Author: PTUA

We’re told it takes substantial force to smash the screen on a Myki vending machine, but vandals at Hughesdale evidently achieved it, preventing passengers from topping-up their Myki at the station. Hopefully they were captured on CCTV and will be caught, but is enough being done to prevent this type of damage? Hughesdale is an…

Brunswick’s Hope Street 509 bus service runs for the last time this week. Public Transport Victoria is adamant the route’s low patronage does not warrant the cost, and that it is too close to other services. The route is only 2km long, and does not connect to train services. It’s clear that some residents, particularly…

At the brand new tram stops in Swanston Street are these brand new signs. You can tell they’re new because they have the new, up-to-date “PTV” web site address on them. Problem is the maps are out of date. Just like older maps at other CBD tram stops, they still show bus routes that were…

It’s common to see vehicles (of all types, not just taxis) stopped in bus zones. There seems to be little or no policing of this — no wonder this bus driver repeatedly beeped in vain waiting for the errant taxi to move, causing a delay to services along Melbourne’s busiest bus corridor, Lonsdale Street. And…

It’s not just pedestrians, cyclists, trams, buses and motorists getting delayed by level crossings. It’s also a problem for emergency service vehicles. As one paramedic told The Age last year (about the Clayton Road level crossing, near Monash Medical Centre), “If you go into cardiac arrest, think how much of someone’s brain is going to…

PTUA member Andrew asked V/Line staff why the windows on this Albury train were so dirty, and was told the train could not use the train wash at Southern Cross station. Could it be that V/Line’s train wash can only cope with broad gauge trains, meaning the Albury trains can’t use it? If so, why…

As highlighted in The Age on Friday, there is a disconnect between the laws around level crossings and how many of them work. Crossings that allow access to stations with island platforms are required by PTV standards to have gates that operate independently, opening and closing according to which track(s) have approaching trains. But the…

For the vast majority of tram trips, it’s unnecessary to touch-off — doing so just wastes time, and can cause delays, particularly at busy tram stops. The only circumstance when it is necessary is when you are travelling entirely within the zone 2 sections of routes 75, 86, 109 and specifically want the zone 2-only…

We’re told that some 1500 people travel on the Geelong line to and from Werribee every week. The Regional Rail Link project, expected to open in 2016, will result in a big boost in track capacity, allowing more Metro and V/Line trains to run, but will also see Geelong trains bypass Werribee. It’s not clear…