V/Line's COVID recovery

V/Line VLocity trains at Southern Cross Station

V/Line's 2024-25 annual report has recently been tabled, so I wanted to take a look at their passenger numbers, how they're faring in the post-COVID world, and the long-term context of passenger growth. 

What's the Ballarat bus review looking at?

The Ballarat Bus Network is up for review (via DTP)

This year's Victorian budget included funds for a review of Ballarat's bus network, and I gave some high-level thoughts on what I think they should do in a previous post. 

Now the initial public consultation has started, so I want to dive into the ideas they're putting forward and the questions they're asking.

High Speed Rail, or just high-er speed?

N700A Shinkansen in Kyoto

There's a long-standing debate amongst public transport advocates in Australia over whether we should be pushing for a brand new High Speed Rail link between Melbourne and Sydney, or for upgrades to the existing line. There are pros and cons to both approaches, and I've always struggled to come to a firm conclusion - but I think I've finally made up my mind. 

Finally, a review of Ballarat's bus network

This year's Victorian budget included some funds for a review of Ballarat's bus network. This is something the people of Ballarat have been campaigning for since the network was last changed, in 2016-17, and was a core focus of my advocacy back when I was Convener of the Ballarat Branch of the PTUA. It's been a real uphill battle to get this review, so now we've finally got it, what do we want it to do? 

Is walkable urbanism just for our capital cities?

The idea of the 15-minute city (or neighbourhood) is an important one for reducing carbon emissions, and for making livable, vibrant cities - cities where you can meet most of your daily needs within 15 minutes walk or bike ride from your house, and destinations further away are connected by quality public transport. Unfortunately, it has attracted some conspiracy theories, so the term "15 minute city" itself might be falling out of favour - but the idea is a good one. 

More services for western Victoria

This weekend will see upgrades on trains and buses across a lot of western Victoria, so a quick look at what they'll mean. 

The Ballarat Line evening crunch

The Ballarat line has seen quite a bit of investment in recent years - building the infrastructure to increase capacity, and running more services to take advantage of that capacity. But there are still big holes in the timetable that I want to highlight, and which should be relatively cheap and easy to fix.