Melbourne Public Transport

[richie_cole#13]

The public transport system is constantly letting me down. Trains run late without explanation or even worse run early, trains are cancelled without explanation, trams and buses seem to arrive and depart when they feel like it without any hint of timetabled performance. In the past I have gone with the mindset that it is a difficult job and it is not a big ticket cost for such a convenient and helpful service. Until today...

On the way home from university on the tram it turns out that the on board ticket machine and validator machines are not working. I think "OK, I'll buy my ticket at the train station when I get there." I get to the train station in time to buy my ticket at 2:08pm, all of a sudden the announcement comes over that the 2:10pm train to Flinders Street was arriving, needing to catch the train I rush and grab the ticket and jump onto the train. Further on in the trip and the next train I catch is going though Southern Cross Station when inspectors get on the train asking for tickets. I'm relaxed because I have my recently purchased ticket.

Upon request I present my ticket only to be informed that "Your ticket is not validated, I'm issuing you an infringment." In my rush to board the early arriving train at the suburban train station I had bypassed the single, small validating machine, while I had a ticket it was not valid for my trip.

I realise that this is my own fault but I cannot help to feel annoyed at the malfunctioning tram ticket machine and the early arriving train.

Does anyone have any thoughts or similar experiences? I would be hugely interested.

 

[CoggaRules]

dude, you need to think about the authoirites you are dealing with here.
They are the same ones that sign off on that ad they show on the box with the goggledeedaddah theme. Its a window to the brain capacity of the people that run public transport. I mean, is it suppose to be funny, hence making a mark? is it suppose to be stupid, hence also making some kind of mark? or is totally inane and ridiculous, meaning JS, that has it as the top of the list of ads for you to visit the toilet, at the next opportune time.

 

[bmwofoz]

Melbourne's Public Transport system, well I will keep this nice, its crap.

most of Melbourne wouldn't know what it is for started, any casual look at the melway will show just how disjointed and disconnected the system is, the whole thing needs an overhaul.

The Trams which are said to be an icon are really an embarrassment, for a number of reasons, first they don't cover Melbourne of the 21st century, but the city of 100 years ago could someone advise the idiots running it of this fact.

Cogga mentions the ad and that well sad slogan, the whole ad looks like it was filmed in the 1970s, and the other ad is every bit as bad, sadly until someone realises that the system is a joke, then we are stuck with the crap,

I will add in a modern city like Melbourne if it was covered by a proper tram network, we could have it run all night on Friday and Saturday, now some will say what about the cost, gee if you have a proper system, you can combine Car redo with ticket meaning you are paying for use of both Car and PT,

someone might say what about taxi drivers, well response to that is employ them as tram drivers, also we give the silly people who run the thing over $1 Billion a year for the crap now isn't it time to make them earn it.

 

[funkyfreo]

it seems to me that inner city walking and trams are great - who needs a timetable. But their buses suffer, and I've never caught the heavy rail there so can;t comment. But certainly in my time in Melb I've loved public transport - but I was a tourist, and never left inner city/stkilda unless on a bike.

 

[skilts]

Upon request I present my ticket only to be informed that "Your ticket is not validated, I'm issuing you an infringment."

Which hospital are you in? You must have private health insurance to be able to access the internet.

 

[richie_cole#13]

Which hospital are you in? You must have private health insurance to be able to access the internet.

Sorry?

 

[skilts]

Sorry?

Oh, you don't understand what I'm saying. This is good. It means you are among the few to survive an encounter with these little Hitlers and come away physically intact.

Their power-driven modus operandi remind me of one of the earlier racist jokes I heard: How do you get 10 Poms in the back of a Mini? Make one of them a boss.

 

[FrediKanoute]

The public transport system is constantly letting me down. Trains run late without explanation or even worse run early, trains are cancelled without explanation, trams and buses seem to arrive and depart when they feel like it without any hint of timetabled performance. In the past I have gone with the mindset that it is a difficult job and it is not a big ticket cost for such a convenient and helpful service. Until today...

On the way home from university on the tram it turns out that the on board ticket machine and validator machines are not working. I think "OK, I'll buy my ticket at the train station when I get there." I get to the train station in time to buy my ticket at 2:08pm, all of a sudden the announcement comes over that the 2:10pm train to Flinders Street was arriving, needing to catch the train I rush and grab the ticket and jump onto the train. Further on in the trip and the next train I catch is going though Southern Cross Station when inspectors get on the train asking for tickets. I'm relaxed because I have my recently purchased ticket.

Upon request I present my ticket only to be informed that "Your ticket is not validated, I'm issuing you an infringment." In my rush to board the early arriving train at the suburban train station I had bypassed the single, small validating machine, while I had a ticket it was not valid for my trip.

