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Daniel Bowen

@danielbowen.au
3.9K followers 401 following 1.9K posts

Transport blogger / public transport advocate / campaigner and spokesperson for @ptua.org.au / professional geek. Opinions are all mine. Bunurong land, Melbourne, Australia

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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 3h
Go to log onto a mobile app It sends a One Time Code to my email Open email to copy it Go back to app. It refreshes itself, sends another OTC, invalidates the first one Rinse and repeat How does this stuff pass basic testing? #geekrant #useability
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 14h
So much of it has been a misstep. Hopefully it's no longer the case, but for months there were cases of people not understanding that, for instance, State Library station is next to Melbourne Central - and/or not realising that the Metro Tunnel runs through the CBD.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 14h
Instagram is a strange place sometimes.
Comments on Instagram post asking to share a post
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 17h
A #Melbourne transport terminology quirk: for 45 years the only underground railway was the City Loop, so some locals refer to the new Metro Tunnel as “the new loop” - even though it’s not a loop.
A train arriving at a metro tunnel station
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23h
Plus 6-8 Albury trains per day, and I think a fair bit of the line is single track, so I can understand the need for track expansion. Be nice if they were sympathetic to the existing bridge though.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 30/09/2026
Speed and capacity are likely the bigger issues. The freight trains in particular don’t move very fast here. Putting a (hopefully reasonably fast) Airport train running every 10 minutes wouldn’t really work, even if gauge wasn’t a problem.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 29/09/2026
Today's announcement appears to indicate the #Melbourne Airport line will open in stages, the first being to Keilor East. Which obviously means they will need to built terminating facilities there that most likely would not otherwise have been provided.
abc.net.au
Key station in Melbourne Airport rail plan to be built by 2031
A long-awaited train line to the Melbourne Airport is a step closer, with the state and federal governments announcing a timeline for completion of the nearby Keilor East station.
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Reposted by Daniel Bowen
Public Transport Users Association @ptua.org.au · 27/09/2026
Labor pledge to duplicate the Upfield Line and run more train services - will the Coalition match it? Postponing the crossings to align with this project also means an opportunity to provide Sydney Road with platform tram stops before the works close the rail line - essential for access. 📰The Age
The Age: Labor vows Upfield line fix, level crossings on hold
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 27/09/2026
Le bus passe dans une heure ? Ce n'est pas bon.
Duo Lingo: translate this sentence: Oh no, the bus arrives in one hour!
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 27/09/2026
Yeah. It may be decades away as a lot of other stations need upgrades first. But it was smart thinking to build these this way - very difficult/expensive to expand underground stations later.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 26/09/2026
Yes, future provision to extend the trains from 7 to 10 cars.
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Every Sydney Station @sydneystations.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
My first time in the other big CBD rail tunnel to open recently - first impressions of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel are its pretty damn nice 🔽 Thread of quick, offhand thoughts
Melbourne Metro Tunnel
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 26/09/2026
I don’t go for either of them, but ho boy, what a game. What a final five minutes. Commiserations Freo. Well done Lions. #AFLGF 🏉🏟️
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 26/09/2026
Urban wildlife. Very cute!
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Public Transport Users Association @ptua.org.au · 24/09/2026
Many cities use colours, names or numbers for their train lines. "Bayside line" would be a lot easier to remember than "Werribee, Laverton, Williamstown and Sandringham line". 🚉🏖️ What do you think? (See baysideline.com)
Bayside Line sticker next to Williamstown Beach Station signBayside Line sticker next to Sandringham Station sign
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 24/09/2026
🚇🐦‍⬛
Bird on platform of Melbourne Metro tunnel station
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Public Transport Users Association @ptua.org.au · 23/09/2026
Our friends at Rail Futures have released their vision for an integrated multi-modal public transport network, with frequent services and seamless connections right across Melbourne, to keep people moving as the city grows. Read about the plan here: www.railfutures.org.au/
Rail Futures: The Melbourne Public Transport Plan 2030-2060, summary reportRail Futures: Map of proposed frequent trains, trams, light metro, buses
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
I’m fine with them trialling this. I’m less fine with them using American spelling for the word “trialling”. #SpellingPedant
City of Melbourne sign: We’re trialing valet parking
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
I'd be interested to see some examples if you can find them, so I can pass them on for correction. Are they the same in GMaps etc? (eg is it a problem with the GTFS timetable data which they all use, or the trip planner?)
