Re: Boo Hiss to Hillside

[Brian May <bmay@csse.monash.edu.au>]

>>>>> "Vaughan" == Vaughan Williams <ender2000@my-deja.com> writes:

    Vaughan> And here you point out what some of the major obstacles
    Vaughan> are.  There is no planning for public transport in
    Vaughan> melbourne.  The various modes try to compete with each
    Vaughan> other instead of with the real competitor - the private
    Vaughan> car.  Buses wander all over back streets and/or try to
    Vaughan> compete with the trains by taking passengers all the way

Agreed. Not to mention bus drivers that forget to make required
deviations to the bus route, because it only happens twice a day.

Also add to that list: too many bus stops. Before the bus gets up to
full speed, it has to slow down again for the next stop (ie within
reasonable walking distance).

    Vaughan> into the city. the result is low frequencies and buses
    Vaughan> wandering around all over the place going nowhere and
    Vaughan> doing nothing, AND no spare buses in the depot waiting
    Vaughan> to, for example, substitute for a broken down bus.

    Vaughan> A good public transport system plans for the fact that a
    Vaughan> service disruption of one form or another will happen on
    Vaughan> a reasonably regular basis and a contingency plan is
    Vaughan> required (Ringing up some bus companies to enquire if
    Vaughan> they have some buses just waiting in case the railways
    Vaughan> need them does not equal contingency plan).

With all this talk about "who is responsible for delays", these
are my two cents (IMHO):


If I had a job, I doubt my boss would appreciate it if I arrived late,
because of delays in public transport. Regardless of how
infrequent. Hence, instead of wanting to allow hours extra travelling
time by public transport, just in case something went wrong, I would
typically take a car instead. Even if I am delayed by car, I think
most people (eg a boss and/or client) can relate much better to
traffic problems then public transport problems. Also, in my
experience, major delays when travelling by car are still shorter then
major delays in public transport (especially when other connections
are required).


As an example, consider a time when I had a year 11 maths exam (approx
5 years ago now). While the year 11 exams isn't as important as the
year 12 exams, they are still important. I planned to get there, via
train, and then a walk. My school was exactly halfway between Mitcham
and Nunawading (sorry - can't spell) stations (vic), so was a
reasonable walk.  I had planned all of this in my schedule. I
scheduled to arrive at least one hour before the exam (perhaps longer
- can't remember for sure now).

When I got to Ringwood station (2 stations before mine), I suddenly
woke up and realized everyone was getting out. Apparently, the
overhead powerlines had come down (IIRC, this was _after_ mitcham, my
stop, arrghh!).  A emergency bus service was quickly setup, and I
managed to get in the first bus. This emergency bus service was to
take passengers to Blackburn station, so they could meet up with the
train that continued into the city. However, I wanted to get off one
or two stops beforehand, so I specifically asked the driver "does this
bus stop at Mitcham?". I was told yes.

However the bus didn't stop, and was jammed packed full of people, so
there was no way I tell the driver. At Blackburn station, I told the
driver my situation and he apologized, but said I should catch the bus
in front, which would be leaving in 10 minutes for the trip back.  At
one stage on the trip back, the bus was waiting ages at the traffic
lights, right outside my school. I asked the bus driver if I could get
out there (the bus was in the left lane), but was told "this isn't a
bus service, it is a train service". Perhaps I should have explained
my situation with my exam, but wasn't thinking very straight at the
time.

I ended up at my exam 40 mins late. While I was offered extra time,
that was only because it was a year 11 exam. If it was a year 12 exam,
it would have been my fault that I arrived there late, even though it
was mostly outside my control. Not to mention the extra stress from
getting there affected my performance at the exam, and I wasn't able
to concentrate properly.


The bottom line: if the public transport infrastructure can't accept
responsibility for delays, whatever the cause, its no wonder people
prefer travelling by car.


I admit though that I don't have any magical solution to solve these
problems. Unless of course, the initial problems are caused by poor
maintenance - I can't comment on this aspect.


Another thing: I have heard here, in this newsgroup, that a Guards job
is stressful, because he/she gets lots of complaints about poor
quality service, perhaps this is because passengers are concerned
about the consequences of arriving late to work... Perhaps passengers
don't know who else to complain to when delayed - I certainly
wouldn't. This doesn't mean Guards should have to put up with any
sought of abuse though - it should be possible to complain and still
be friendly about it.

-- 
Brian May <bmay@csse.monash.edu.au>