"Upgrades to bus and train services are good to see, and will help relieve crowding, cut waiting times and encourage more people onto public transport." Great to see progress. More needed! www.busnews.com.au/v...

Many years ago when I learnt to drive, my instructor told me that mounting the kerb during a test was an insta-fail. These days some drivers simply ignore that rule. Just watched a giant ute driver use the footpath to skip a queue to his turning lane to save perhaps 5 seconds. Idiot. #Rule288

Was great to get along to my old school today to chat to students about the past, present and future of public transport in Australia. Some great questions too - hopefully my answers made sense! Thanks for inviting me!

Yet again one of my kids has broken their phone. (No, they haven’t. It’s a scam.)

They’re trying again. This patch of garden now into its third planting. I don’t know why LXRP bothers (other than, “we’re contracted to keep planting for 2 years after delivery, in spite of our own insufferable design flaws”) It’ll be trampled to death in days. #ParkdaleLXR

Happy Vic State Budget Day! I’m heading into the stakeholder lockup to find out what surprises they have for us. Several public transport initiatives already announced, but perhaps a few more up their sleeves. #VicBudget #SpringSt

May the fourth be with you! The Kessel Run can take anywhere from 12 to 20 parsecs. Traffic priority for public transport makes travel time faster and more consistent - cutting delays for trams and buses, and passengers.🚀🚋🚌 #StarWarsDay

Good to chat to Public Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams and senior Metro and Department of Transport people on the first X'Trapolis 2.0 service on Sunday morning. Upgrades to fleets, infrastructure, and timetables all help get more people onto public transport!

It’s time that public transport timetables caught up with our 7 day city. #MoveWithTheTimes

Ten glorious years

The Gross Vehicle Mass for some big utes (eg Ford Raptor) is over 3000 Kg. Does this mean they’re banned from streets like this?

The first new train will run on the Upfield line on Sunday morning😀 Still waiting for the promised fix to the 30-40 minute gaps (including Sunday mornings) on the Upfield and Craigieburn lines - expected soon👍

🎂🚉Happy 100th birthday Heathmont station, opened 1st May 1926 Like all stations beyond Ringwood, trains here are mostly only half-hourly on weekdays - even the weekend service is more frequent! A rewrite of the timetable to simplify stopping patterns and add more services is long overdue.

Blog: Looking at the progress fixing long off-peak wait times on the #Melbourne rail network. Read more here: danielbowen.com/2026...

"..car dependency remains a primary driver of car ownership, even when accounting for income. What this means is that if you took two people with the exact same income, one living in transit-rich Paris and the other living in the suburbs of Rome, the person in Rome is much more likely to own a car."

This guy seems to know what he’s talking about. More buses = good!

Great to see upgraded services coming for buses around Melbourne and regional Victoria. More buses means more options to choose public transport for more journeys. More to do, but this is a good start. Details including list of routes getting upgrades: www.premier.vic.gov.au/bus-bonanza

#Sydney Opal Card upgrade announced costing $820m, including better real-time info, info screens on buses, QR codes for events.

NEW! “How To Fight Back Against Anti-Urbanism Lies!” Our @urbantruth.bsky.social podcast interview with top YouTuber #NotJustBikes is UP on Nebula, Spotify & here on YouTube. We talk about better communication, more REPETITION, and we REVEAL our first big campaign, the #1HourCityConspiracy! LISTEN!

Overcrowded, infrequent buses that people can't use means more traffic on the roads. Many #Melbourne suburbs are crying out for better public transport services. Read the story here: archive.md/recHW

The reason there will be no ‘fuel crisis’ in the Netherlands is that every town, city, & village in the land is connected by fully-segregated cycle lanes. It’s possible for the Dutch to easily stop driving while fuel is short and prices are high. That’s real energy resilience.

Pondering a phone upgrade. Currently on iPhone 13. Probably sticking with iPhone. Changes in eyesight mean I'll want a bigger screen... jeez they're expensive though. Maybe last year's 16 Plus might be the answer. Trade-in on the 13, is about $250. Seems iPhones depreciate faster than cars! 📱

Inside the new X'Trapolis 2.0 train. More pics: danielbowen.com/2026... #Melbourne

We are not a serious city. #Melbourne #PublicTransport #metro

Platforms 7/8 at Spencer Street, 1943. #AnzacDay

Meanwhile, behind the Great Australian Paywall, this study in misery.

