, and would cause huge problems for bus users in…
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Plan will sit on shelf unless priorities change, says PTUA
Welcome news on high capacity signalling, but must be fast-tracked Public Transport Victoria’s new Rail Network Development Plan risks joining previous attempts and gathering dust on a shelf, due to its reliance on expensive, unfunded and premature tunnels, the Public Transport Users Association said today. “This plan has all the right individual elements in it,”…
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Cars remain problem
The West Gate bridge carries 160,000 vehicles a day (”Trucks test structure of West Gate”, 18/3), but that is only a modest 15 per cent increase on 10 years ago, when it carried 140,000. Then, as now, traffic was forecast to increase by some staggering amount over the next decade. In fact, traffic finds its…
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Doncaster Rail Report is “Topsy-Turvy Planning”, says PTUA
Making the Doncaster rail extension conditional on undergrounding the South Morang line is unnecessary and an excuse to kill the project, the Public Transport Users Association said today. “The government all but promised to build the Doncaster extension in 2010, but they failed to confront a bureaucracy that’s too fond of making excuses to do…
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Ditch road tunnel and remove level crossings instead, Liberals urged
The Victorian and federal Liberal parties should forget the uneconomic East-West road tunnel and instead direct road funding to a widespread program of level crossing removals, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) said today. “Even being optimistic, the Eddington study found the East-West tollroad would cost several billion dollars more than any benefits it would…
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Rowville Rail possible with Dandenong upgrade, no Metro tunnel
Get cracking on Dandenong line upgrade, but Metro tunnel a distraction: PTUA Signalling upgrades and grade separations on the Dandenong line should proceed immediately to boost service to growth suburbs and enable the Rowville rail extension. But claims that the Melbourne Metro tunnel from Footscray to South Yarra is a prerequisite to Rowville rail are…
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Baillieu urged to invest in public transport to save time, money and lives: PTUA
A renewed focus on improving public transport is needed to save Victorians time and money, and to cut the toll of death and injury on the roads, the Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) said today. “Car dependence means more money has to be spent battling road congestion, more time is wasted in traffic, and more…
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Our final PT Problem of the Day for now: Buses along side streets = confusing, slow routes
Bus drivers have real difficulty manoeuvring their buses down side streets, between parked cars. Apart from slow trips, it also means journeys for passengers are along indirect routes and that services are confusing for first-time users. A PTUA study last year found that on average, Melbourne bus routes were 70% longer than the most direct…
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PT Problem of the Day: Regional Rail Link closure – lack of low-floor buses, and poor information
The Sunbury, Ballarat and Bendigo lines have just had a two week closure for Regional Rail Link works. While reports suggest the replacement services ran pretty smoothly, there were two issues of note that we’re highlighting: Low-floor buses: PTV made a pledge that Ninety per cent of replacement buses will be Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)…