2y ago

‘Find a spot on the floor’: overcrowding complaints grow as Victorians take advantage of rail fare cap

www.theguardian.com

Many people predicted this would happen...

26 comments

This demonstrates there is demand for rail services if it's superior to driving. In this case with cost.
Hopefully the long term response to this will be more services and maybe even restoration of old lines that have fallen out of use in the past 100 years. There used to be rail services going to most towns in the state. It'd be so great to see some of those come back.
- Yeah, this is in a way a good sign. Although they should've probably invested in more rolling stock before actually implementing this plan.
  
  Nah man, build demand first, services 20yrs later. It's the aussie way
- The Perennial problem is the fucking NIMBYs.
  Even the Pedestrian/Bike/Horse rail trails are being blocked by residents who don’t want strangers near their property. Even in areas with a large Horse-enthusiast population. Even where under-utilised sporting fields are accessible from the old alignment.
  Other existing rail trails are being sabotaged by locals, much to the detriment of local businesses such as cafes, micro-breweries and distilleries.
  
  Honestly we need a law that says if you oppose public transport, your house gets seized and you get banned from receiving any income
Vline finally in line with the metro experience lol.
Also who the fuck complains about too much patronage on a pay for travel service?
just add more trains lmao, more patronage is a great thing
- The network upgrades required to “just add more trains” would be very expensive, and Vic Labor are already running up more debt than they can afford.
  
  @cuavas @Jumuta to be honest I'm a little surprised they didn't make the fare cap for off-peak travel only, which would have actually helped to reduce some of the crazy peak crush.
  
  eh, less expensive then roads in the long run
Of course, this means that anyone who values their comfort and has a car will drive instead, leaving public transport as a soup kitchen service.
- @AllNewTypeFace @justkitten I think this is really only happening on the Albury line - other services have likely seen a decent increase in patronage, but it's likely going to make rural services more viable in terms of numbers, and on the really popular routes hopefully a real increase in services. In 2019 I took rural PT to a bunch of different places in Victoria, East West and North from Melbourne, and only North was really even half way busy.
  
  Have you not been on the Geelong Line? It’s busier than the North by far.
  
  You must be joking. Passenger volumes on the Ballarat line just keep increasing as they build more dormitory suburbs along the corridor. Morning peak trains are routinely at crush capacity before reaching Melton, making it very difficult to actually catch a train to work in Melbourne from Melton.

26 comments