Why Yarra Trams Must Go! Slow, slow, slow…

COMMENT, Melbourne – 3 Breakdowns in 1 hour in a 2 kilometre stretch of the busiest tram route in Melbourne, St Kilda Road, as of 10.15 am today.

There was a recent crash on St Kilda Road on Monday, in the same spot 3 breakdowns occured in one hour today.

This is happening very frequently, almost EVERY day, so as a majority of people who catch a tram to work are or meetings, study or family are inconvenienced every day.

It is seriously impacting lives, and forcing people to drive even short distances.

In the past breakdowns on this route were far less frequent and resolved far quicker.

The Private Company running the trams, Yarra Trams, must go.

Personally, following on from yesterday’s post about ‘Slow being the New Fast’, I took a different reaction to the stopped tram.

Another Tram Breakdown on St Kilda Rd

I have been sitting in another tram breakdown on St Kilda Rd. It is simply criminal how often public transport breaks down in Melbourne.

But today, I took Slow is the New fast as my motto.

As I am in the position to be able to work on the tram that is what I did. I sat on the tram. I waited for the tram in front to be repaired. Worked on my laptop.

Invariably rushing is about the tradeoff between time and money. Today I decided peace of mind and time was more important.

I was however, one of the few. And the melee around me was distracting.

Go far from the Madding Crowds

Victorians, and those who frequent St Kilda Rd, are now so accustomed to public transport breaking down, that they start walking at the first sign of a problem.

Have we accepted now such low standards?

First a trickle, then a steady stream, and finally a flood left the tram.

Some walked to other routes, some caught taxis, presumably some got there some how.

Normally I would have been a walker, looking for a taxi.

But the fact is, I don’t really need to today.

No meetings in the morning. No urgent email to send (and if I did have I can check them on my phone thanks to some high-tech wizardry on the weekend).

So I waited the 20 minutes. And I can say that I am far less angry than I would normally be. The anger at factors outside my direct control.

Then shortly thereafter another tram broke down. A mere 1000 metres further.

Apparently a tram behind another tram had broken down.

That’s 3 breakdowns in 1 hour in a 2 kilometre stretch of the busiest tram route in Melbourne, a city of close enough to 4 million.

That took 30 minutes to clear. In the end I gave up. I gave in, and joined the crowd. When I then walked down to catch a bus, I caught up with many of the walkers.

But many of the people do not have a luxury of being late to work or school regularly. Their work can’t be done on a laptop.

Do they have NO choice but to drive?

In Victoria, it seems you have no choice but to drive. It’s not just about new housing estates with no transport. This applies now, even if you live close to the city.

The Problem with Transport

It is a logical position to assert that if trams were properly maintained.

Why are they not? Simple.

Labour shortages.

Rationalisation.

Lack of properly trained management.

Obsession with property price bubble over working for a living.

Lack of training & qualifications.

Drug Use and related substance-abuse issues.

Labour shortages and drug use may not be sexy issues but they are the sleeper issues that are destroying our Australian society.

Here’s a recent video and story regarding drug use by NSW railway employees. These are the same people who maintain NSW trains for ’safety.’ Inspiring.

The outcome is people cannot change things

People are angry. Look at the faces on the tram. But they have also given up.

They know that the private tram company, Yarra Trams, does not care. They know they simply are incapable of fixing the mess.

They see the Private Tram Company, Yarra Trams’ people proudly standing around chatting whilst passengers suffer. Nobody cares. More spin. More Bull.

The fact is though, the system needs an overhaul. A radical overhaul.

Astute readers will note this as further support for my position expressed in the topic of my recent post, Brackwards: Melbourne Public Transport

Yarra Trams must go.

Christopher

Connect to Christopher Hire.

Speaker. Author. Editor-In-Chief. Executive Director of Innovation, 2thinknow.

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