-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Thursday, 19 October 2017 10:46 AM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: snippets, Wed.18.10.17

Links:
* town planning https://www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/shopping-centres-of-the-future-will-look-more-like-mini-towns

Attached:

171018W Melbourne 'Herald Sun':
- oBike. with tdu.
- energy, plus a letter. with tdu.
- cycling safety.
- taxi fares, plus a letter.

171015Su Melbourne 'Age':
- Brisbane trains and property prices.
- pantograph loss.

Roderick.

Metro Twitter Wed.18.10.17
If you plan to Ride2Work today in North Melbourne, come and find our tunnel information stand at North Melbourne Recreation Centre.

Melbourne Express: October 18, 2017 .
A walker has found abandoned oBikes on a Melbourne beach this morning, two of which look like they have been thrown into the ocean.
The man said he saw the "oBike mess" on the beach everyday.
Read transport reporter Timna Jacks story on the strict new rules slapped on oBikes here.
Abandoned oBikes found at beach.
A couple of the bikes look like they had been thrown into the ocean.
The taxi industry is set for a massive shake-up, with taxi companies able to set their own prices under the latest set of reforms.
The state government says the changes will provide an even playing field for taxi, hire car and ride-sharing services.
Under the latest reforms, due to be introduced in State Parliament on Wednesday, it is believed that passengers booking via an app would receive a fair estimate at the time of booking.
Read our report here.
Taxi, hire car and ridesharing services will now have an even playing field, says Public Transport Minister Jacinta Allan. Photo: Supplied .
Public Transport Victoria released its annual report yesterday. Compelling reading.
Here are some fast facts from the report:
- Metro Trains carried 236.8 million people last financial year, up 0.5 per cent.
- Punctuality and reliability were 88 per cent and 98 per cent respectively. Metro says that's a result of "infrastructure challenges and increasing passenger demand".
- Trams carried 204 million people, up just 0.2 per cent. The low growth was blamed on "traffic congestion limiting tram speeds and reliability".
- Buses carried 118 million people, a decrease of 4 per cent. "Traffic congestion continues to be the most significant contributor to bus poor bus punctuality," PTV says.
- Fare evasion cost Victoria an extra $5.6 million last financial year. The total "revenue impact" was $36.5 million.
- And, all staff were given free reusable coffee keep cups to help cut down rubbish going to landfill.
If you experienced delays on the 96 or 86 tram routes last night, it was because this pantograph came clean off the top of a tram on Nicholson Street.
The pantograph is the big black apparatus that connects the tram to the overhead power lines.
Dozens of commuters had to get off trams and start walking home. Good thing it was a clear, warm night. Good weather for strolling.
The pantograph that came straight off the top of a tram on Nicholson Street on Tuesday evening. Photo: Marissa Calligeros .
Today is Ride2Work Day.
"Tens of thousands of Australian commuters are joining the two-wheeled revolution today by ditching the car, train and bus and jumping on their bikes for Bicycle Network's National Ride2Work Day," spokesman Alexander Miller said.
"National Ride2Work Day shows everyday people just how easy, convenient and fun it is to ride a bike to work."
The day will be celebrated with free breakfasts at community hubs and workplaces across the country.
Melbourne's CBD breakfast is at Harbour Esplanade, Docklands.
Click here to see a map with all breakfast locations.
Today is Ride2Work Day to Work day. Photo: Penny Stephens
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/melbourne-express-october-18-2017-20171017-gz2xvw.html>

Price growth of land near second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek is “not sustainable” October 11, 2017. with tdu.
<www.commercialrealestate.com.au/news/price-growth-of-land-near-second-sydney-airport-at-badgerys-creek-is-unsustainable>

