Re: Any comments about the "M>" service improvement program?

["Daniel Bowen" <dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au>]

"Peter Parker" <parkerp@alphalink.com.au> wrote in message
3b13176a@news.alphalink.com.au">news:3b13176a@news.alphalink.com.au...
> The following are my priorities (mainly for trains)
>
> 1. 20 min frequency introduced on Sunday mornings and until 10pm
weeknights
> 2. 20 min frequency extended to midnight, seven nights per week

Are there any figures on what effect this has had on the Sandringham line?

>From my observations occasionally at South Yarra, Frankston/Dandenong line
trains are consistently more crowded than Sandringham line trains at night
(say, after 9pm).

> 3. Daytime frequencies on northern and western lines improved to every 15
> min

>From memory, aren't there problems with running Hurstbridge line trains more
than every 20-ish minutes?

> 4. Saturday daytime services improved to every 15 min
> 5. Sunday and night services made every 15 minutes

Agreed, a standard timetable would go a long way towards usability.

In fact, this is what we used to have on most lines in the 80s, when the
standard was 20 minutes.

> 6. Tram service frequencies be improved to 15 min or better (mostly they
> already are except nights and Sunday mornings)

Route 82 is probably the main exception.

> Services more frequent than 15 min may require vehicle acquisition and
could
> run into capacity
> problems with the City Loop.  Though desirable in the longer term,
> introduction of frequent
>  cross-suburban bus links operating 7 days per week every 15 min (to link
in
> with trains)
> should be accorded higher priority.

I think a major step in the right direction would be to upgrade certain
cross-suburban bus routes to the same standard of service as the 69/79
cross-suburban tram routes. Concentrating on the routes in middle/outer
suburbs that follow direct "tram-style" paths, eg 703, (most of) 700, 888/9,
513, 560, and so on.

Oh, this is starting to sound Paul Mees' book...


Daniel
--
Daniel Bowen, Melbourne, Australia
dbowen@custard.REMOVE.net.au
Melbourne public transport FAQ http://www.custard.net.au/melbtrans/