I realise that this is my own fault but I cannot help to feel annoyed at the malfunctioning tram ticket machine and the early arriving train.

Does anyone have any thoughts or similar experiences? I would be hugely interested.

Have a look at the infringement and find out which act/regulation etc it has been issued under. Then access that act/regulation and make certaint that the tiicket was issued in accordance with the procedure described in the regulation, (ie proper Id shown, correct copy given to you, particular's of the offence described correctly, correct provision etc) If there is a descrepancy under any of these challenge its validity.

In regards getting Melbourne transport fixed.......its been ****ed for years and I doubt its going to get any better in the short term. The fact is it serves a population of about 3m people over a very wide geographical area and consequetly thre are not the economies of scale to run it effectively and at a profit. Public Transport is a public good whihc should never have been sold off to private companies to run.

 

[Z_K]

I can't say I have had massive problems. A few here and there, the trains are rarely bang on time. I use the train everyday, a tram most days in the city, and it's ok most days.

But those inspectors are a frightful bunch of scumbags. Two of them made a young chick cry on in my train once. She wanted to use eftpos on the machine, it wasn't working so she didn't have a ticket. Happens all the time. Meh. One of them was giving her a serve, loud enough to be purposefuly humiliating and the other jerk was having a great laugh. Didn't stop even when she was balling.

I had a crack at both, one had the nuts to have a go back and he was promptly told to **** himself and and to study next time for the police test and if he fails the security guard test he should just pack it all in.

 

[skilts]

In regards getting Melbourne transport fixed.......its been ****ed for years and I doubt its going to get any better in the short term. The fact is it serves a population of about 3m people over a very wide geographical area and consequetly thre are not the economies of scale to run it effectively and at a profit. Public Transport is a public good whihc should never have been sold off to private companies to run.

Why would anyone think public transport should run at a profit? If it's not for these sorts of public services, why do we pay taxes? Nobody, except John Howard, expects the public health system to run at a profit. If we can convince people to pay MORE TAXES, anything is possible. I'm not holding my breath.

 

[skilts]

I had a crack at both, one had the nuts to have a go back and he was promptly told to **** himself and and to study next time for the police test and if he fails the security guard test he should just pack it all in.

You're a man after my own heart. Funny thing about these power-mad twerps is that when challenged, they usually show themselves to have a heart as big as a pea. The dispiriting thing is how most of the other passengers on the train hide their faces in their newspapers when confronted with this bastardry. BTW, I tend to tell coppers the only reason they became so was because they failed the tram conductors' test, and still wanted a uniform.

 

[Z_K]

I love the overcoats they wear in winter. You can tell they parade up and down their caves in those, stopping every so often to pose in the mirror. Flogs, the lot of 'em.

 

[Lidge]

I had a crack at both, one had the nuts to have a go back and he was promptly told to **** himself and and to study next time for the police test and if he fails the security guard test he should just pack it all in.

NB - that exchange would've sailed over his head (or gone straight through to the keeper).

The food chain for uniformed goons is as follows:

Police
Parking Inspectors
Prison Guards
MET Inspectors

A crack about flunking the screws entrance exam would've hit the nail on the head.

 

[medusala]

Why would anyone think public transport should run at a profit? If it's not for these sorts of public services, why do we pay taxes? Nobody, except John Howard, expects the public health system to run at a profit. If we can convince people to pay MORE TAXES, anything is possible. I'm not holding my breath.

Nobody expects it to run at a profit but it can be run more efficiently at less cost to the taxpayer by the private sector (unless the govt would run it along the lines of Singapore or HK - doubt their Trades Hall mates would allow that). The system was a disgrace in public hands, there was no investment and there was a strike threatened every second day. Bracks had the operators such as Connex over a barrel but like the muppet he is he let them off the hook.

Like health, education etc it DOES NOT need more taxes. It simply needs common sense and good administration.

 

[medusala]

BTW, I tend to tell coppers the only reason they became so was because they failed the tram conductors' test, and still wanted a uniform.

Mate of mine was apprehended by cops outside a pub for d&d and was given a talking to. He asked the sergeant how long he had been a cop for. Reply was 20 years. Then replied to cop with "gee your family must be proud of you". Swore it was worth the night in the cell.

 

[Smell The Glove]

God I loved seeing one of those train nazi in the Melbourne Magistrate's Court complain about how she had been assaulted.... by an 18 year old girl that they had used FOUR people to 'escort' into the offices- by her hands and feet. Dirty, pathetic assholes. Fortunately she got off.

Anyways, I catch the buses and trains every day to uni (La Trobe in Bundoora) and it is a pathetic joke. Bus drivers run early if they want to, or late (especially around lunchtime- these fat bastards like a late lunch), because there are ZERO KPI's in their level of work (as long as not too many people ring up and complain the guy get to keep his job- doesnt matter if he is late every day for a month), connections are pitiful, the buses and trains are dirty.

