Transport

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F

fighting fury

Debutant
Nov 14, 2000
52
1
Melbourne (Richmond)
Was our transport to footy games sufficient and efficient?

Do you enjoy sitting or standing on the train to go to the footy and do the same on the way back? Or do you drive to the footy grounds? Is carparking easy?

Should the Met change the train system and allocate trains for footy members and supporters during the footy season? Or is everyone satisfied with the current situation?

Certain trains are allocated to The Royal Melbourne Show Grounds, why not to footy grounds?

I don't think much of the trains system in general anyway and am glad I don't travel on them as much as I use to (in fact almost never now)!

What do you all think?

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Welcome to the jungle
 
Travelling to Waverly by pulic transport i admit it, was a nightmare. HATED it. Thats about the only thing the move of the Hawks to the 'G' really has going for it from my own viewpoint.

Just hop on the train and zoom your at the footy. I keep to myself with the walkman and listen in to whatever the radio boys are saying. No hassles with parking and getting out of the ground is easy if you dont mind walking to Flinders st (it gets to crowded outside the ground, besides its only a short walk). Either that or head to the pub (that seems to happen more after a win than a loss) and wait for the crowds to disperse a bit.

Like to know how it is with the interstate fans. Perth from memory has terrible public transport. Dont know what the other states are like.
 
FF, most often we drive. A number of local business around the Gabba have given permission for Lions Club (the charity not the footy club) to utilise their carparks for fundraising. A $5 donation to the Lions Medical Research Fund is a small price to pay for parking 150m from the Gabba.
 

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Public Transport Sux! Connex Sux!
Connex can go root a cow!

I get around on my scooter until my blades are fixed!
 
Getting on a crowded train doesn't bother me too much, in fact I find it fun coz most of the time you end up meeting the most interesting people. I had this little kid sitting there one day giving me heaps coz his Roos had just beaten us (I was just laughing lol) and then he saw my player badges on my scarf and was SO excited, asked me where I got them, he was from the country and didn't get to games much and had always wanted a Wayne Carey badge, so I suggested a few places to his grandparent. (Oh hey, see, I am not so bad am I folks??? I didn't hiss and recoil in horror when the kid said Carey's name
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LOL) So yeah. Sometimes those train trips can be pretty good. Other times you just wish all those people would get the hell off your train.
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lol
 
I reckon now that Waverley is gone, the footy is very easy to get to. For Waverley I used to have to catch a train into the city, then to Glen Waverley station at which point I had the choice of getting on the shuttle bus or walking to the ground (70-75 mins walk). If it was nice weather I would always walk to the ground and back, very relaxing stroll and it would burn off all the shit I ate while at the footy.

To have Docklands replace it is great. It's 10 mins away on the train, and the ground is adjacent to the station.

My mate summed it up best one day on the way out to Waverley as we were passing the Docklands construction site.
"We should be THERE, but instead we're not even a quarter of the way out there yet".

The MCG is pretty covenient too, as is Optarse which I used to enjoy walking to when I used to live in Coburg.

And would you believe Whitten Oval stopped hosting games the bloody year I moved up the street from it! But until then it had always been easy too.

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Take no prisoners, take no shit!!!
 
I live 15 minutes drive from Subi, but if I go by public transport I have to catch a bus & then 2 trains, takes nearly an hour, after the game is a nightmare, the trains only have 2 carriages, I always go to the pub for an hour or so till the crowds have gone.
Public transport in Perth is ridiculous, weekends it is almost non existent.
I know I am going to get all the west aussies attacking me for saying that, but people you know it is true. Safety is another issue on public transport here, I would never use it after dark.

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mantis
 
I'm only a 10 minute walk from Preston station, and of course, Colonial and the MCG are next to train stations so I never have any hassle getting to and from the footy at all.

Only problem is those Epping line trains are often crammed full of Carlton and Collingwood supporters going home to Thomastown and Lalor!
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I agree with everyones thoughts about travelling to Waverley on the virtually non existent public transport system.

On the few times that we didn't go by car, I attempted to get there by public transport. It took me 4 hours to get home on one occassion. It makes you wonder just how different Waverley could have been if all of its plans, including the tram line, were achieved.

But playing at Colonial is great. I live a couple of hundred metres from a train station so I can now get to any Victorian ground very easily. Even Shell Stadium. No use in driving when you don't have to.

And I agree Spidergirl, the deals that clubs like St Kilda, Hawthorn and the Bulldogs have done with the train/tram company's mean we get substantial discounts too.

