Category Archives: Transport

Another Sydney transport travesty as rail promise shunted

Posted on 29 May, 2013 by Alex

Today’s announcement that Federal Government funding earmarked for the Parramatta-Epping rail link in Sydney’s west has been shifted to a fund for projects not to be built until after 2019 should come as no great surprise, but it is still … Continue reading →

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The second Sydney airport – dead, or just resting? (part 1)

Posted on 27 December, 2012 by Alex

Recent media reports point to a revival of plans to build a second Sydney Airport at Badgerys Creek, almost a decade since the proposal was (supposedly) killed off by both sides of politics. The current state of play and how … Continue reading →

Posted in Airport, Infrastructure, Local Government, Transport | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Porto Metro – how to retrofit a light rail system

Posted on 21 November, 2012 by Alex

Using the Porto metro on a recent trip to Portugal was a revelation. The system serves Portugal’s second-largest city, Porto, which has an official population of only 250,000 but which serves a wider urban region of about 1.6 million. The … Continue reading →

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Trams in the CBD and heavy rail across the Bosphorus – examples for Sydney

Posted on 16 September, 2011 by Alex

Recently I looked at what Sydney could learn from Istanbul’s electronic ticketing system, which is part of a much wider story about how the public transport in Turkey’s largest city is being transformed through a massive investment in public transport … Continue reading →

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The Akbil and the Istanbulkart – lessons from Istanbul in electronic ticketing

Posted on 23 August, 2011 by Alex

Before I post my follow-up to the fare integration post, I thought I’d make a short diversion to Istanbul which is where I am at the time of writing. Apart from its intrinisc fascination as a city, Istanbul is also … Continue reading →

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Another small step for fare integration…

Posted on 15 July, 2011 by Alex

The recent partial integration of Sydney’s Metro Light Rail (MLR) ticketing with the MyMulti/MyZone system is another welcome if very modest step towards a true integrated ticketing and fares system for Sydney’s public transport. You can now use a MyMulti … Continue reading →

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Will the new NSW Transport Authority succeed?

Posted on 20 April, 2011 by Alex

Yesterday’s announcement by the new NSW Government of the creation of a new Integrated Transport Authority (ITA) not only fulfils a major election promise but also highlights the extent of the government’s transport ambitions.   The announcement also echoes many … Continue reading →

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Update: Seven things O’Farrell should do in the first 100 days

Posted on 31 March, 2011 by Alex

A couple of updates on my last post: First, a letter from Sandy Thomas (another member of the Sydney Morning Herald Public Transport Inquiry that reported last year) published in today’s Herald offers another and probably more achievable scenario on how … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Development, Governance, Infrastructure, Local Government, Public Transport, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Seven things O’Farrell should do in the first 100 days

Posted on 29 March, 2011 by Alex

There is no doubt that Mr O’Farrell and his party scored an emphatic victory in the NSW election, rewriting the record books in the process. While the main factor in the result was the electorate’s obvious dissatisfaction with the performance of … Continue reading →

Posted in Governance, Growth, Infrastructure, Local Government, Public Transport, Sydney metro area, Transport, Western Sydney | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

What are the real differences between bus and rail?

Posted on 14 February, 2011 by Alex

Recently transport consultant Jarrett Walker posted an interesting article on his Human Transit blog regarding the intrinsic and non-intrinsic differences between rail and bus technology, drawing on an article in the Infrastructurist blog which had asked its readers if streetcars … Continue reading →

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