Reviving Bridge Mall

There's been a lot of talk in Ballarat circles lately about how to revitalise Bridge Mall - and (somewhat coincidentally) it's happening around the same time there's been a lot of debate about the effects of various street-shaping projects on Sturt and Mair Streets. Many people are concerned about how desolate Bridge Mall can get, and worried that the same sort of thing could happen on surrounding streets - so it's worth discussing the kinds of things that help or hinder the vitality of a street.

Bridge Mall in 2016

Waiting forever at Footscray

We in public transport circles often lobby for more frequent services, better-connecting services, and more consistent stopping patterns. There's a lot of theory behind why these are good ideas - but in a practical sense, what does it mean to the average person?

I'm currently planning a trip which is proving to be a good example. I need to get from Ballarat to Castlemaine, to attend a meeting at 1pm on a Saturday afternoon, and it's proving surprisingly difficult to do it without a ton of waiting around.

Castlemaine Station (via Wikipedia)

What should we call Melbourne Metro's stations?

Concept art for Parkville Station (via MMRA)

The Hun is reporting that PTV/Melbourne Metro Rail Authority will be seeking feedback on what to name Melbourne Metro's five new stations, which have the working names of Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South, and Domain. The Hun (and the various people they quote) have suggested names like "Archer" and "Shinboner" for Arden, "Barassi" for CBD North, "Federation" for CBD South, and "Shrine" for Domain.

Public Transport Users Association - Ballarat Branch

Those of you who've been reading this blog for a long time will know that I'm from the Ballarat region, and I often discuss the issues with public transport in and around Ballarat. (Well, I say "often" - obviously I've been quite slack with my blogging lately). However the sad fact is that none of my ramblings have really gone anywhere. Our bus network is still inadequate. The train to Melbourne is still infrequent and unreliable. The train to Geelong is still nonexistent.

Primer: Gauge

Australia uses mostly 1067mm Narrow Gauge, 1435mm Standard Gauge, and 1600mm Broad Gauge. (Source)

The issue of gauge is quite an important one in Australia, but because of its technical nature it tends to be overlooked by laypeople. The first thing you need to know is some basic terminology.

Primer: Line-on-a-Map Syndrome

A related phenomenon to the Coverage vs Patronage tension is Line-on-a-Map Syndrome. This is what you get when public transport advocates look at a map and say "There's no coverage here! Why don't we invest in some public transport to serve this area!" Or they might say "Hey, there's a freight railway line here, why don't we put a passenger train along there!" Or maybe "Hey, there's still an old railway station here, why don't we bring it back into service!"

PTV's new university shuttles

via Public Transport Victoria

With the University semester starting, PTV have announced a raft of improvements to Melbourne's bus network to better serve University staff and students. Before we look at the specific routes, it's worth touching on why they are necessary.