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Author: PTUA

  • 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…

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

  • PT Problem of the Day: Fancy new Smartbus display positioned too far from stop, and obscured by other signs

    Finally, almost a year after Smartbus routes started serving Lonsdale Street, the automated departure displays have started being switched-on at outbound CBD stops. This is good news, but it’s exposed other problems with the displays: this one for example, at the busy stop between Queen and Elizabeth Streets. The sign is too far from the…

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

    Turns out it’s not just the privately-run Southern Cross Station where they’re lax about updating the railway network maps. This map at Flagstaff station, run by Metro, also fails to include Coolaroo, which has now been open for over a year. It should be between Broadmeadows and Roxburgh Park. (To their credit, Southern Cross Station…

    PT Problem of the Day: Coolaroo missing from MetroTrains maps

  • PT Problem of the Day: Poor station exit design and #Myki reader placement

    As the rail network gets busier, it’s important that stations be designed to assist the efficient flow of people. The current design of some railway station exits, and the placement of Myki readers simply doesn’t make sense. 1. Armadale station — this reader is well out of the way, a long distance from where passengers…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Nightrider misses out on stop-specific timetables

    One genuinely worthwhile upgrade in recent years has been the Metlink provision of stop-specific timetables at every train, tram and bus stop across Melbourne. But Nightrider stops missed out. Instead, stops display times from the start of the route, and ask you to “use the route map to calculate approximate time” — as if timetables…

  • Minister Mulder addresses PTUA members

    Last Thursday night Minister for Public Transport Terry Mulder attended a meeting of PTUA members. Mr Mulder’s address was followed by a lengthy question and answer session, covering issues such as Myki, bikes on trains, station facilities, Altona Loop timetables and the government’s planned Public Transport Development Authority. The Minister also discussed the new Melbourne…

  • PT Problem of the Day: Long exit queues at city stations

    Long queues to exit city stations are becoming more common in peak hours. This picture was taken at Flagstaff, and is a little more orderly than South Yarra. At both these locations and others, fare gates present a bottleneck, and it’s obvious more needs to be done to help passengers exit the stations quickly. Help…

  • Melbourne to get Google Transit eventually, but data to remain secret?

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has learnt that moves are underway to include Melbourne’s public transport timetables in Google Transit, but it seems there are no plans to release timetable data publicly. PTUA President Daniel Bowen said that Google Transit had timetable data for over four hundred cities around the world[1], including all services…