Doomben the most expensive Brisbane train line to buy a house on: Domain Group. Oct 15, 2017.
The most expensive Brisbane train line to buy a house on has been revealed as the Doomben line, according to new data.
Domain Group has crunched the numbers on the average median house price along each train route, following the release of the latest State of the Market report earlier this week.
Unsurprisingly, Doomben emerged as the clear leader, with several of Brisbane’s most expensive suburbs making up the relatively short train line.
The most expensive train line in Brisbane by far was the Doomben line. Photo: Tammy Law.
Doomben’s lowest median was Albion at $752 000 while its highest was Ascot at $1.4m. Overall the train line’s average price came in at $950 000 – head and shoulders above the second-most expensive train line, Shorncliffe-Wynnum.
Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson said it was not surprising that Doomben came away with the highest average median by far, and the success of suburbs like Hendra and Ascot had very little to do with the train line.
“They’re higher-priced areas, we know that. There are other factors pushing up the prices in those suburbs anyway,” he said.
Shorncliffe had a solid average median sale price of $530 000. Photo: Tammy Law..
All of the suburbs on Doomben are close to the city, meaning the rail link generally meant less to the residents anyway. “The closer you are to the city, although it’s a convenience, it’s not at the same level if you live further out,” Dr Wilson said.
The Shorncliffe to Cleveland line was next best, with an average median of $530 000. The line includes suburbs such as Boondall, Banyo, Wynnum and Manly.
The lowest-priced line was the Caboolture to Ipswich, with an average median sale price of $371 000. This was despite a number of medians above $1m along the line. The overall median was brought down by low-priced suburbs further towards Caboolture and Ipswich.
The line to watch in future is the Redcliffe to Springfield line, which is relatively new and has suburbs showing strong signs of growth.
Harcourts Redcliffe owner Steve Hawley said since the rail link to the city opened in Redcliffe, things were starting to move in the seaside area.
“I think the word’s got out. The peninsula has been a sleeping giant for decades and it’s coming of age and it’s being noticed,” Mr Hawley said. “A lot of purchasers in the area are making comment about the train line.
“Kippa-Ring and Rothwell have just gone nuts and whenever we list something it sells quickly.”
Having a nearby train station has also opened suburbs up to interstate investors, who often look for nearby public transport when buying an investment property, Mr Hawley said.
“Every single listing I get, the first three out of five buyers are southern. It has opened it up to people like that.”
Averages were calculated with each median available along each train line, and the suburbs were taken from the official Translink map, which is available online here.
•Related: Annerley auction exceeds agent and vendor expectations.
•Related: Are apartments better buys in outer suburbs?
•Related: First Gold Coast price fall in three years.
<www.domain.com.au/news/doomben-the-most-expensive-brisbane-train-line-to-buy-a-house-on-domain-group-20171015-gz11qd>

