OK the bus is not it!
After all these years of frustration with The Met/M>Train/Connex I'd recently tried the bus and found it a pleasant surprise - clean, comfortable, quick and uncrowded. I'm still doing the train in/bike home thing, but as the evenings get darker, colder and wetter I've been looking seriously at the bus as on option.
But I just can't!
See the bus is due at 07:03 and if I wait until 07:07 I can still get to Ripponlea in time to catch the 07:13. And a couple of times I've played this brinkmanship game but it's too stressful!
Today I'm planning to run home, so I have the option of the bus. But it doesn't show and off I go. If it shows up while I'm between bus stops I'm not sure how I'll go flagging down the driver. Anyway it doesn't, so the point is moot. Did it show a minute later? Five minutes later? At all? And that's the problem, even if the trains are hopeless, you still have a glimmer of hope that you can find out somehow. But with the bus, you have no idea what's happening, and no way of finding out. So it's the 07:13 from Ripponlea after all... better the devil you know!
Update:
At 07:40 we get the message that all Sandy trains are delayed at Sandy due to vandalism. Looks like I was lucky with the 07:13. Would've been really spewing to have let the bus go only to find the trains screwed.
But I just can't!
See the bus is due at 07:03 and if I wait until 07:07 I can still get to Ripponlea in time to catch the 07:13. And a couple of times I've played this brinkmanship game but it's too stressful!
Today I'm planning to run home, so I have the option of the bus. But it doesn't show and off I go. If it shows up while I'm between bus stops I'm not sure how I'll go flagging down the driver. Anyway it doesn't, so the point is moot. Did it show a minute later? Five minutes later? At all? And that's the problem, even if the trains are hopeless, you still have a glimmer of hope that you can find out somehow. But with the bus, you have no idea what's happening, and no way of finding out. So it's the 07:13 from Ripponlea after all... better the devil you know!
Update:
At 07:40 we get the message that all Sandy trains are delayed at Sandy due to vandalism. Looks like I was lucky with the 07:13. Would've been really spewing to have let the bus go only to find the trains screwed.
posted by Connex Whinger at 7:45 am
3 Comments:
Brighton Beach Station is being used for a Special Project associated with installing 'Black Box' into all trains.
I am amused that a station which supports a catchment beyond its local area is thought to be the most appropriate for this project. There is hi motivation by residents further down the line to travel to Brighton Beach as it is the first Zone 1 station on the Sandringham Line. In addition Black Rock and Beaumaris are not well supported by public transport and a car trip to appropriate train station is common (as opposed to waiting 20 minutes for local bus service).
This station has always filled very quickly. Overflow into the streets continues to occur. Council recognised this in 2005 when it decided too many cars were parking in the Beach park and placed restriction on this parking. At the time local press indicated an attempt to extend Zone 1 to the rest of the line - this did not eventuate. Now we have this project further reducing parking at this station.
Parking at station is now filled by 0710 Monday thru Friday. This is not really good enough - however we continue to be ignored.
In any other state there trains would already have the Blackbox in them and have a system that locates trains!.
Make sure you don't chuck out your monthly tickets that you used it March. It was published in the Herald Sun today that on time running performance for March has fallen below the minimum for compensation and say they are paying compensation for March as well - a "hat-trick" of months with compensation.
I couldn't find the article on the Herald Sun site but was able to find information on the Connex site.
http://www.connexmelbourne.com.au/news_comp/index_mar.asp
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