Sunday, October 16, 2005

Timetable tidbits

1. Back in August Adelaide Metro upgraded many of its bus services. Highlights include six extra 'Go Zones', doubled Sunday service on many routes, a 'Mega Go Zone' along the O-bahn and a frequent metro service to Adelaide Airport.

The outer north-eastern suburbs past the end of the O-Bahn seem to be the big winners. Several now have services every 15 minutes. Operating hours have also been extended, with some, like the route 544 series operating until after midnight, even on Sundays and public holidays.

The changes are also covered in the AATTC's Table Talk.

2. Here in Melbourne, outer suburbs are being given some much-needed extra bus services, with $44 million to be spent over 4 years on 50 new or upgraded routes. These services will be introduced to growth areas in Melbourne's west, north, east and south. Yarra Ranges routes to be improved are listed here. Industry and passenger groups say that about five times the amount offered was required to provide sufficient service to make bus travel more convenient.

3. Craig has been busy examining the quality of bus-train connections at important interchanges. This is very important; who wants to be stuck for 30 minutes at a bus stop on a cold, rainly night? Craig's findings are presented here. Particularly note the results for the Smartbus routes (700, 703, 888/9), the design objectives of which included enhanced connections with trains.

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