October 17 2017 Strict new rules slapped on oBikes after councils lose patience with dumping .
Strict new rules to curb the dumping of yellow oBikes on Melbourne's streets are coming into force, with three councils cracking down on the share bike operator.
A one-year agreement has been signed by oBike Australia with Melbourne, Yarra and Port Phillip councils, with the company promising to clean up its act after dozens of the bikes were fished out of the Yarra River and found scattered along footpaths, and some even left up trees.
Gone oBike fishin'.
You can't catch much in the Yarra nowadays, unless you're fishing for oBikes, that is.
Central to the new agreement are tough new rules that stop oBikes from obstructing access to footpaths and fixed bicycle parking rails.
An oBike is pulled from the Yarra River on Monday. Photo: Joe Armao, Fairfax Media.
oBike must ensure its 1250 bikes on Melbourne's streets are:
•Always parked upright.
•Not dumped at a single location, with no more than six bicycles per 200 metres allowed.
•Not left on steps, ramps, traffic islands, trees, buildings or light poles.
Bikes which have not been used within 15 days will be removed by the council.
oBike has also promised to move dangerously parked bicycles within two hours, while bikes that are faulty, damaged or unsafe are to be removed from service and from public access within 24 hours.
If oBike fails to comply with the new rules, council officers will confiscate and impound the bikes.
oBikes have been found in all sorts of places. Photo: Goya Dmytryshchak .
The confiscated bikes will only be released to the company if they are claimed within 14 days at a cost of $50 each.
If not claimed in time they will be crushed and recycled.
Two abandoned oBikes in South Melbourne in July. Photo: Eddie Jim .
At least 30 yellow bikes have been relegated to the scrap heap and are due to be crushed after being confiscated by Melbourne City Council.
The company has also agreed to pay make a financial contribution to the three councils, which oBike's head of marketing Chenthan Rangaswamy expects will go towards new bike lanes and designated parking areas for share bikes.
Fishing oBikes out of the Yarra River. Photo: Joe Armao, Fairfax Media.
"We're working with the councils to see if we can have dedicated parking spaces in busy or crowded areas to make sure that the bikes are not left all over the place," said Mr Rangaswamy.
"It would be a marked-out area on the floor, it could be a parking spot, or a spot on the corner of the street that is clearly marked for bicycles to be parked."
Councillor Nicolas Frances Gilley said the agreement was a "step in the right direction for sustainable transport options like oBike and a safer, clutter-free environment for bike users and pedestrians".
The councils may also designate certain areas where bicycles cannot be parked. oBike is now expected to implement a geofence to enforce the parking restriction.
The company will set up a 24-hour hotline to field calls from the public and councils about broken, damaged, abandoned or inappropriately parked share bikes.
It has also agreed to supply the councils with a monthly data report tracking users' destination, arrival and journey data.
Mr Rangaswamy confirmed no personal or demographic data of users would be shared.
"We make sure that the privacy of commuters are safeguarded with utmost responsibility," he said.
"The data is more about how users in general are using the service. It won't require any personal information."
Mr Rangaswamy said the company retrieved 21 bikes from the council this week, and pulled 34 bikes from the Yarra on Monday.
Do you think this will keep oBikes out of the Yarra River?
Yes 3%
No 71%
Only if they find out who is dumping them there 26%
Total votes: 5238
Poll closes in 2 days.
Poll closes in 2 days.
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/strict-new-rules-slapped-on-obikes-after-councils-lose-patience-with-dumping-20171016-gz2adi.html>

October 17 2017 Out of the ashes of failed attempts, finally a chance to put the climate wars behind us . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/out-of-the-ashes-of-failed-attempts-finally-a-chance-to-put-the-climate-wars-behind-us-20171016-gz2ac8.html>

PTUA urges Andrews Government to fund plan for trains every 10 minutes.
Herald Sun October 17, 2017.
THE Andrews Government has been urged to run trains every 10 minutes by an influential public transport lobby group.
Public Transport Users Association has called on the Government to fund the official PTV rail network service plan, which included trains every 10 minutes on most Metro lines by 2016.
The PTV plan, written in 2012, proposed that by 2016 there would be six trains an hour off-peak and on weekends to Sunshine, Craigieburn, South Morang, Macleod, Ringwood, Glen Waverley, Sandringham and Newport in addition to existing services to Frankston and Dandenong.
Three trains would also run every hour off-peak and on weekends to outer suburban stations at Sunbury, Belgrave, and Lilydale.
The Andrews Government has been urged to tun trains every 10 minutes by an influential public transport lobby group.
PTUA spokesman Daniel Bowen said the upgrade would revolutionise train travel around Melbourne by cutting waiting times and crowding outside peak hours, and making more trips viable by public transport, including those requiring a change of service.
“Studies show that waiting time for public transport is often perceived negatively, with passengers believing waiting time is longer than it actually is”, Mr Bowen said.
“This actively discourages people from using infrequent public transport, especially for journeys requiring connections between services.
“Running trains every 10 minutes every day, just as we see already on a few lines, and just as we see in other cities of Melbourne’s size around the world, will get people off the roads.”
Mr Bowen said weekend road traffic was almost as bad as weekdays. He said rail commuters still waited up to 40 minutes between trains on Sunday mornings.
Planning for the network now sits with Transport for Victoria.
“We know from VicRoads figures that there is almost as much travel demand in the middle of the day, and on weekends as there is at traditional peak commuting times”, Mr Bowen said.
“There is plenty of spare fleet and track capacity outside traditional peak times.
“Public transport users should not have to wait another decade until the tunnel opens in 2026 to see better services.”
A Government spokeswoman said it would deliver more train services with each timetable change, with one to metropolitan services already delivered this year.
Ten-minute services operate during the weekday inter-peaks to Dandenong, Frankston, Clifton Hill and Newport and to Ringwood on weekends.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/ptua-urges-andrews-government-to-fund-plan-for-trains-every-10-minutes/news-story/7ca3a1314b7e406f0fd4a4d10b1b0ca7>

