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Sent: Friday, 16 July 2021, 06:53:37 pm AEST
Subject: Fri.9.4.21 daily digest

Roderick

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Fri.9.4.20 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains on sections of the Craigieburn line until the last train of Thursday 15 April (level-crossing-removal works).
5.53 Buses to replace trains Mernda - Reservoir (a power-supply fault). Buses have been ordered, but may take over 60 minutes to arrive.  Consider alternatives.
- 6.00 See https://bit.ly/1p74boT
- 6.40 Three buses are in operation; journey time extended by 40 min.
- 6.50 buses are departing every 10 min.
- 7.01 Trains have resumed.
10.36 Delays of up to 20 minutes in the Southern Cross area (a track-equipment fault).
- 10.54 Delays are now up to 30 minutes.
- 11.21 Delays up to 15 minutes and clearing.  Trains may be altered/cancelled.
11.15 Glen Waverley line: Major delays citybound (an 'operational incident').
Aircraft Station With machinery now on site, we're getting ready to build an underpass which will link both sides of the line. This is the second phase of the Aviation Road level-crossing removal.
16.59 South Morang: No lift access between the concourse and platforms (an outage).  Passengers needing that should alight at Epping and speak to staff for alternatives. Passengers stranded there, speak to staff for alternatives.
20.34 Werribee line: Major delays (police near Altona). Trains may run direct between Newport and Laverton, in both directions.
- 21.40 Clearing, but trains may still run direct.
Buses replace trains Macleod - Hurstbridge from 20.55 until the last train of Sun 11 Apr (works).
Sunbury/Craigieburn/Upfield lines: All trains run direct to/from Flinders St from 21.00 until the last train (maintenance works).  From loop stations, take a Flinders St train from pfm 1.
Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: All trains run direct to/from Flinders St from 21.00 until the last train (maintenance works).  From loop stations, take a train from pfm 4 to Richmond [and lose 30 min].
Buses replace trains North Melbourne - Sunbury from 1.05 Sat. until the last train of Sun 11 Apr (maintenance works).

