Melbourne visit Jan 2011

[ozbob]

Been using the myki extensively on a variety of modes and travel combinations.  No issues so far.  I find the myki easier to use than the go card, and of course the fare structure is just so much better.  Have used online and cash top ups as well.

BNE













Sky Bus Melbourne








Southern Cross








Murrumbeena




Bus at Dandenong



Photographs R Dow 4th January 2011

[ozbob]

Frankston and Stony Point.  The rail service from Frankston to Stony Point is very reminiscent of the great days of rail motors buzzing around everywhere servicing a variety of branchline communities.  Light loading out bound, middle morning but almost a full load on the return from Stony Point by Frankston.

Frankston






























Stony Point














Back at Frankston







Photographs R Dow 5th January 2011

[ozbob]

Onboard a VLocity unit (3 car) 8.31am Taralgon service out of Southern Cross, heading down to Gippsland for the day.

Managed to squeeze in a few tram rides this morning.  Myki is flat fare optional on trams now, only touch on (no need to touch off) unless you are out in zone 2 land and wish to slightly reduce a short trip.

Melbourne really doesn't have much to whine about relative to SEQ ...  LOL.  It is always refreshing to see a public transport system with excellent frequency and design.  Sure some things can be improved but relative to SEQ miles ahead.

[Stillwater]

Ozbob, can we expect a full critique, Melbourne v Brisbane/SEQ following your busman's holiday?  Any lessons so far?

[ozbob]

The basic difference is frequency, plus a fare structure that encourages public transport use.

The two fundamental things missing in SEQ, sort that and the rest follows.

[#Metro]

What are the tram frequencies like?

[BrizCommuter]

What are the tram frequencies like?

http://www.railmaps.com.au/melbourn.htm

[ozbob]

Travelled to Drouin on the VLine service.  Much of the suburban network around Melbourne is not fenced.  There doesn't seem to be any problem with this, sometimes I think the obsessive fencing around Brisbane actually leads to problems in terms of challenging people to actually get around the fences.



























Photographs R Dow 6th January 2011

[ozbob]

Heading back to BNE.  Spent an hour or so riding around on trams this morning before getting on the Skybus. 

Trams, glorious trams  .  Went for ride in the Bumble Bee tram and a few others.

Myki has worked faultlessly on trams, trains, and buses during this visit.  I would be very surprised if they get rid of it, it is a better product than the go card IMHO.  And I have used the go card for a number of years now.  The myki screens are clearer, larger fonts, good colour combinations and the fare structure is probably the worlds best practise.  The go card is a poor second cousin to myki.  The other thing with the myki is that there are adequate numbers of readers everywhere, trams and on the railway stations.  They also have convenient myki check readers at the major stations as well.  These allow for a quick check of the card history without tying up the larger ticket machines which can also be used for checking a history as well as top up etc.  Myki 9 out of 10, go card 7 out of 10.



















































Photographs R Dow 7th January 2011

[ozbob]

What are the tram frequencies like?

Every few minutes, no need for timetables except out on the edges of the network.

Same for trains, overall the frequency is very good.  Some problems with late starts on Sundays.  I never worry about timetables in Melbourne during the week except for VLine, which makes the Sunshine Coast look rather sad ...

[colinw]

It really makes me wonder just how insular the attitude in QLD Transport & even the QLD Government is.

Forget about calling in consultants from overseas, we don't even come up to the standard of Melbourne or Perth.  A cheap domestic airfare is all that is required for our planners to see how things could be done better.

[Stillwater]

It is not uncommon for state governments to have 'exchange programs' for their staff, whereby up-and-coming brightsparks are swapped with someone from an equivalent agency interstate.  Usually the exchanges are for about 1-2 months.  The home agency pays the normal wages and super of the person they exchange, and also pay for accommodation from a staff development/study fund.  Upon their return to their home agency, the exchangee usually has to write up a paper, or give a presentation to staff, about lessons learned.  Maybe RailBOT could suggest such a swap for, say, two QR staffers.

[#Metro]

Send them to Perth!!!
(too bad there is no aircraft smiley!)

[colinw]

Send them to Perth!!!
(too bad there is no aircraft smiley!)

Yes, and make them use Airtrain to get to the airport.

