Posts Tagged transport
Locked out
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on March 16th, 2010
If Myki is my key to Melbourne, then I need a locksmith urgently.
Up the poll
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on March 11th, 2010
Once again there are no winners in the perpetual blame-shifting merry-go-round of Melbourne public transport. If either the government or Metro’s executives are genuinely surprised at the system’s continued failure, then things are even grimmer than we thought.
But that’s not the only worry, if truth really matters. Mr Brumby’s blaming of the operator of the day for the inherent failures of the chronically neglected state-owned hardware, is nothing if not entirely predictable. But with such systemic obfuscation, the last thing we need is the kind of media hyperbole which claims that 69% of Age readers “believed Connex had run the train system better.” (The Age, 11/3) As it is, the value of these unvalidated tabloid-style “polls” is doubtful, and certainly not this paper’s finest contribution to public discourse. But a negative answer to the question “is Metro running a better rail system than Connex?” (Poll, 9/3) does not yield the above conclusion.
Whether a failure of basic logic, or just plain sloppy, please spare us such “insight”. Just two certainties remain: The travelling public are being played for mugs again, and truth is the casualty.
Still in transit
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on June 26th, 2009
So we’re going to get a more reliable system, more services and greater punctuality, with the same infrastructure, same public investment and Myki? Looking forward to it, John.
More pedals
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on March 13th, 2009
Better parking
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on December 3rd, 2008
Foot in mouth
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on February 3rd, 2007
State Labor frontbencher Tim Pallas should have resisted the
temptation to score a political point in commenting (3/2) on the
current public transport crisis. The Bracks government may be
spending “$2 billion upgrading rail infrastructure”. But the
reference to “decades of neglect of the previous Liberal Governments”
is both illogical and unfortunate. Victoria has been governed by
Labor for 14 of the past 25 years. Foot in mouth, Tim?
Don’t bring us a shrubbery
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on May 17th, 2006
In addressing “hazards such as poles and trees near roads” (The Age, 17/5), I hope that the state government’s transport initiative will address one ubiquitous and often-overlooked suburban hazard. Councils across Melbourne seem obsessed with the practice of decorating roundabouts with shrubs. The aesthetic appeal of this practice is undeniable, but the traffic safety implications are diabolical, especially at major intersections during peak periods. The landscape engineers exhibit impressive skill in selecting vegetation of just the right height to obscure car indicator lights. Spices up the daily grind no end, but not good for the ticker.
Transport terror
Posted by eN0ch in Letters, Politics and society, The Age on November 13th, 2005
Please Mr Batchelor, don’t change anything about our public transport system. Especially not before the games. It’s Melbourne’s strongest line of defense in the war on terror.
Unpredicatble timetables, signal faults, train cancellations, trams stuck in traffic, buses that never come, failed connections, uncooperative ticket machines, trains too full to board, mechanical breakdowns, frustrating delays, feral inspectors. And the sheer impossibility of coordinated rendezvous or planned excursions.
The terrorist bombers won’t have a hope.