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
So the wacky generated illustrations on AI-generated local stories was just the taster for a much bigger problem: wild inaccuracies in the text. www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM_i...
youtube.com
The local newspaper 'experiment' doing away with reporters | Media Watch
YouTube video by ABC News In-depth
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
I tried a new barber... I think my old barber used a non-standard measure!
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
It used to be way worse. It's still not great in terms of interface. But the output/journey plans it produces have improved a lot, and for many trips are better than GMaps.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
Supposedly 3 at the top, 2 at the back/sides.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
This is just breathtakingly idiotic. www.theguardian.com/... #auspol
theguardian.com
Angus Taylor pledges to repeal swathe of climate policies, saying ‘Australia has done its bit’
Several measures were previously introduced or supported by Coalition, prompting claim Liberals and Nationals would ‘let climate change rip’
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Cam Walker @camwalker.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
'The Coalition has vowed to detonate most of Australia’s efforts to decarbonise its economy “within 30 days” of winning power, incl slowing the advance of renewable energy, supporting nuclear power plants & scrapping the emissions-curbing industrial policy.' reneweconomy.com.au/coalition-vo...
reneweconomy.com.au
"Dumb and desperate:" Coalition panned after vowing to scrap renewable, EV and climate policies
Federal Coalition vows to detonate most of Australia's efforts to decarbonise "within 30 days" of winning power, including the advance of renewables and the emissions-curbing policy it introduced.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
May have miscalculated the shortness of this haircut! ✂️👨🏼‍🦲 (That’s me on the left)
Daniel with very short hair standing next to a sculpture of a man.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
Yes there was an example where it sent you around the City Loop to avoid sitting at North Melbourne for 20 minutes!
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 23/09/2026
This is Bay St, not Martin St. No nearby crossing within several hundred metres as far as I recall.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 22/09/2026
yeah - PTV has this, but Google and many others don't
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 22/09/2026
PTV planner has improved a lot, but still has quirks. You may want to play with the Settings, Max walking time. If it's shorter than it thinks it needs, it'll send you in weird directions trying to avoid a walk. I also notice it seems to want to guide you into the back of Cabrini, not the front?
PTV journey planner, walk from Malvern station to Cabrini Malvern
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 22/09/2026
(The PTV journey planner gets this right.)
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 22/09/2026
Google Maps poor PT trip planning. Here it suggested I interchange from the 703 bus to the Sandringham line at Middle Brighton, even though North Brighton would save me 10+ minutes. One theory is it thinks we can't cross the street anywhere except a marked crossing, like in the USA. Yeah nah.
Google Maps showing trip with 703 bus connecting to Sandringham line at Middle Brighton. The lines also intersect at North Brighton.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 21/09/2026
I ended up writing a blog pulling apart Alan Kohler's piece on trams.
danielbowen.com
Kohler on trams
Alan Kohler does some terrific finance reporting, helping making complex concepts simple. But I think he missed the mark on this opinion piece on trams last week. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhzxtR5J7RQ He's missed some of the history, which is vital to understanding where we are now. Let's go through some of what he said. "When Melbourne was laying [...]