[ozbob]

One of the buses I travelled on was the 800, which runs from Dandenong railway station to Chadstone shopping centre.  I actually travelled from Dandenong rail to Oakleigh rail.  Interesting bus run up the Princes Highway mainly, provides a public transport service away from the rail line although it connects to the rail line and parallels it in a general sense.


See --> http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/maps-stations-stops/metropolitan-buses/bus/992


I photographed the 901 bus at Frankston.  This is a remarkable bus route
--> http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/maps-stations-stops/metropolitan-buses/bus/3185







Photographs R Dow 5th January 2011

From the Herald Sun click here!

Melbourne's longest bus route takes passengers from Frankston to the airport

Melbourne's longest bus route takes passengers from Frankston to the airport

   * James Campbell
   * From: Sunday Herald Sun
   * October 10, 2010 12:00AM

THE wheels of the bus go round and round and round. For almost 4 1/2 hours.

America has Route 66, famed in song and legend.

Now Melbourne has SmartBus Route 901, a 115km odyssey from Frankston to Melbourne Airport, which takes more than four hours and travels much of city's northern and eastern suburbs.

To celebrate the arrival of this new route, travel has been free for the past two weeks, concluding today.

But even after the complimentary period ends, the bus won't be expensive - a one-way trip to the airport will cost a full fare adult passenger only $2.80.

Though, if you are planning on flying anywhere in Australia, it is more likely than not you will spend more time getting to the airport than you will on the plane.

The Sunday Herald Sun decided to try out the new bus on its four-hour journey through Melbourne's suburbs.

Shortly after 11.27am we board the bus outside Frankston station and head past Seaford towards Dandenong via Carrum Downs.

It is school holidays and most of the passengers are teenagers chatting or staring into space listening to music on their headphones.

Dandenong and Frankston are both well-established suburbs, but much of the Frankston-Dandenong Rd is still paddocks.

Most of the passengers change at Dandenong Station, something that is to be repeated each time we cross a railway line.

It seems we are the only people destined to follow the 901 to the bitter end.

But at Rowville, a couple board the bus carrying a brochure advertising the new route.

Maybe we are not the only ones going all the way.

Paul and Maureen Lucas have read about the 901 in their local newspaper and have decided to give it a try.

And their journey is going to be a longer than ours - almost twice as long because they will be taking the bus home again while we will be coming back to Southbank.

"We thought it would be interesting to see Melbourne this way," Mr Lucas explains.

After Rowville, the 901 goes through Scoresby, Wantirna and Ringwood.

Then at Nunawading we pass a cluster of shops selling the same thing.

When Channel 10 was in Nunawading I was taught its name was an Aboriginal word meaning "low ratings", but I now realise it must actually mean "here be bedding shops" - because within about 100m lie Dreamworks Bedding, Regal Mattress, Snooze, Bedshed and Fortywinks.

Shortly afterwards, at 1.39pm, we cross the Eastern Freeway - roughly halfway through our journey - and pass through Doncaster and Templestowe.

The Lucases are passing the time with a book of Sudoku puzzles.

At 2.10pm we cross the Yarra and head towards Greensborough, where built-up suburbia gives way to bushland.

Two and half hours into our trip, the bus seats are starting to seem very hard indeed. This is a suburban bus, not a coach.

There are no facilities on board. If you need to get off, the driver won't be waiting while you respond to the call of nature. You'll just have to catch the next bus along - though luckily there are four every hour.

After Yarrambat we pass through South Morang, Mill Park and Epping.

Then Campbellfield, Roxburgh Park and Broadmeadows.

By this time the end can't come quick enough.

After what seems an age we are on the freeway streaking for the airport.

Then finally, shortly after 3.45pm, we are dropped outside the Tiger Airways terminal.

We've travelled for 115km and stopped 200 times along one of the least scenic routes in Melbourne.

We head off in search of a toilet and then a taxi.

[#Metro]

One of the buses I travelled on was the 800, which runs from Dandenong railway station to Chadstone shopping centre.  I actually travelled from Dandenong rail to Oakleigh rail.  Interesting bus run up the Princes Highway mainly, provides a public transport service away from the rail line although it connects to the rail line.

It is a dedicated feeder bus terminating at rail!

And not only that it is reasonably frequent too, as it runs every 20 minutes, and every 15 minutes during peak periods.
http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/route/view/992

Melbourne is getting there...