Melbourne's public transport system is a sham, and I think the only way for it to change is to make that snobby filth Peter Batchelor ride it EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR A YEAR. The fact that there are zero buses or anything between the eastern suburbs (where I live) and the northern suburbs (where I study) is really sad.

START DRIVING PEOPLE- ONLY WAY YOU WILL GET ANYWHERE ON TIME!!!!!

 

[Monkster]

Anyone who thinks Melbournes public transport is bad has never used Brisbanes.

 

[FrediKanoute]

Anyone who thinks Melbournes public transport is bad has never used Brisbanes.

True.....haveing had the mispleasure!!!

 

[understudy]

Nor Sydney, Canberra or any other Australian city for that matter.

Whinging bastards the lot of you.

 

[Linda_Lovelace]

Used to catch the Sandringham line, worst performing line in Vic. Got the stage where it was less stressful to drive to work and not have to put up with late trains, cancelled trains, over-crowded trains and the nuff nuffs.

Only catch it when I am going to drink at the footy these days. Even then is is still late, over-crowded and generally crap. Spencer St station is a disgrace, the screens do not even work and that is after a 750m refurb. I tell Connex staff when I see them how stuffed it is, after all if they are going to inflict those frigging ads on me, they can endure some pain also.

 

[Dr AlfAndrews]

Anyone who thinks Melbournes public transport is bad has never used Brisbanes.

Or Adelaide's for that matter.

Melbourne's public transport is generally excellent for those of us who live within the area covered by the trams. But it needs to be massively expanded to cover the whole metropolitan area.

The trains are brilliant and frequent ... but again there needs to be a lot more lines. This would require a government with a strong political will to get fair dinkum about getting cars off the road.

Of course things go wrong sometimes. Trains run late. They break down. They get delayed by the odd suicide or two. Trams get caught up in the traffic by ****heads in cars.

No system is perfect.

As an ex-pat South Aussie living in Melbourne, I'm grateful for what I've got. I'm able to live a car-free existence as long as I don't stay out too late at night and keep out of the 'burbs. Suits me fine, but not everyone, obviously.

As for the ticket nazis ... I haven't had any problems with them because I nearly always have a ticket. But I have had some anxious moments when I haven't had the right change or I've had to run to catch a train. So far I've been lucky that no inspector has got on at those particular times.

It's always funny watching passengers without tickets crapping themselves through their whole journey. At every tram stop they have to look and see if there's any suspicious looking Pakistanis in trench coats waiting to get on. If there is, you get this mass exodus and/or an instant queue at the ticket machine.

Then you get these people ... and I've done this myself on very short trips ... who stand next to the ticket machine, get out their wallet and fumble about for change. They spend their entire trip trying to count out the right amount of money, casting furtive glances at every upcoming tram stop. When they finally reach their stop they get off ... without a ticket, of course

 

[bmwofoz]

Or Adelaide's for that matter.

Melbourne's public transport is generally excellent for those of us who live within the area covered by the trams. But it needs to be massively expanded to cover the whole metropolitan area.

The trains are brilliant and frequent ... but again there needs to be a lot more lines. This would require a government with a strong political will to get fair dinkum about getting cars off the road.

Of course things go wrong sometimes. Trains run late. They break down. They get delayed by the odd suicide or two. Trams get caught up in the traffic by ****heads in cars.

No system is perfect.

As an ex-pat South Aussie living in Melbourne, I'm grateful for what I've got. I'm able to live a car-free existence as long as I don't stay out too late at night and keep out of the 'burbs. Suits me fine, but not everyone, obviously.

As for the ticket nazis ... I haven't had any problems with them because I nearly always have a ticket. But I have had some anxious moments when I haven't had the right change or I've had to run to catch a train. So far I've been lucky that no inspector has got on at those particular times.

It's always funny watching passengers without tickets crapping themselves through their whole journey. At every tram stop they have to look and see if there's any suspicious looking Pakistanis in trench coats waiting to get on. If there is, you get this mass exodus and/or an instant queue at the ticket machine.

Then you get these people ... and I've done this myself on very short trips ... who stand next to the ticket machine, get out their wallet and fumble about for change. They spend their entire trip trying to count out the right amount of money, casting furtive glances at every upcoming tram stop. When they finally reach their stop they get off ... without a ticket, of course

I have no problem with the ticket inspectors, they are the best part of the system.

 

[Mr Q]

Stop ****ing whinging people.

What the hell do you all want? Singapore's public transport system transplanted to exceptionally low density Australian cities? Never going to happen unless you're prepared to do one thing: PAY FOR IT.