October 17 2017 State Labor premiers savage Malcolm Turnbull's energy policy, setting up a COAG brawl . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/state-labor-premiers-savage-malcolm-turnbulls-energy-policy-setting-up-a-coag-brawl-20171016-gz2alb..html>

October 18 2017 Taxis to set their own fares under major industry shake-up ..
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/taxis-to-set-their-own-fares-under-major-industry-shakeup-20171017-gz2yjb.html> with tdu.

From Cook’s Cottage to a little corner shop in the city, these are Melbourne’s oldest buildings. [just the text, not the photos. Part of the streetscapes theme].
Herald Sun October 18, 2017.
Flagstaff Hill, 1866.
MELBOURNE is a town marked by a series of booms since John Batman landed on the Yarra’s northern bank in 1835 and declared, “This will be the place for a village”.
The town once known as Bearbrass and Batmania grew slowly until the first strikes of gold in Victoria.
Those riches transformed the town and saw an explosion in the population and of grand new Victorian-era buildings that replaced the old, giving Melbourne and air of permanence.
It was the first of many booms that continually reshaped the city but resulted in the loss of most of Melbourne’s earliest architecture.
So what are Melbourne’s oldest buildings?
Surely it is Cook’s Cottage?
Built: 1755 (original site), 1934 (current site).
Many people might say Melbourne’s oldest building is Cook’s Cottage in the Fitzroy Gardens.
But as Richard Broome, Emeritus Professor of History at La Trobe University explains, this notion is “a very odd claim”.
“On its website, it’s claimed as the oldest building in Australia — 1755 is the date they have given — but that’s a bit of a spurious claim because it was re-erected in Australia,” Prof Broome says.
Cook’s Cottage in 1935.
The cottage in 2002.
“There were no Europeans in Australia to build such a building in 1755. It was brought here in 1934 for the centenary of Victoria’s European discovery down at Portland in 1834.
“(Businessman) Sir Russell Grimwade decided to bring Cook’s parents’ cottage from Yorkshire and put it in the Fitzroy Gardens, rebuilt brick by brick.
“It’s an interesting artefact and it gets a lot of visitors, but to say it’s Australia’s oldest building is a bit weird.”
St James’ Old Cathedral
Built: 1839 (original site), 1914 (current site).
The next oldest building is St James’ Old Cathedral, Melbourne’s first Anglican cathedral, but it’s no longer at its original site says Prof Broome, a member of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria’s governing council.
The church at its original site, around 1850.
The church at its current site in 1916. Image: Royal Historical Society of Victoria.
St James’ Old Cathedral in 1997.
It could claim to be the oldest church in Victoria, with its foundation stone laid in 1839, but it was moved from its original site at the corner of William and Little Collins Streets in 1914, with every brick numbered for reconstruction at the corner of King and Batman streets in West Melbourne, where it remains today.
It moved because St Paul’s Cathedral, at the corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets, took St James’ mantle as Melbourne’s Anglican cathedral in 1891 when it reopened after an 11-year redevelopment, and much of its congregation drifted to St Paul’s.
“St James’ had a drop-off of patronage, and that meant less revenue coming in. By then, it was 60 to 70 years old with fewer people managing those maintenance costs,” Prof Broome says.
“They were going to pull it down, but there were protests from people saying that it was a beautiful building. There was a lot of affection for it because it was the regional cathedral for Melbourne, so they decided to move it.
“It survived 100 years (at the new site) when not many people lived in (central) Melbourne but I believe it has a thriving congregation today that will get even bigger as more people move into the area.”
St Francis’s Church.
Built: 1841 (current structure built in 1845).
