Archive for December, 2006

The Age: New year’s warning for night riders

Published by Alex Makin on Thursday 28th of December, 2006

Melbourne’s public transport arrangements have once again come under the spotlight as New Year celebrations approach. The Age has reported on the arrangements for New Years Eve:

While the State Government is taking the proactive step of providing all-night train services and free public transport after 3pm, it has failed to provide services for the two-thirds of Melbourne that resides beyond the rail network.

PTUA spokesman Alex Makin said the Government should match the extra train services being provided into and out of the city with bus services.

“There needs to be extra bus services, particularly to parts of Melbourne that lack rail access,” Mr Makin said.

“It’s great for people that live next door to a train line, but for people in Doncaster, people in Rowville, there’s a complete absence of any late night services on New Year’s Eve.”

Unfortunately Melbourne’s bus network is once again neglected with the government providing no additional services to take people from their rail station to their homes.

Mr Makin said the PTUA was pleased the Government was providing free and extra train services but said many people did not live within walking distance of train stations.

“Once people are at their rail stations, where do they go from there? It seems like (the government’s) priority is getting people out of the city rather then necessarily getting people to their homes.”

Unfortunately, the State Government has again failed to view Melbourne’s public transport as an integrated network, meaning that parts of Melbourne will have no public transport available to take people home on New Year’s Eve.

Scoot Wheel ‘N’ Move End of Year Celebrations

Published by Alex Makin on Wednesday 20th of December, 2006

This morning I attended the Scoot Wheel ‘N’ Move end of year celebrations where the group reflected on its successes of the current year.

Scoot Wheel ‘N’ Move provided a new basis for community engagement through empowering people with disabilities to become actively involved in planning events and improving accessibility within Maroondah. Scoot Wheel N Move has demonstrates its success as a model of community empowerment through he positive response received with the Maroondah Mobility Expo.

I look forward to further working with the Scoot Wheel N Move Working Group in 2007 as we continue to addresses accessibility issues within Maroondah.

Maroondah Journal: Transport portfolio split a ‘backward step’

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 19th of December, 2006

The Maroondah Journal has reported on the Government’s retrograde step to split the Transport Portfolio into separate Public Transport and Roads components:

While Peter Batchelor was unable to handle the Transport Portfolio, as evidenced by delivering little more than broken promises and empty rhetoric, the separation of the portfolio could further hamper the Government’s ability to deliver the public transport projects that are required to mitigate rising traffic congestion and provide an alternative to rising petrol prices.

The Public Transport Users Association, which last year called for Mr Batchelor to be sacked, said the portfolio split could simply make the imbalance between road and public transport planning even worse.

“The move to split the portfolio seems to be a backward step,” PTUA vice-president Alex Makin said. “One of the key criticisms was the lack of integration between road and public transport planning, and this could worsen under the change.”

While it is encouraging that Peter Batchelor has been replaced by Lynne Kosky, Melbourne cannot afford continued inaction and delays to much needed public transport projects.

Lynne Kosky, as the new Minister for Public Transport, must commit to delivering the broken promises, such as the Knox tram extension, the Rowville rail line, the South Morang and Merna rail extensions and other projects such as the Doncaster tram extension and much upgrades to Ringwood Station, which were all left unfunded and forgotten by her predecessor.

Maroondah Journal: Bus use to rise as zones merge

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 19th of December, 2006

The Maroondah Journal has reported on the State Government’s reaffirming its election promise to abolish zone three in March.

The existence of zone three is one the ongoing inequities of Melbourne’s public transport system, where residents of Ringwood, Lilydale and Dandenong pay for more public transport despite living closer to the CBD than suburbs such as Hurstbridge.

Public Transport Users Association vice-president Alex Makin said zone three was one of the “great inequalities for people living in the outer east.”

The removal of zone three could provide an historic opportunity to increase public transport patronage, if service levels are improved simultaneously with the restructuring of the fare system.

He wanted the Government to better co-ordinate the different modes of public transport.

“We should see an increase in bus patronage as people [travel] to their closest railway stations. People won’t be driving their cars to get to stations in zone two.”

The Government must take this opportunity to demonstrate that Melbourne’s public transport system can function as an integrated network. Service coordination, between bus routes and the rail network, must be improved to provide people with a realistic alternative to driving and thus alleviate parking issues at rail stations.

Maroondah Italian Senior Citizens Luncheon

Published by Alex Makin on Tuesday 19th of December, 2006

This afternoon the Maroondah Italian Senior Citizens Club, one of Maroondah’s larger senior associations, provided an end of year celebration for its members. The lunch held at La Porchetta in Heathmont provided an opportunity for members to reflect on the current year and look forward to 2007.

I wish Maroondah’s Italian Senior Citizens Club all the very best of success for 2007.