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Fortius Quo Fidelius

[This message has been edited by sainter (edited 09 December 2000).]
 
As several people have already pointed out, the public transport to Waverley was a disgrace.

I'm a staunch public transport user at all times. And now that Waverley is gone I really can't understand how anybody could possibly drive a car to the football. It just makes no sense whatsoever.

The trains are grouse. Especially cramming on to the Epping train after a Collingwood win. It's great when the Club song starts up spontaneously among all the yobboes. Unfortunately I get off at Merri so I don't get to enjoy the festivities all the way to Lalor or Thomastown. Not that we get to celebrate very often
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Colonial is very easy to get to and from. I just get the West Preston tram down Collins Street. Eeeeeeeeasy!!

I know Melbourne people grizzle about the public transport system all the time ... but, shit, we've got easily the best public transport in Australia ... despite all the faults. Anyone who drives a car in Melbourne is a dead set mug.

I remember Adelaide's public transport system was pretty damn awful most of the time. But at least they have a pretty good bus service to Football Park. And there's always plenty of buses AFTER the game, which was never the case at Waverley. But Adelaide is very much a CAR city. That's one of the reasons I hated living there so much.

From everything I've heard about Perth (and my one and only visit 20 years ago) you would have to be rich to live there. And a car would be absolutely essential. Sounds like a complete frigging hole to me.

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**floreat pica**
 
Waverley..........*shudder* TEAR THE DAMN THING DOWN
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lol........actually had it had better public transport to and from, it would still be a great place to watch footy.
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So yeah, I agree with everyone else on the Waverley/transport thing. Especially for one like me who doesn't drive.
 

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Adelaide had a very comprehensive tram network that was torn down in 1958,
it serviced Adelaide oval, Unley oval, Norwood Oval,, Close to ( Richmond ) suburb where West Adelaides ground is and so it goes...A great tram network ..gone
The train is only a few minutes walk away from ALBERTON, home of the PAFC.

But it is now Football Park where Port Adelaide play, they havent played at Alberton except for a few trial games since leaving the SANFL. A new Club called the Port Adelaide Magpies Football club that have their training facilities at a place called Ethelton now use our ground for club matches in the SANFL. Port Adelaide use the Alberton ground for all training though.

Football park is serviced by Cars and buses, the nearest train station is approx. 2 miles away. Talk was afoot recently to divert the line from the Albert Park station down West lakes boulevard directly to football park and West lakes shopping centre....... HOWEVER...

For those that know, S.A. is broke..i.e. the Govt. hasn't got 2 cents to rub togethor and they have been selling off all utilities and sevices, gas, water , electricity, Bus transport , TAB etc to pay for the massive state debt that was reported at 8 Billion dollars with the collapse of the State Bank here several years ago, but pundits in the know suggest the debt was more to the tune of 12-15 billion.....

a Bigger debt than a lot of countries have !!!!!!!


My Point....

As the Govt has sold off the Bus services, they belong to private companies now.
Hold that thought for a moment...

The Govt has told us that extending the train line from Albert Park to West Lakes would be a prohibitive 12 Million dollars and they cant afford it. Though they can afford to spend 39 million on Hindmarsh stadium soccer ground for half a dozen olympic soccer matches and the three thousand Adelaide City Force ( another darn Americanism ) Soccer club fans that go to matches once a fortnight.

and they can spend 7 or 8 million on extending football park grandstand ( to a self funding sporting code )

But they cant spend money on a much needed Public transport extension....

Back to my comment "hold that thought" ...


Behind closed doors ..who do you think would have screamed at the Govt for suggesting a train line to Westlakes when the Govt first suggested it....

The Private Bus companies that have just bought the bus system from the Govt..and are hollering that they want to re negotiate the contract of purchase because the price of Diesel is now so high that the arent making the Profits they thought they would.

A train extension to WestLakes would make travelling to Football Park the easiest ground to get to in Adelaide, by far . for all supporters.

The Govt is as we speak taking away several hundred carparks at Football park for a Bus interchange at the Ground, Modifications are being made to West Lakes boulevard at this very moment for specific bus lanes ( incidentally where the proposed train line would have ran )


So who's running the show in Adelaide... The Govt or a bus Company.....

You all guessed it...answers a lot of questions ..doesnt it..

PA1870
 
The fact is Waverley should never have even been built if there was no intention of running a train line out here!

ahhhh my god stupid Eppping line is bad enough in the day let alone after the footy!
Every Collingwood supporter i know seems to live out that way but!

sPiDeR eVeRiTt and RiCkY oLaReNsHaW
~kewlest players round!!!