This leaves St Francis’ Church, Victoria’s oldest Catholic Church, as Melbourne’s oldest building that remains at its original site.
Hemmed in by tall buildings on the corner of Lonsdale and Elizabeth streets, it’s an oasis in Melbourne’s bustling retail heart.
Its foundation stone was laid in 1841, and the new church (which replaced an earlier timber church) opened in 1845.
Impression of St Francis’ in 1845. Image: RHSV
The courtyard in 1967.
The church as it now appears, with skyscrapers all around.
Shop on King St/La Trobe St.
Built: 1849.
Professor Broome says he knows of only one other pre-gold rush building in Melbourne — a shop on the corner of King and La Trobe streets.
“It’s now owned by Lola and George Russell. They are in their late 80s or early 90s, and it’s a tea room,” he says.
The shop thought to have been built in 1849.
The building remains a home and coffee shop.
“It was another world with an elderly couple clinging on there, and it’s mostly their residence, but it developed a big crack (in the north-facing wall) a while ago, and I’m not sure what’s going to happen to it.
“It’s a two-storey building. It used to be a furniture shop in the 1870s but it’s supposed to date back to pre-1850.”
What happened to all the original buildings?
Prof Broome says Melbourne’s rapid development since 1835 has caused most of the city’s early buildings to be lost.
“We in the Royal Historical Society did a book a year ago called Remembering Melbourne: 1850 to 1960. This book has got 368 pages … and it has the word “demolished” around 150 times.
“It has pictures and images of a lot of buildings that haven’t survived in Melbourne,” he says.
“Melbourne has gone through a lot of re-buildings. The first 1830s and 1840s buildings were mainly timber, then of course you had massive expansion in the 1850s when Melbourne’s population increased four-fold.”
Then came the land boom of the 1880s, which Prof Broome says coincided with lift technology and raised the value of CBD land because taller buildings — up to nine or 10 storeys high — could be constructed.
Then in the 1930s, true office towers like the Manchester Unity and Century buildings began to spring up, then from the late 1950s the “glass tower” era began with the rise of the ICI Building at the corner of Nicholson and Albert streets.
But why didn’t Melburnians respect the city’s early history?
Prof Broome explains: “I think we’re a brash new society that believes very much in progress. It was built from the idea of progress, and it was really only in the 1960s that a conservation movement emerged that gave rise to the National Trust.
“That was fought over changes to Collins Street in the 1960s. People said too much of Collins Street was being lost. There are people still trying to fight rear-guard actions (over new projects) but it’s extremely hard to fight the power of money and development.
“Governments want jobs and renewal, and there has to be renewal because we have 100,000 people coming into the city each year at the moment, but it’s gone to extremes, perhaps.”
Richard Broome is a co-author of the RHSV publication Remembering Melbourne: 1850 to 1960. Price: $35 or $55 with mail delivery within Australia.
INSIDE THE SLUMS OF 1930s MELBOURNE.
<www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/from-cooks-cottage-to-a-little-corner-shop-in-the-city-these-are-melbournes-oldest-buildings/news-story/82419a39b294d4630db970ea0bc28f77>

18.10.17 Politics live as Malcolm Turnbull sells his government's new energy, climate policy . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/the-pulse-live/politics-live-as-malcolm-turnbull-sells-his-governments-new-energy-climate-policy-20171017-gz2zcv.html>

October 18 2017 Malcolm Turnbull defends household energy plan savings . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-defends-household-energy-plan-savings-20171017-gz320e.html>

October 18 2017 The Turnbull government's new energy policy will shave $2 off your weekly power bill . with tdu.
<www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/the-turnbull-governments-new-energy-policy-will-shave-2-off-your-weekly-power-bill-20171017-gz2gkc.html>