Public Transportation

Part 1:

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/no-one-running-public-transport-coordination-20100928-15vvd.html

Part 2:

http://www.news.com.au/national/living-is-cheaper-in-melbourne-but-public-transport-is-still-high/story-e6frfkvr-1225885961375

Part 3:

I think that both of these articles are really interesting to read not only if you are a resident living within Victoria, but also for folks like us who will be traveling and staying there. I stumbled across the first article in The Age which addresses the Victorian government's lack of coordination of the public transportation system. The most relevant piece to this article is the emphasis that the lack of coordination not only affects workers on the transportation circuits, but also affects passengers. Be ready for large gaps between connections on buses, trams and trains. Metlink, the organizational body that is supposed to coordinate all of these different modes of transportation, claims that they are not in charge of managing timetables. There are, however, some groups stepping forward who have recognized that there is an issue within the lack of organization between buses, trains and trams and have proposed to take new and improved actions. The second link is one that I found that may also be useful information for al of us pre-arrival. The second link highlights the contrast between the low cost of living in Melbourne and the high cost of public transportation. From reading both of these articles, its pretty apparent that the public transportation system in Melbourne may not be the most reliable mode of transportation, and regardless of its relatively expensive rates may still end up being the most cost-efficient way of getting around the city.