[This message has been edited by Spidergirl~RiCkChiCk (edited 10 December 2000).]
 
I think in the 60s when Waverley was built, it was the right thing to do, as it was the growth area of Melbourne. A train line was planned at the time, and I believe the idea was still being considered by state governments into the 80s (someone correct me if I'm wrong). It just never happened.
But the new growth area is in the west nd north-west and a central location like the Docklands or MCG is best for all footy fans, even if the Docklands entry and ticketing system took a while to sort itself out.
 
I don't live in the outer east of melbourne any more but I can tell you the public transport is non-existent ! So it made sense that the footy stadium out there (in a region with a population bigger than adelaide) was mainly approached by car. Most people go everywhere by car and most families have at lease 2 cars. Melbourne is always saying how it has great public transport but the buses, trams etc are concentrated in the sity and the north/west/inner east. And what good would have building a train line to waverlry doen for someone in lilidale ? An hour into the city and another 40 mins beck out to waverley ?

The train is good for the MCG
 
For me, the nearest train station is Carrum which is 10km away. A car is absolutely essential.

That said, I would never drive to the football if I can help it. Even for night games at the 'G or Colonial, it is easy to park the car at Caulfield and take a 15 minute train trip in from there.

It is always a bit of an adventure going to Kardinia Park. On the train at Carrum to Spencer St, then on the VLine train to South Geelong followed by a 5 minute walk. Damn sight easier than driving the 130km each way that it would otherwise be.

All Victorian grounds are serviced by effective puplic transport that makes this the better option.

All this coming from a stauch (if practical) capitalist.

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This is a hallucination and these faces are in a dream. A computer generated environment; a fantasy island you can do anything and not have to face the consequences.
 
I haven't caught public transport to the football for at least 10 years !! At times, at the MCG it can be a little slow getting out of the MCG Car Park, however usually have no problems getting out of the car parks either at Olympic Park (when you can get in) or the Tennis Centre. The thing that bugs me about those two Car Parks is the price. Some days, it costs you $7 to park, other days it is only $5.

Car Parking at Colonial Stadium, I think is a nightmare, I prefer to park in nearby streets than the usual car parks.

Finals time, I just park at Crown, and usually have to make alternative arrangements to pick the car up the following day.
 
I am going to condradict myself here - but I travel to Colonial by car being a 20 minute trip from Altona over the Westgate. I am a train user on weekdays travelling to the city from Laverton - 35 mins. Walk to the station cross the Westgate freeway & watch the traffic crawl toward the city & thats 22 kms out. Just madness, shake my head everyday at that. Costs only $2.70 per day with a yearly ticket & the trains are 90% spot on.
 
Those trains are usually chockers by the time they hit Seddon, but from this close in to the city I'd be mad to take the car to the footy!
I once left the footy at Colonial, went into the city to buy a CD (rushing to make sure I got to the shps by 5!) and was home by 5.20. All that within half an hour of the game ending! Long live Colonial!

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Give me a woman who loves beer, and I will conquer the world!!!!!!!!!
 
agrees with woofer i catch the train at laverton either for the footy or work and as we pass the west gate i pity those who go by car and the footy geez why would ya sit in ya car for over an hour just to get out of the car park[even worse when ya lose] when within that hour ya more or less nearly at laverton.
altho i do take my car often for work but i do shift work so no peak hour traffic for me thank god but if i had a 9-5 job id go by train i cant understand how poeple these days expecially with petrol prices can take upto an hour at least laverton-city how they can justify their reasoning.
and on afl park no train lines was THE biggest mistake in which in the end cost it its place as a venue!
cheers!
 
I actually disagree Darky. I've been down to Petrol Park 4 or 5 times now and have always found Geelong supporters to be most polite - moreso than any other club.

Then again, the Tiger Army does tend to travel down there in pretty big numbers and generally aren't too shy upon arrival!
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The beautiful thing is getting back on the train on the way back home. At Sth Geelong station, there are usually Tigers standing in the doorway of the carriages. If you're a Tiger, then "No worries mate, in ya go". If you are a Geelong supporter then "F@ck Off an get the next train".

Last time I was down there they had police manning each of the doors to the train. Apparently someone must have had a sook.

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This is a hallucination and these faces are in a dream. A computer generated environment; a fantasy island you can do anything and not have to face the consequences.


[This message has been edited by CJH (edited 11 December 2000).]
 

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