-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Saturday, 19 August 2017 3:32 PM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: snippets, Fri.18.8.17

170817Th Melbourne 'Age' - street speeds.

170818F Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - all-night trams.

Roderick.

Fri.18.8.17 Melbourne Express.
7.09 Hundreds of commuters are still waiting for their fare refunds after
being caught in Melbourne's train network meltdown last month.
A computer glitch at Metro's control centre on July 13 left thousands of
train commuters stranded on platforms or crammed inside overcrowded
carriages.
Public Transport Victoria promised train passengers, who touched on their
myki card between 3pm and 7pm, would receive a fare refund within 30 days.
But two thirds of passengers affected by the chaos are yet to receive to
their promised refund.
PTV spokesperson John Lindsay said that the refund process was taking longer
than expected.
"We apologise that this is taking longer than first anticipated but we can
reassure all eligible passengers that they will be compensated," he said.
Are you still waiting for compensation after enduring the Great Train
Meltdown of 2017? Let me know.
Metro meltdown: How could this happen? After a computer fault halted trains
across the Metro network on Thursday evening, commuters are still waiting
for a proper explanation about how something like that could happen. Vision:
Channel Seven.
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-express-friday-august-18-2017-20170817
-gxy366.html>

August 17 2017 The slowest street in Melbourne's CBD: Three ways to get us
moving faster.
Walking the "golden mile" along Collins Street has long been a popular
pastime for tourists.
New data confirms it can also be quicker than driving.
More videos 5 cheap fixes to Melbourne's transport problems A think tank has
put forward 22 cost-effective ideas to ease congestion in the city.
Collins Street is the Melbourne CBD's slowest, and fixing its perpetual
bottlenecks is one of 22 congestion-busting ideas a new report by think tank
the McKell Institute has put forward to "keep Melbourne in the fast lane".
Peak-hour congestion in Collins Street Photo: Daniel Pockett.
The report argues politicians must think beyond building new roads and rail
lines to tackle Melbourne's growing congestion problem, which delivered a
$4.6 billion hit to economic productivity last year.
Major projects such as the Metro rail tunnel and level crossing removals are
needed, but the 10-year frenzy of construction activity they require
threatens to exacerbate that economic hit, unless some of the report's ideas
are adopted.
Here are three key ideas from the report:
Idea 1: Unblock CBD intersections
Cars and trucks that block intersections create a ripple effect that slows
down traffic right across the CBD.
The institute sampled one week of Google Maps data this month and found
average speeds in the Hoddle grid can fall below 13km/h in peak hour.
Collins Street is hardest hit, making it Melbourne CBD's slowest street,
with average peak-hour speeds as slow as 4.6 km/h when congestion is at its
worst on Thursday nights.
graph
Motorists who bank up across an intersection are breaking road rule 128.
The report argues it's time for traffic police to get much tougher on
drivers who break that law. It proposes installing traffic cameras to catch
and fine drivers blocking intersections.
However, it acknowledges an awareness campaign would be better in the first
instance.
graph
Pedestrians are not blameless in blocking busy city intersections either,
the institute says.
Many cross the street after the green walking cycle has finished and delay
right-turning cars from exiting the intersection.
Idea 2: CBD airport terminal. People flying out of Melbourne Airport would
be able to check-in and clear security at a satellite airport terminal at
Southern Cross Station in the CBD, before boarding an express bus to
Tullamarine, under this proposal to ease traffic snarls.
The concept is similar to Hong Kong's "in-town check-in" service that allows
passengers to check-in their luggage in the city centre.
The Tullamarine Freeway is being widened at a cost of $1.3 billion, and the
Turnbull and Andrews governments have finally agreed that Melbourne Airport
needs a rail link, committing a combined $30 million to another study.
But any such link would be at least 10 years away from opening, by which
time the airport's owners predict the widened freeway will once again start
to struggle.
The airport had 34 million visitors last year and it's predicted that figure
will double in the next 20 years.
Google Maps data indicates some of the worst traffic gridlock is in the last
2 kilometres of the journey from the CBD, where it takes up to 1 minute and
10 seconds to travel just 100 metres.
"We are calling for a new satellite terminal to be established at the CBD
where domestic passengers could not only check-in for their flight, but pass
through security before boarding a secured bus," the report states.
The "secured bus" would then take passengers directly from Southern Cross
Station to the airport.
This innovation would require the co-operation of CityLink owner Transurban,
should the buses need an express lane to handle the extra crowds, while the
federal government who would have to sign off on security clearances.
Queueing is just part of modern life, especially in heavily populated areas.
Long queues at Melbourne Airport earlier this year. Photo: Penny Stephens
Idea 3: 'Uber buses'. Melburnians' disdain for bus travel in unrivalled in
Australian capital cities.
Just 1.4 per cent of the population travel to work by bus, according to 2011
census data.
The reasons are many: most come every 30 to 60 minutes, few run after 9pm
and some do not run on Sundays; many take indirect routes, and are not given
their own lanes or priority at intersections.
Hoddle Street is set for an overhaul, including new bus lanes and an
on-street parking ban.
Putting bus lanes on arterial roads such as Hoddle Street could attract more
passengers. Photo: Angela Wylie .
But the report argues buses could be made more attractive if:
..traffic lights were programmed to turn green upon a bus' approach; .more
bus priority lanes were installed on arterial roads, and there were;
..smaller "on demand" buses for quieter areas.
Passengers would book a bus ride online, as they might book a ride with
Uber, for example.
"In areas or times of the day with low passenger numbers, on-demand booking
of buses could be more efficient than some of the circuitous routes that
currently occur in suburban areas," the report says.
Poll: How should we get Melbourne moving faster?
Unblock CBD intersections .
An airport terminal in the CBD .
Create 'Uber' buses .
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/the-slowest-street-in-melbournes-cbd-three-ways-
to-get-us-moving-faster-20170815-gxwn87.html>

Matt Johnston: Electrical storms hang over Spring St.
Herald Sun August 17, 2017.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/matt-johnston-electrical-storms-hang-over
-spring-st/news-story/ae0468072b01fb7f3963e85b123a1513>