Category: Melbourne and suburbs

  • Bus proposals welcomed

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has welcomed Infrastructure Victoria’s paper on fixing Melbourne’s bus network. PTUA spokesperson Daniel Bowen said that IV’s recommendations to the government were to be applauded. “For many Melburnians, their only local public transport is buses. But the bus network is poorly funded, poorly planned, and poorly implemented. With indirect…

    Bus proposals welcomed
  • Mulgrave is closed on weekends unless you have a car — PTUA calls for 7-day bus services

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) is calling on all Mulgrave by-election candidates to champion 7-day bus services on crucial routes within the electorate. Key Mulgrave bus routes 800, 802, 804, 814 and 885 do not operate on Sundays despite providing residents in the electorate a connection to destinations such as Chadstone, Monash University, Dandenong,…

    Mulgrave is closed on weekends unless you have a car — PTUA calls for 7-day bus services
  • Dandenong line frequency cuts cause turmoil

    The PTUA is alarmed about cuts in the frequency of trains on Melbourne’s busiest rail lines, only days after the completion of works which were supposed to improve services. Having endured the closure of the Cranbourne and Pakenham lines for almost a month to allow the installation of new rail equipment, passengers have had their…

    Dandenong line frequency cuts cause turmoil
  • COVID-19 smashes the life from cities, which is why we must smash COVID-19

    by Tony Morton As COVID-19’s second waves wash over our technologically advanced civilisation, so follows the commentary on what this pandemic means for cities and for daily life in the future. Public transport sits at the heart of the discourse, and for good reason. In normal times, public transport sustains the life of the world’s…

    COVID-19 smashes the life from cities, which is why we must smash COVID-19
  • PTUA concerned on curfew cuts

    Trams and trains on a Saturday timetable every day would be a far better outcome for passengers compared to the situation we have now.

    PTUA concerned on curfew cuts
  • PTUA welcomes additional services

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has applauded the additional train and tram services announced on Friday by the Victorian Government. “These changes are very welcome”, said PTUA spokesperson Daniel Bowen. “Train service frequencies drop off outside peak hours, resulting in long wait times and – under normal circumstances – crowding. “We have been concerned…

    PTUA welcomes additional services
  • Transport for Everyone: Post COVID-19 Recovery – New vision for buses

    (Media release from Transport For Everyone) Key transport professionals have jointly written to the Victorian Premier urging the Government’s Building Victoria’s Recovery Taskforce to focus on upgrading bus services and active transport through a 5-point plan to improve mobility for Melbourne and build jobs as part of recovery from COVID-19. The 5-point plan seeks a…

    Transport for Everyone: Post COVID-19 Recovery – New vision for buses
  • Planning confusion sells Melbourne’s west, air travellers short

    Statement by the Public Transport Users Association The Public Transport Users Association is concerned at recent commentary on new rail developments in Melbourne’s west, specifically the promised rail link to Melbourne Airport, and the implied pressure to rush into major decisions in the absence of a comprehensive plan for public transport development. At a high…

    Planning confusion sells Melbourne’s west, air travellers short
  • PTUA opposed to expansion of the Free Tram Zone

    PTUA does not support the Free Tram Zone, due to the problems it causes, including crowding, and the lack of benefits it provides to paying public transport users. We also do not support the Zone being extended. Data indicates the Free Tram Zone has increased tram usage at the expense of “active” modes (walking and…

    PTUA opposed to expansion of the Free Tram Zone
  • Enough is enough: Time for Tram Cams to stop dangerous motorists

    The Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) has called for tram cams, and stronger enforcement of road rules to improve tram passenger safety. Australian road rules state that motorists are required to stop when trams stop, to allow passengers to board and alight safely.[1] “This is a rule often broken, with potentially fatal results”, said PTUA…

    Enough is enough: Time for Tram Cams to stop dangerous motorists
  • Melbourne transport still shaped by 50 year old plan – time for a rethink

    December 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan [1]: a radical exercise that sought to reshape Melbourne at vast expense, from a ‘garden city’ with well-used public transport, to a car-dominated sprawling ‘doughnut city’ based on a Los Angeles-style grid of freeways. PTUA spokesperson Daniel Bowen said that while other transport…

    Melbourne transport still shaped by 50 year old plan – time for a rethink
  • Eastern Freeway rail corridor is what merits protection

    Protect Hamer legacy of provision for rail in freeway median: PTUA According to the Public Transport Users Association there is only one aspect of the Eastern Freeway that merits heritage protection, and that is the unique design features included by the Hamer Government to ensure a train line could be easily installed in the corridor.…

    Eastern Freeway rail corridor is what merits protection