MTF made the daily paper.
Coincidentally, this letter to the editor appeared:
Thai railways better service
Just back from Bangkok and was greatly impressed with its rail system. No
vandalism, no drunken, louts, no graffiti, clean platforms, a simple
ticketing system, helpful staff and trains that run on time. There aren't
even seats on the, platforms because there is barely time to sit before your
train arrives. I used the system day and night, never fearing for my safety.
Every passenger passes a guard and walks through a metal detector before
boarding a train.
Brumby and Pakula, please note.
[The letter refers to the single metro route, which serves only part of the
city. It has stage fares, far more expensive than the rest of the urban
transport. It doesn't have interchange ticketing; it doesn't even have
convenient interchanges. The hours are restricted: late start and early
finish relative to the activity of the city. Since it is the means of
connecting to the new airport line, the airport line itself becomes useless
for the hours at which airlines demand a checkin. Bangkok also has a
suburban railway of sorts (more interurban/country in style), Skytrain (two
intersecting routes, but not cheap) and extensive two-tier bus services
(squalid but cheap and airconditioned and still cheaper than rail)].

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

From Thurs.9.9.10 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'
Time to review our view of buses says Transport Minister Martin Pakula
Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula wants commuters to support bus
services.
Melbourne commuters need to change their attitudes towards bus travel,
Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula has said.
Mr Pakula, who was speaking at a debate tonight with his Liberal and Greens
counterparts, said every Melburnian should have transport within 400 metres
of their home.
"For too long, buses have been viewed as the form of transport used by the
poor, schoolchildren and the elderly," Mr Pakula said.
"Culturally, we need to change the way we view buses."
Mr Pakula was questioned about why the Government was unable to get bus and
train times co-ordinated.
"It isn't simple to co-ordinate every bus with every time," Mr Pakula said.
"Buses and trains run at different frequencies."
The debate, organised by the Metropolitan Transport Forum, was interrupted
at one stage by a performance by the Melbourne Public Transport Complaints
Choir.
Greens MP Greg Barber said most Melburnians found public transport to be
either inconvenient or non-existent.
"If everything is running every 10 mins everywhere, there (will be) minimal
waiting times," Mr Barber said.
"The failure to co-ordinate services was especially bad during the evenings,
or in the outer-suburbs.
"There is no taskforce in place looking for those opportunities to save you
time," Mr Barber said.
"The system is so inefficient it costs hundreds of millions to keep it
clunking along.
"A central public transport authority should be established to co-ordinate
services," he said.
Opposition spokesman on transport Terry Mulder said the issue of
connectivity was at the heart of problems with the transport network.
"You turn up (by train) at the station to see the tail lights of your bus,"
Mr Mulder said.
Mr Mulder attacked the State Governments performance over a string of public
transport failures, including myki, Regional Fast Rail and other projects
that suffered massive cost blowouts. "We don't seem to be able to control
the cost of these projects in Victoria," Mr Mulder said.

50 comments, with the worst breaches of spelling and punctuation tidied.
* Duh - we need to change our view of buses. You need to change your view of
what people expect from a public transport system. If it was clean,
reliable, affordable and timetables integrated i might think about using it.
Your comment Pakula that it isn't simple to co-ordinate every bus with every
time highlights the point - that's your problem to fix - it's what you're
paid to do by the taxpayer! Whilst you keep burning my taxes on a ticketing
system that cost $1.4 Billion whilst you let the system run into the ground
and then wonder why i don't use it makes me wonder what you are doing in
this job in the first place!!!
* Buses? Really? Yeaaaaaahhhh! For years Melbourne's bus service has been
crap. Services sometimes just don't show up at all. As a regular bus user,
if I had a dollar for every minute I've waited for a bus that's never come,
or is half an hour late, I would be rich. And, no, I'm not poor, a school
child or elderly. I'm just another worker, earning a living in order to pay
the bills and put food on the table. There are many like us who ride the
bus. More buses!
* after living in Sydney for the past 11 years, i can assure Melburnians
that they have a far superior public transport system than Sydney. Please go
and live there for at least 12 months (rosey honeymoon period will long be
gone by then..) and then come back here. Stop being so high maintenance and
a bunch of unhappy wingers Melbourne! be happy with what you've got!
