Re: Melbourne Trams

["John Wayman" <trecker@bigpond.com>]

Sounds good if you have shares in a company manufacturing buses!

Cheers
John Wayman

Jennifer Richmond <richmond@melbpc.org.au> wrote in message
374DD9F2.6DD51EA1@melbpc.org.au">news:374DD9F2.6DD51EA1@melbpc.org.au...
>
>
> David Langley wrote:
>
> > One quote was that "buses could easily get in the left hand lane" which
> > supposedly would permit a proper traffic flow. I don't know what roads
> > he drives on but most of the time the left hand lane on the roads that I
> > drive on is full of parked cars. If these guys don't like to follow a
> > tram, then they could find a road without them. There are plenty without
> > resorting to the freeway and if they are so pro road then let them drive
> > on Jeff's new toll way. Someone will have to pay my share because I
> > won't be using it. Some years ago when I had a need to drive around
> > Melbourne a lot, there were lots of alternative routes where there were
> > no trams.
>
> Can you imagine the chaos city area at peak hour if there were no trams
and
> all buses?
> - Swanston Walk has a continuous stream of trams (I remember reading that
> the headway is about 10 to 14 seconds). Imagine this as a constant stream
of
> buses, people would have to wear gas masks! It would be chaos with buses
> trying to overtake each other, getting stuck, butting in... even in the
off
> peak, I think that the headway is only about 90 to 120 seconds!
> - Elizabeth Street is a bit lighter (not much) but has mostly B class
trams,
> which would mean either doubling the number of vehicles or purchasing
> articulated buses to keep the passenger capacity!!
> - Buses have to wait while the driver sells tickets, remember the fiasco
> when driver only trams started: trams were being delayed for 5 to 10 mins
at
> each major stop, and this was Sunday!! At least the tram has a machine
(even
> if no one does use it).
> - Many hundreds of buses would have to be purchased to replace the trams,
> including 132 B class trams, which would have to be replaced by 2 buses or
> articulated buses.
>
> Well that's what I think anyway!
>
> Sam Eades
>
>