The worst train and tram routes for mask wearing. Timna Jacks April 9, 2021
Commuters on the Frankston line and route 16 trams, which run through the city, St Kilda and Toorak are the worst offenders when it comes to wearing masks incorrectly.
Across the board, commuters were proportionally less compliant with mask rules on the tram and train networks in January compared with November last year.
The proportion of commuters wearing masks incorrectly on trains has increased from 12 per cent in November 2020 to 23 per cent in January this year.
It comes as a leading epidemiologist called on the Andrews government to reconsider its policy of mandatory mask wearing on public transport following high rates of poor compliance.
Victoria recorded no new local cases of coronavirus for the 42nd day in a row on Friday.
The NSW government has removed the requirement to wear masks on public transport, but masks are still being strongly recommended by the state’s health authorities.
Transport Department data reveals 27 per cent of Frankston line commuters wore masks incorrectly between November and January.
This was followed by those on the Sunbury, Pakenham and Belgrave lines, where 19 per cent wore masks the wrong way.
On the tram network, 21 per cent of commuters on route 16 did not wear masks correctly, followed by route 11 and route 78 trams, on which 16 per cent of passengers did not wear them the right way.
Deakin University chair of epidemiology Catherine Bennett said the Andrews government should reconsider making masks mandatory, due to the risk of “burning up public good will” in taking the strict measure when there was no community transmission in the country.
Fewer people are wearing masks on public transport, which is still mandatory.CREDIT:JOE ARMAO
“I think if we didn’t mandate masks now on public transport, but made it clear that it’s one of the first things you do at the first sign of risk increasing ... then we might get better buy in there,” she said.
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said masks were key to ensuring commuters could travel safely on public transport.
“It is vital that we all continue to follow the official advice from health authorities and wear masks while using public transport – particularly as more people get on board and crowding starts to be an issue again.
“Authorities can do more to ensure the messaging is consistent and clear, including signage and more announcements in stations and on vehicles, which have been patchy at times.
“Given public transport is increasingly used by large numbers of passengers at all times of day, not just peak hour, the government should continuously review loads and boost off-peak services where needed to relieve crowding.”
A government spokeswoman reiterated that masks were key to infection prevention, but would not say whether there were plans to tweak the policy.
“We know the risk is far from over but thanks to the incredible work of all Victorians, we’re continuing to open up and see the Victoria we all love, return to life again,” she said.
“Victorians no longer have to wear masks in retail settings – but will still need to carry one with them at all times to wear on public transport, in ride-share vehicles and taxis and in sensitive settings such as aged care facilities and hospitals.
“Masks are an important part of our ongoing infection prevention and control strategy, which also includes hand hygiene and physical distancing requirements.”
RELATED ARTICLE Melbourne tram  Stuck on a tram going nowhere? You may have hit one of Melbourne’s worst bottlenecks
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<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-worst-train-and-tram-routes-for-mask-wearing-20210328-p57erj.html>
* Businesses, hospitality, AFL etc are required to have QR codes, social distancing and wear a mask in crowded areas. They follow the rules and the public gratefully accept these requirements as it's for OUR safety.
The state gov't reportedly spent $137,000,000 on empty quarantine hotels, workers etc. to get the right settings for returning international travelers.
I went to the football at the MCG on Easter Monday. It was a covid safe environment, socially distanced, QR codes - all the right protocols. MCC members have to apply for a ticket (no charge) through Ticketek to have their bar code activated. Ticketek, MCC and AFL know exactly how many fans are due at the ground. Train operators know how many people will travel on each train line.
We came home on the Frankston train.
Wind the clock back to pre covid 2019.
People crammed to the rafters, no one wearing masks.
It was a total disgrace!!
Small signs on platforms advising mask wearing mandatory on public transport
PSOs standing around the signs, doing nothing to enforce the rules!
Public transport for AFL fans will be the next cause for the next lockdown.
Surely the gov't and train operators can put on extra trains for 30 minutes to clear fans quickly.
It can't be that hard or costly.
Have PSOs on each carriage encouraging mask wearing, giving out free masks, educating travelers. No heavy handed fines, just ALL of us working together to keep what we've worked so very hard for over the last 12 months.
The above bought to you by "The Department of common sense"
* I think the train or tram should be stopped if passengers are non-compliant. They can choose to wear a mask or disembark.
* Recently I travelled by train from Highett to Camberwell - citybound service carriage I travelled in had about 80% compliance, train to Camberwell was the same, and the return trip to Richmond was about 45%. If there are not staff to enforce the wearing of masks then scrap it. People don't seem to care. As someone else has stated, we're coming into winter and wearing of masks will help to prevent the spread of infection, not just of COIVD, but the dreaded annual flu or colds.
* I travelled on the Sunbury train on Wednesday afternoon from Sunshine to Ginifer around 4 pm and although the train was not too crowded no one was wearing a mask apart from me. I also was glad to have my on while travelling on the vline service to Geelong as a woman suffering from coughing fits stated she had the flu!
* just scrap enthusiasm. With so many not wearing them properly, they aren't providing any protection anyway. No one is enforcing the role & with no community transmission what the point anyway? Nowhere else in the country hear this stupid rule
* So many people, particularly the elderly, wear their masks under their nose. What’s the point when the vast majority of people breathe through their nose.
* Which is exactly why Mark wearing outdoors should have remained mandatory until vaccination was completed.
* 100 people on a train you must wear a mask. MCG 50,000 not required.
* What's the point of the mask rule if no-one enforces it? I'd say 30% of travellers on the Sandringham line consider themselves too special to be bothered wearing a mask.
* Coming into winter, wearing masks on public transport will reduce other infections a well as COVID19. The latter is still around and vaccination is both delayed and, once provided, will offer protection against the most serious infection but will not prevent infection completely.
* No it won't as people aren't wearing them properly anyway
* 25% of people on the Frankston line are now not wearig masks, either enforce the wearing of masks or I will join them! There is absolutely NO enforcement compliance on trains
* Unfortunately I reckon a couple of recent V/line trips - Gippsland line - had about 10% adherence to masks And the conductors didn’t seem interested in doing anything about it either
* Interesting article. I travel regularly on the Hurstbridge line, and would put mask compliance at about 90-95% during peak hrs, 70-80% in off peak times, but 5-10% on the footy special. In contrast, a couple of times I’ve been on the Cranbourne line off-peak, I’d say mask compliance was around 10%, and on the V-line Gippsland line, about 2%!!
* same. was shocked when I changed at Clifton Hill from a Hurstbridge train where almost everyone was masked to a South Morang train where It would have been only 5 in a hundred with a mask on.
* Since the relaxation of mask wearing in public as of the end of March I believe the number of people no longer wearing masks at all on public transport has risen way beyond 60% as Ive experienced an entire train of football fans without masks.
* It's hard to argue that masks are needed on public transport when they aren't needed anywhere else (including inside at the MCG where there are thousands of people) and there is no covid in the community. People aren't going to take restrictions seriously if they are used unnecessarily
* Good. It's a stupid rule anyway

Fri.9.4.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun' ‘Thought we’d die’ trapped in lift
A WOMAN feared for her life when she and seven others became stuck in an elevator for about an hour at a Melbourne train station.
Pamela Hine and her husband Ian were on their way home from the Brisbane and Collingwood AFL game last Thursday when the lift at Southern Cross station broke down halfway between ground floor and level one on platform 14, with the couple and six others inside.
The 79-year-old hit the emergency call button “10 times” but it wasn’t working due to a mechanical fault.
“We started banging on the doors and yelling ‘can someone hear us?’ and then we really started to panic when my nephew tried dialling triple-0 but couldn’t get it to work,” Ms Hine said.
After the group of seven adults and a seven-year-old child had been trapped for about 20 minutes, Ms Hine said her 86-year-old husband collapsed before another woman in the lift finally managed to dial through to emergency services.
Southern Cross Station management apologised to those trapped inside the lift.