Mastodawn

Halving fuel excise (eg down by 26.3 cents per litre) for 3 months will cost $2.5 billion.
I really hope they keep pushing on investment reduce fossil fuel dependency. #auspol https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-30/federal-politics-live-blog-albanese-fuel-national-cabinet/106509730#live-blog-post-278150

Live: Fuel excise cut to cost budget $2.55 billion, Chalmers says

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the cost of halving the fuel excise will be $2.55 billion. Follow live.

Daniel Bowen 22h ago

Public Transport Users Assoc 3d ago

More housing around public transport is a good idea, but needs more than just good CBD rail access. For many of the proposed precincts, good PT services aren't in place to support local and cross-suburban trips, leaving residents having to drive. #Melbourne

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Daniel Bowen 22h ago

@timrichards There is. He mentioned it in a recent podcast interview I happened across.

Daniel Bowen 22h ago

/3d ago

Fun fact this Cityrail Print Ad was published in Week 2 of the Gulf War.

Daniel Bowen 22h ago

Railmaps 1d ago

Public transport across the State of Victoria to be free in April
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-29/free-public-transport-april-victoria-fuel-prices-cost-of-living/106506974

It starts on Tuesday March 31 presumably so people don't think it's an April Fools day stunt

This is a practical intervention that State governments can make. And IF people swap from their cars, there'll be real savings

In Melbourne, patronage is still below pre-Covid levels, so there is scope to absorb more. But in regional areas, particularly on the North-East line to Albury, VLine trains are chockers

Public transport to be free for Victorians in April as fuel prices climb

The Victorian government says public transport will be free across the state in April in a bid to relieve cost-of-living pressure as fuel prices continue to climb.

Daniel Bowen 1d ago

Public Transport Users Assoc 1d ago

Announced this morning: Free public transport in #Melbourne and across Victoria for the month of April.
It'll clearly benefit those who can use or switch to the PT network. Not so much the people who don't have a usable service they can use.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-29/free-public-transport-april-victoria-fuel-prices-cost-of-living/106506974

Public transport to be free for Victorians in April as fuel prices climb

The Victorian government says public transport will be free across the state in April in a bid to relieve cost-of-living pressure as fuel prices continue to climb.

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Daniel Bowen 1d ago

@ewen Thanks for that. It's Wordpress... I have considered switching to Ghost, but I've got it working again for now, so one step at a time!

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Daniel Bowen 1d ago

Okay I've got my web site running again. Here's a link to the most recent post, about public transport patronage. Happy reading, if that's your thing - and do let me know if you see issues! https://danielbowen.com/2026/03/25/patronage-during-2025/

Patronage during 2025

Updated public transport patronage data has just been released, including for January 2026. This is particularly interesting given the Summer Start free weekend travel that applied during December and January. Unfortunately the other data set that separates out patronage by days does not include weekend data for this period. It's not clear if this is [...]

Daniel Bowen

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Daniel Bowen 1d ago

I can't begin to tell you the cascading stuffups (by the hosting company) that mean my web site is still down. It'll make a good blog post... when it's back up.😠

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Daniel Bowen 2d ago

@joannaholman @ptua That stop just so badly needs a makeover.

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