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Two stories: Public Transport and Gaming
So I'm halfway on my 1.5 hr journey to work on Wednesday when the Business Director rings to say one of the routers has fallen over and could I return to the city to reset it. No problem; it's one of the things I do and besides I quite like hanging out in big rooms with thousands of servers humming away. Finally returning to deepest darkest Croydon I discover that there's another twenty minutes for the next connecting bus so I visit the tiny second-hand bookstore in the arcade and discover a small mountain of ancient roleplaying tomes going very cheap indeed. I put aside some twenty books and promise the shopkeeper to return the following day. Two stories follow:
The first was the return journey home in the evening. It begins with the bus being late and thus not connecting with the departing train to the city. This happens sometimes and requires a further twenty minute wait. Then the inevitable; "Connex apologises for any inconvenience caused", a sound to whit Melbourne commuters should respond with a slow chant of "Connex are wankers". The second train had been delayed by a further fifteen minutes. Finally arriving at Richmond station the connecting train there wasn't due for a further minutes and that one was going to be an additional fifteen minutes late. I ended up catching the ever-dependable 246 bus home; a service that has been stable since I first moved to Melbourne fifteen years ago.
The fact is that Melbourne's train system, once considered the envy of other cities, is now totally dysfunctional. The incredible incompetence of the private providers, who are so bad that even the British Conservatives have admitted that rail privitisation has been a failure (notably this is from the same company). However, let this be a rule of thumb: private industries do a worse job at infrastructure than public organisations. The PTUA is on the right track in this regards (pardon the pun), but the "Socialist Left", Transport Minister seems to think the government should have marginal responsibility at best.
Now, story two; arriving the following day before the bookshop closed, I collected my twenty RPG books for the bargain price of $150. The shopkeeper enquired whether I was interested in the others. "Not this time" was my response ('twas a heavy load, being twenty books). "How about the rest for an additional $100?". It was a bargain I couldn't refuse. Dispite the incredible difficulty of travelling from Croydon to Ripponlea, I eventually made it and catalogued my haul: fully 134 books, including several boxed sets, a dozen hardbacks, old Tunnels & Trolls classics, a dozen Ars Magica books, twenty Champions scenarios etc.. Ran Seven Leagues last night; seriously fun system set in magical and mythical faerie realms; have also hacked our way through half of G2: The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant, in the ongoing retro-AD&D game. Recently reviewed the new Earthdawn Players Compendium and Ruby.
The first was the return journey home in the evening. It begins with the bus being late and thus not connecting with the departing train to the city. This happens sometimes and requires a further twenty minute wait. Then the inevitable; "Connex apologises for any inconvenience caused", a sound to whit Melbourne commuters should respond with a slow chant of "Connex are wankers". The second train had been delayed by a further fifteen minutes. Finally arriving at Richmond station the connecting train there wasn't due for a further minutes and that one was going to be an additional fifteen minutes late. I ended up catching the ever-dependable 246 bus home; a service that has been stable since I first moved to Melbourne fifteen years ago.
The fact is that Melbourne's train system, once considered the envy of other cities, is now totally dysfunctional. The incredible incompetence of the private providers, who are so bad that even the British Conservatives have admitted that rail privitisation has been a failure (notably this is from the same company). However, let this be a rule of thumb: private industries do a worse job at infrastructure than public organisations. The PTUA is on the right track in this regards (pardon the pun), but the "Socialist Left", Transport Minister seems to think the government should have marginal responsibility at best.
Now, story two; arriving the following day before the bookshop closed, I collected my twenty RPG books for the bargain price of $150. The shopkeeper enquired whether I was interested in the others. "Not this time" was my response ('twas a heavy load, being twenty books). "How about the rest for an additional $100?". It was a bargain I couldn't refuse. Dispite the incredible difficulty of travelling from Croydon to Ripponlea, I eventually made it and catalogued my haul: fully 134 books, including several boxed sets, a dozen hardbacks, old Tunnels & Trolls classics, a dozen Ars Magica books, twenty Champions scenarios etc.. Ran Seven Leagues last night; seriously fun system set in magical and mythical faerie realms; have also hacked our way through half of G2: The Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant, in the ongoing retro-AD&D game. Recently reviewed the new Earthdawn Players Compendium and Ruby.
no subject
That being said we need to do things like increase bus frequencies to closer to train frequencies, increase hours of operations and make sure bus routes go to places like train stations (like next door, not a block away). It ain't something that can be done overnight, and it is being done, but not quick enough for my liking.
On Connex. Well Connex is an convenient whipping boy, and some of it they deserve. Their relationship with customers and the broader community is appalling, and in this they are often their own worst enemy. That beings aid many of the problems with our train network are more the fault of government then Connex. This is primarily the abysmal lack of investment in heavy rail over the past 40-60 years. This government is taking some steps towards correcting the problem and the infrastructure bottlenecks, but Treasury has imposed growth assumptions on the Department of Infrastructure that are unrealistic (ie. 3-4 percent rather then the existing 10 percent). We need the government to own up to the problem and do more and be a bit more ambitious then they currently are.
To be honest, the idea that our rail system is privatised is a real myth. yes, private companies OPERATE the services, but the rail, rolling stock, planning, control over timetabling, level of service etc. is with the Public Transport Directorate of DOI. So the government OWNS and CONTROLS public transport.
The current debate over public transport is so lacking in intellectual honesty and rigour its quite insane to be honest and I like to characterise it as a civil war. The only one's who win from continued fighting over operating contracts is the roads lobby, who are trying their level best to get a brand spanking new tunnel built under the inner northern suburbs to make it easier for people to drive into the CBD.
That's the real disgrace IMHO.
no subject
To be honest, the idea that our rail system is privatised is a real myth. yes, private companies OPERATE the services, but the rail, rolling stock, planning, control over timetabling, level of service etc. is with the Public Transport Directorate of DOI. So the government OWNS and CONTROLS public transport.
By your own description it seems that the government owns the infrastructure and the private company operates the service. The fact isthat haven't done a particularly good job.