For the first Anzac Day with Anzac Station open, extra train services for the Dawn Service at 5:30am. On a normal Saturday the station opens around 4:30am, and early trains are about every 20 minutes. Tomorrow it opens around 4:15am, with trains about every 10 mins from 4:40am. #AnzacDay #Melbourne

Anyone born after 2008 will be banned from buying cigarettes or vapes for life in the UK when a new bill becomes law.

New train smell! Even better, more train services are coming, to reduce long wait times at many #Melbourne suburban stations.

Vale to one of Australia’s most talented writers, and good friend of my late father, David Malouf.

I checked in my wallet to see what cash I had to buy an Anzac Day badge. I needn’t have bothered - the sellers have portable card readers these days. #AnzacDay #LestWeForget

Cities don’t thrive when space is owned by cars, they thrive when it’s shared by people. From superblocks to school streets, this is what's possible when cities place care, empathy, and inclusion at their core—and why leadership matters more than ever. Our piece in @theguardian.com: bit.ly/4sYZlzy

Xtrapolis 2 trains coming soon. Looking good! #Melbourne #PublicTransport

This 👇, and I'd also add the persistant need to improve accessibility across the network - low-floor trams, level-access stops, compliant ramps, reliable lifts, etc. Make a network that people can use rather than making it free for a lucky few.

$1b a year for free PT is over four times the amount the PBO previously cited ($214m pa) for upgrading all #Melbourne train and tram lines to run every 10 minutes every day, with plenty left for V/Line and buses. Improved services get more people on board than free rides. www.theage.com.au/po...#Melbourne($)

Blog: All the way from the pre-web internet, here's my 30+ year old ASCII map of the #Melbourne rail network (with a modern update!) danielbowen.com/2026...

Govt just announced more train services coming soon, fixing many of the 30-40 minute waits around the Metro network, as well as more services on the Shepparton line. There's more to do, but this is a great step in the right direction. More trains more often gets more people onto public transport 👍

Free PT until end of May, then half price until the end of 2026. The government must invest in more services, to help the system cope with demand, and to ensure people most affected by high petrol prices in Melbourne's outer suburbs and regional Victoria have a public transport option they can use.

Free #PublicTransport extended in Victoria until end of May, then half price until end of 2026. Interesting stat they’ve released: rail (Metro and V/Line) patronage up by about 10% in the first fortnight of April. Shows how close to the edge V/Line has been on capacity.

This news from outside the Showgrounds is just awful. #Melbourne

Revamp of PSO railway station deployments. It makes sense to place them where actually needed. No info yet on which stations will get them all day (from 9am onwards), but this list shows which will have PSOs stationed from 5pm, and which will have roving patrols. www.police.vic.gov.a... #Melbourne

Okay I've finally pushed out this blog: Free public transport is easy to say and easy to sell, but it’s the effects and benefits are complex danielbowen.com/2026...

World Public Transport Day is today, 17 April 2026! Frequent, reliable, accessible, affordable, better public transport helps people get to where they're going quickly, safely and efficiently. Find out more: worldpublictransport... #WorldPublicTransportDay

Earlier at Malvern. I get the sense that the idea of Cran/Pak line passengers walking from Town Hall to the MCG is not really catching on, even in pleasant weather like tonight. People would still rather change trains and go to Richmond. #Melbourne #AFLBluesPies

It’s far from clear that free public transport has actually reduced demand for fuel, but I suspect the refinery fire makes it politically more difficult to not extend it. (More PT services would make a bigger difference.) www.abc.net.au/news/... #Melbourne #vicpol

To be fair, it's probably a data or display issue, and it just *feels* like your rail replacement bus is doing this. #Melbourne #bustitution

It's Vic govt reshuffle time! Gabrielle Williams retains transport - good news, as it takes a while for new ministers to get up to speed. Nick Staikos gains Suburban Rail Loop Ros Spence becomes Roads minister #SpringSt #VicPol

It must be footy season🏉🚊 #Melbourne

Meta seems to have had the bright idea of changing the #Facebook Memories feature to not just show your posts "On this day" but "On this day... and a few days before", with no way of changing it back. More noise = more engagement I suppose.

Paisley station closed 41 years ago today, on 14th April 1985. With the Werribee line getting busier, and the western suburbs crying out for more public transport options, now would be a great time to re-open it. You can sign the petition here: www.parliament.vic.g...