* I'll get used to buses when the state government gets used to building
train lines to Doncaster, Rowville and I'm sure those from the west and
north might have a few suggestions also. We haven't built a new line since
the 1930's. It's time we stopped talking about it and did it but oh no, the
only thing that moves in this government's transport plan are the goal
posts!
* Liberal wins the election if they make one zone everywhere. Increase daily
zone one ticket by $0.50, reduce zone one and two daily to that same price.
If we are going to have a limited, crappy service in the burbs (neither side
can fix that quickly) the least they can do is not rip us off as well. Inner
residents gets a better service (often multiple train lines can be used,
trams available as well) so they should pay more for it. Also solves the
myki farce by removing the need for swiping off anywhere. Only issue is the
charge for pure zone 2 travel, but maybe that just has to increase being the
cost of efficiency.
* I catch a bus almost every day - often with difficulty. One of the buses I
can catch leaves the local Station at 4-42PM. A train arrives at 4.44PM. I
have been on that train and seen the bus waiting in traffic at the level
crossing next to the station - so I either catch the earlier train and wait
12 minutes, walk for 30 minutes or wait until 5.14 for another bus. That is
one of the main reason why buses are on the nose with the travelling public
- no timetable / service co-ordination. The drivers are great, the buses
clean and overall the service is very good - just fix the link ups.
* Yeah right. The bus trip from the railway station takes 30 minutes and
drops me off 400 metres from home (and that's after the hit and miss as to
whether the bus will even be there when the train arrives or perhaps another
20 minute wait for the bus to show up). I can drive this in 5 minutes. I
would not consider using a bus unless every minister and MP was FORCED to do
the same. Your dreaming Pakula, dreaming. What out of touch goons represent
the labor party. The only people who use a bus are those without cars
* Get stuffed. You have ruined good roads all over Melbourne with these
pathetic bus lanes which are screwing up traffic. Get rid of buses
altogether.
* every bus that goes to a station must connect with a train, like they did
years ago,Brumby all your young minsters don't have any idea of how to run a
proper transport system find someone who can run the system,I remember what
wonderful transport Victoria had,I lived in Melbourne for 35years before
moving to the country town named Adelaide
* What planet is Mr Pakula on or, does he just not have a clue. Everything
seems to difficult for this current Labor Party, excuse after excuse.
* Wrong. Buses are generally viewed as overpriced and unreliable. That is
the main reason the bulk of the population do not use them. After riding on
buses overseas it is easy to see why they are underutilized here in
Australia.
* the issue you have here Mr Pakula is that in my suburb, the buses go to
the train station, and as the bus is always 5-10 minutes late, i usually end
up at the station as the late running train is just leaving and then must
stand for 20-30 minutes for the next one. why would i do that? i know they
cant run on time everytime but hey, just once in a while would be awesome.
* Buses are a great option (I take the bus to work now and get to sit rather
than getting crammed into a peak hour train), given they travel in the
direction you're headed, stop close to your origin, and destination, are
frequent enough, oh and did I mention I work in the city where there are a
myriad of p/transport options, and not in the outer suburbs which would take
me hours and who knows how many service changes. Public transport is way too
city centric and not everyone works in the city
* Mr Mulder is kind. One can also have that leaving lights experience on
trains. Just try the Hurstbridge line into Flinders - often comes to 2-3
instead of 1, and just try to catch the next train through the loop. Metro
is not only not sorry, it doesn't give a rats. And neither does this subpar
pretense of a government that did not fund the system for over a decade.
* I bus it but have to wait 40 minutes between buses peak hour.... fix it up
and more will travel
* Oh dear... Minister Pakula, you must hate the role you are in. How can you
defend the indefensible....? And Mr Mulder is no better.
* Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula and all the other talking heads
who spruke the wonderful way to travel is by public transport should ditch
their free government travel and spend a month or 2 at all times day and
night trying to get from A to B in Melbourne and beyond using it. Let alone
thinking about getting to C as well! They might then realise what an
ars....e of a mismatch system successive government inaction and failures
have left this state with.
* Sack him. There's a reason people in MELB' hate the bus services...they
suck! LOVE the back slapping last week ''metro'' announcing a train every
ten minutes....welcome to 1980...morons. ...HEY...now try to get a train
running through every three minutes...join the ''developed'' world. Perhaps
this fellow should have his car confiscated so he has to use the crap and
dangerous services he says ''WE'' have to change our attitude towards....i'm
sure his attitude to those services might be the one changed.
