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Flinders Street Station: Melbourne's transport hub

News

January 2010: Submissions for 2010-2020 plan are now closed. Published copies will be available in the next few weeks.

December 2009: Draft of 2010-2020 plan available for comments, see Policies page.

December 2009: Annual General Meeting coming up on 13 December, including launch of our upcoming book. Email for details.

October 2008: Calls for new local spokespeople!

September 2008: Members' meeting coming soon - see forum for details

June 2008: Forum online

May 2008: Transport policies now available

Dec 2007: Memberships now open. Download a form and join today!

Policy: Tram/Bus priority

There is no reason public transport users should be treated as second-class citizens at traffic lights. Public transport is the responsible choice. It causes less harm to the environment and less road congestion. Car users are effectively putting their own convenience above the good of the community.

Traffic light priority should not be restricted to premium SmartBus and tram routes. Passengers everywhere can benefit from faster journeys and more reliable timekeeping.

Buses

The SmartBus project has proved to be a success - higher frequency, faster journeys due to traffic light priority, and more late-night services have led to popularity with passengers and therefore strong patronage growth. We should aim to eventually have most bus routes in Melbourne upgraded to this standard. The most cost-effective method is a progressive roll-out:

By this method, when the time comes to upgrade the route to full SmartBus standard, some of the work will be done already, reducing the cost of the project. It will also prevent expensive mistakes due to previous works having to be undone or heavily modified in order to accommodate the SmartBus infrastructure.

Contracts with manufacturers of SmartBus hardware should include standards for reliability and accuracy, which would force them to upgrade or replace faulty installations. Electronic displays that are inaccurate are worse than useless.

Trams

Several experiments have been undertaken into possible methods of reducing delays to trams. The results of these should be assessed and the most effective method(s) deployed system wide.

In particular, measures to enforce laws about cars delaying trams (eg cameras) should become widespread, to encourage motorists to change their habits and allow trams an uninterrupted journey.