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Public Transport Users Association @ptua.org.au · 20/09/2026
🚋🌍🏆Did you catch the Tram Driver Championship? It's great to see Melbourne's tram drivers competing against the world's best, and also a reminder that our trams need better accessibility, on-road priority and service frequency to be truly world class. (Video link below)
theguardian.com
The gunzels’ grand final: Melbourne Tramaroos’ campaign derails at European TramDriver Championship
The Warsaw event saw 26 teams compete across a series of demanding tasks, inspired - to varying degrees - by tram drivers’ day-to-day tasks
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Cam @camster.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Why would prices spike? Strained supply. What would cutting excise do? Increase demand. How do you boost fuel security? Reduce reliance on liquid fuels.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 19/09/2026
The 12th European TramDriver Championship is happening in Warsaw right now - and Melbourne is expected to compete in their first run just a few minutes
youtube.com
12th European TramDriver Championship in Warsaw
Experience the best moments of the 12th European TramDriver Championship in Warsaw in full - featuring all 52 competition runs by 25 teams from 24 nations. It doesn’t get more exciting than this for tram enthusiasts. Alongside defending champion Budapest and host city Warsaw, the reigning world cham
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 19/09/2026
Vale Tim Read ☹️ www.abc.net.au/news/... #SpringSt
abc.net.au
Victorian Greens MP Tim Read dies aged 64
Health promotion campaigner and Victorian Greens MP Tim Read has died after a high-profile battle with cancer.
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Public Transport Users Association @ptua.org.au · 19/09/2026
When we compared Sydney vs Melbourne suburban train patronage, some people asked about trams. Good question! So we added trams, and also buses. Sydney still comes out on top. One factor: a bigger network of high frequency services, making public transport easier to use, getting more people on board.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 17/09/2026
Angry AI people in local newspapers! www.heraldsun.com.au... - Ping Angry People in Local Newspapers
AI image of Monash Aquatic and Recreation Centre, with headline "Feedback halted"AI image of car parks and "cafe culture"AI image of "Dustbowl chaos" construction with people in the foreground and a grandstand in the backgroundAI image of people worried about speeding cars, and a speed hump. Headline "Kids vs cars"
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 17/09/2026
Suspect (hope) signage is yet to come.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 17/09/2026
Thanks to all the replies, I’ve learned that Newman’s Jewellers ran from 1852 to 1939. The sign is from 1930 when they moved, and the most amazing thing, the sign writing company (Landells) is still in business! #Melbourne #MelbHistory www.instagram.com/p/CcBnlcGPoo...
instagram.com
Instagram
Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 16/09/2026
oh, great find!
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 16/09/2026
I wonder how long ago Newman’s moved #Melbourne
Old sign on the side of a building: Newman’s have moved
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 15/09/2026
Tell me again that climate change is a hoax.
Chart showing global annual temperature abnormalities between 1880 and 2024
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 16/09/2026
This makes me sad
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 16/09/2026
Central #Melbourne seems to be getting new pedal bins
Rubbish bins for recycling and general waste
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The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Seems bad to base our entire transportation system on a volatile commodity, but what do we know?
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Public Transport Users Association @ptua.org.au · 15/09/2026
It's that time of year again. Hopefully your wait for a train is a short one, but watch out for swooping birds! 🐦‍⬛
Sign at a station platform: Caution - swooping birds. Native birds are known to swoop in this area.
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Daniel Bowen @danielbowen.au · 14/09/2026
Unfortunately couldn’t make the MTF public transport forum tonight at St Kilda Town Hall - it’s live-streaming here: vimeo.com/event/6080... #SpringSt #VicVotes
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Greater Auckland @greaterauckland.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
We took the train to town yesterday, and we're absolutely chuffed! ☺️🚇 #CRL Enjoy this special bumper post, chock-full of great pics & stories, links to wider media coverage, plus some fun (and moving) reflections from our very happy team of "tired nerds": www.greaterauckland.org.nz/2026/09/14/a...
greaterauckland.org.nz
Absolutely chuffed: our report from CRL opening day - Greater Auckland
What a day! Sunday saw the first running of passenger trains through the City Rail Link tunnels and stations. Some of us were up before the birds to catch the very first train, while others took a mor...
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