You have three wishes: feedback from the workshops

First workshops for five of the announced sixteen Melbourne area bus reviews have now been held. Participants had to nominate their three most important wishes for improvement and vote accordingly. With few variations between areas, the following were most wanted:

* Longer operating hours
* Better connections and improved frequency
* More route coverage

Not unexpectedly, the order priorities varied slightly; outer suburban residents most favoured coverage, while those already served preferred better hours and connections.

Most pleasing is the extent to which the term 'harmonised headways' has become a buzz phrase, acknowledged as a pre-requisite for co-ordination. Even on new routes, this remains a live issue, as a local news report demonstrates.

Transport etiquette promotion around the world

This week Connex launched a campaign to promote passenger etiquette on Melbourne trains. The promotion, which uses a made-up self-help guru, aims to stamp out inconsiderate behaviour such as not letting others alight, playing loud music, hogging seats, slurping noisome takeaway, etc.

Bad manners potentially exist wherever two or more people gather in the one place. As the old 'Do not Spit' tiles at Flinders Street Station attest, the issue is neither new nor confined to 'the young people of today'. And neither are complaints about 'train etiquette' geographically limited as demonstrated by the following examples garnered from the 2 million Google hits on the topic.

from the BBC
The Moroccans are more chatty
From an angry subway passenger
Shanghai station escalator etiquette
Train Etiquette - the animation
randyrants.com
in Victorian times
nail clipping on the train
YouthCentral