* YEAH...and you run on a different frequency too...
* It's just too bloody expensive and inconvenient with a family - cheaper to
drive/park/visit museum/buy kids ice cream than just to travel in on the
train...
* Martin Pakula needs to review resigning from Parliament on the basis of
the 1.5 BILLION dollars the Labor government has wasted on the stupid MYKI
system that we didn't need. Public transport should be publicly owned and at
cost to users as an essential service. Instead Victorians pay a commercial
premium to profit the operator. Add to this the waste on MYKI and the fact
is clear, fatboy Pakula should stop eating pizza and resign.
* Mr Pakula I catch a bus every day and am fortunate that it is only a 10
minute walk to the bus stop.BUT when the trains are not running guess what,
no replacement buses for the train travellers, they all jump on our bus and
by the time the bus gets to our stop cannot get in. Recently when all the
trains were out I had to wait 2 hours for a bus, plenty went past, guess
what ??? all full with train travellers. Maybe some Einstein can work out a
staggered system to allow a few train travellers on and the regular
travellers will be able to get on. Waiting at a bus stop you have no idea
what is going on. The bus is fine but more people are catching it and no
more new services.This is on the 216/219 bus line in West Footscray. At
night it's a guessing game, not enough buses. Think about it, just might
work,people are using them and they are definitely not old people and school
students, they are workers travelling to the city.
* We have a bus stop right outside our door but we don't use it. The bus is
never at the station at night and we have had to wait up to half an hour in
the cold dark nights for the next bus. We have kids waiting for us to get
home so we can't afford to wait. If there were more buses we would
definitely use the service, especially considering the car park is full by 7
am each day and the council has blocked parking in all nearby streets! More
buses in sync with trains would be a great solution to the problem.
* Mr Pakula, Have you ever travelled on PUBLIC TRANSPORT,I guess not as a
minister has a driver and car available 24hrs a day so u can drink all night
in the govt bar and then get driven home. ha what a hipocrite.Lets hope
Victorians vote LIBERAL and get the State of Victoria GOING AHEAD AFTER 10
YEARS of nothing apart from financial disaster
* Before the June timetable changed for the Cranbourne evening trains from
Flinders street, we had excellaet connections with buses coming into the
city. Now after the change the connections are ruined adding 20mins to an
already long journey - why was Metro allowed to change what was an
integrated system? worse still no improvement in the puntuality.
* Brumby and Pakula all of those cronies have to go, may be leave Tim
Holdings (the minister for doing nothing), may be but only if he promises to
be a good boy... Mr. Brumby remind me Julia Gillard, poor Australians are
overwhelmed by non elected leaders, in Victoria and Nationally!
* buses will be looked on more favourably if, and only if, they run more
frequently than once every 40 minutes (like my local bus, which is in a
relatively inner city suburb i.e. Essendon - it links three major transport
junctions, and many schools, but still only runs sporadically)
* If you just miss any of the several buses from Hoppers Crossing train
station to Werribee plaza you are left waiting for aprox 40 minutes? I
regularly catch buses however buses can cause motion sickness if i can't
view out the window.
* Buses are totally useless!!!! bus lanes hopeless and the drivers are rude
arrogant pigs!!! no one knows where they go or what time they depart and
their travel routes are a disgrace!!!! Ventura bus line managers should be
sacked! they are the worse
Note the picture? Pakula pictured beside his motor car.Hypocrit. Well I
guess he cant relly be expected to ride on a metro train could he. Might get
himself assulted.
* Fancy that. Another 'Labor' politician telling you how to travel and how
to live your life. I wonder if that's his car in the picture? Nevertheless
this nitwit party is in control again.
* The problem with buses is that they are subject to traffic, and at worst,
the whims of the driver. Having arrived 5 minutes early to the tail end of a
bus thats six minutes early, or at worst a bus that woudln't stop while
being hailed.... you can see why people don't trust them.
* 400 metres from my home? I'd like to see that. I'd like to even see a
service only 44km from my home!
* "For too long, buses have been viewed as the form of transport used by the
poor, schoolchildren and the elderly," Well, that's because it's true! Has
he even travelled by bus lately?? I have and it's not pleasant!
* If it's so important why hasn't it be done already, or does it only matter
during an election year?