Australians seem to be continually whinging about pubic transport being crap, or the health system, or education. Well, quite frankly, that's because you keep bloody well asking for tax cuts, middle class welfare and tax breaks. Stop asking for the money back so you can spend it on luxury items, and demand the Government spend it on your behalf on the infrastructure you want.

So. Public Transport. First off, our cites are bloody low density, so it's never going to be able to provide you a ten-minute frequency service all day every day. So learn to live with timetables and planning your day. If you can't do that, then stop whinging.

Secondly. If you never use public tranport "except when you go out drinking after the footy", then for god's sake, shut the **** up. If you and everyone like you actually were prepared to use the services, then they would improve in frequency at least. And then you'd have a right to complain about the quality.

Thirdly. If you want this wonder public transport system to occur, then you've got to be prepared to pay for it to be constructed. That's going to mean huge infrastructure projects, and those mean cost overruns and the like. Always have, always will. So when it happens, yeah, question it, but for god's sake, be grateful you've actually got a government willing to fund infrastructure projects.

Fourthly. Don't whinge when the cost of other services goes up as a consequence of the money being spent.

Finally. If you get caught by a ticket inspector with an invalidated ticket or no ticket at all, then you're caught. Bad luck, cop the fine and live with it. If everyone did the right thing, then there'd be no need for inspectors, but every time someone travels without paying it impacts on the money available to fund the service (or the price of your tickets).


And medders, here's a quick question: if the private sector is so much better at running public transport, tell me why the hell a statement like "Bracks had the operators such as Connex over a barrel but like the muppet he is he let them off the hook" can even be made? If the private sector was going to run it so damn well, then there shouldn't have been an issue, should there that Bracks could have had them over a barrell about? But time and again, privately run public transport shows itself to be identical to publicly run services, but with the need to make a profit as well. The end result - profits get carved out of quality of service.

 

[portentous]

The public transport where we used to live (Templestowe) was almost non-existent, and expensive.

Gotta say though that the inner metro, and CBD, were fantastic areas to get around on trams, except in peak hour when they're always packed.

 

[bmwofoz]

Stop ****ing whinging people.

What the hell do you all want? Singapore's public transport system transplanted to exceptionally low density Australian cities? Never going to happen unless you're prepared to do one thing: PAY FOR IT.

Australians seem to be continually whinging about pubic transport being crap, or the health system, or education. Well, quite frankly, that's because you keep bloody well asking for tax cuts, middle class welfare and tax breaks. Stop asking for the money back so you can spend it on luxury items, and demand the Government spend it on your behalf on the infrastructure you want.

So. Public Transport. First off, our cites are bloody low density, so it's never going to be able to provide you a ten-minute frequency service all day every day. So learn to live with timetables and planning your day. If you can't do that, then stop whinging.

Secondly. If you never use public tranport "except when you go out drinking after the footy", then for god's sake, shut the **** up. If you and everyone like you actually were prepared to use the services, then they would improve in frequency at least. And then you'd have a right to complain about the quality.

Thirdly. If you want this wonder public transport system to occur, then you've got to be prepared to pay for it to be constructed. That's going to mean huge infrastructure projects, and those mean cost overruns and the like. Always have, always will. So when it happens, yeah, question it, but for god's sake, be grateful you've actually got a government willing to fund infrastructure projects.

Fourthly. Don't whinge when the cost of other services goes up as a consequence of the money being spent.

Finally. If you get caught by a ticket inspector with an invalidated ticket or no ticket at all, then you're caught. Bad luck, cop the fine and live with it. If everyone did the right thing, then there'd be no need for inspectors, but every time someone travels without paying it impacts on the money available to fund the service (or the price of your tickets).


And medders, here's a quick question: if the private sector is so much better at running public transport, tell me why the hell a statement like "Bracks had the operators such as Connex over a barrel but like the muppet he is he let them off the hook" can even be made? If the private sector was going to run it so damn well, then there shouldn't have been an issue, should there that Bracks could have had them over a barrell about? But time and again, privately run public transport shows itself to be identical to publicly run services, but with the need to make a profit as well. The end result - profits get carved out of quality of service.

While I fully accept and support ticket inspectors, I will never stop pointing out just how pathetic Public Transport is, the system is a broken down out of date relic from a distance time, the system needs an overhaul, yes we do need to be prepared to pay for it, but gee we are giving the W==kers who run it over $1Billion a year to just band aid over the crap, the system is a mess, I'm sorry but why should I fund what is has become, may I remind you that its me and every other fare paying tax payer who funds this crap, while the w=nks who run it, go around telling the world claiming that the Trams are an icon, I'm sorry but the Werribee sewage farm contains less crap than the currant Public Transport system.