* Good on you Martin. Glad to see you will give up your limo and bus it to
work everyday.
* Martin Pakula is ignorant - Geelong buses run once an hour on most lines,
twice in peak hour. Why the hell would you use such a system if you had an
alternative? And this is the second biggest city in Victoria. History shows
rail attracts patronage that buses can't, but in the interim get the buses
running frequently if you want to make a change. Oh, and sack those
responsible for allocating budgets to the proper areas - Pakula, Brumby,
Koski, Spin Doctors and Accountants.
* Well here is a simple way to fix the issue and a healthy one. Put bicycle
tracks alongside all the rail lines where they wont annoy arrogant
motorists. The state already has the land and its nothing but a graffiti pit
anyway. So then people can ride safely between the suburbs and not breath
fumes. Fat schoolkids can lose weight riding to school like the good old
days, as can health concious workers. Carry your bicycle on the trains or
lock it up at the station. Wouldn't take a brain surgeon to work out what
europe has been doing for 100 years in a much higher congested area with
benifits to all..... I challenge the government to ask me how to get it done
if they cant work it out.
Try getting on a 216 or 219 sunday morning in Essex St. West Footscray at
the ungodly hour of 8.15 a.m. They only run every hour and by the time they
cross Ashley St. are full and just drive straight by all the other stops
until Footcray Station. If you ring the depot all you are told is the gov.
wont let them run extra buses. I think this is a lie and that the Melbourne
Bus Link mob just don't care.
* Well maybe Mr Pakula, bus and trains should run at the same frequencies.
That makes sense does it not? If they were better organised more people
would use them!
* I beg to differ Transport Minister Martin Pakula comments,the Buses are
not for the poor and elderly I would call that a insult. The trouble is
everybody expects the perfect world,no one has patience any more and are
always are in a hurry, there is plenty of buses and trains,if we cant wait
ring a Taxi. We used walk for miles once,now we want everything on a
platter.
* Yes, promote bus travel so that you can justify the ridiculous bus lanes
that have inundated the suburbs. Give Doncaster a train line!!!
* Just goes to show how out of touch Brumby and his ministers are.. Try
using buses to get to and from North Warrandyte to the City each day.. I
generally work 10-12 hour days arriving at work around 8.00am.... Look at a
timetable and work that out. Suggest you get out of your chauffer driven
cars and come and get a dose of reality.
* I BL**DY HATE BUSES BRUMBY! Shakes fist at the 205 bus.
* After living in London for a couple of years, I couldn't agree more! I
have completely changed my view of buses. Sydney hasn't made it work, but we
can Melbourne!
* Would love to use public transport but try getting it from Bunyip. One
train every hour, that's it, and there is no such thing as a bus. First
train through at 5:50, and if it that doesn't run or you miss it the next
one is not till 7:05. Doesn't really work when you start work at 6am in
Clayton.
* Is the minister standing next to his taxpayer funded four wheel drive? Our
taxes at work again? But he wants us to get on the bus?
* Mr Pakula, your view would make good sense if you made bus systems more
effective and attractive to travel on. The hastily introduced SmartBus
routes as part of the Doncaster Area Rapid Transport (DART) project will do
little to get commuters out of their cars and onto buses. The planned
timetables show no reduced travel times between Manningham and the CBD.
Doesn't the word "Rapid" imply that travel times will be reduced from what
is currently occuring? In some cases, scheduled travel times are increased.
The bus lane in Lonsdale Street is largely ineffective as bus drivers either
avoid using it or when they do use it, buses are retarded from travelling by
left turning vehicles awaiting pedestrian traffic to clear from
interstections. The so called bus lane on the Eastern Freeway is not a bus
lane. It is an emergency stopping lane, hence buses need to move in and out
of this lane for vehicle breakdowns and on/off ramps. The Orbital Routes are
a farce. Who is going to catch a bus from Frankston to Melbourne Airport
that takes four hours to get there? SmartBus is nothing more than a cheap,
cosmetic "fix" for our public transport needs that lacks innovation and
solution.
* What planet is Pakula from - clearly not anywhere earthly. What a moron.
* While these public transport ROYALS ride around in taxpayer funded cars
and taxis how can they possibly make judgements on how the travelling public
fares. Mr Pakula get a real handle on getting the systems to work.