It amazes me that so many on this site are blind to the most glaring 'elephant in the room', namely traffic light priority for trams, or more accurately, total lack thereof in Melbourne.
So how is it that the new systems like Canberra, Gold Coast and to a large extent Sydney can just start up and get priority from the start, although its obvious that the Sydney light programmers have been 'dragged kicking and screaming' into giving priority to the George St lines, where, by now, the vast majority of former delays have been removed. Bridge St at last visit was a major location still lacking priority.
What's wrong with Melbourne? I suspect that the light programmers have spent over 80 years perfecting the art of delaying trams as much as possible, and have no intention of relaxing now! At many locations, hostile lights which I encountered tram driving 40 years ago are no better today, while former roundabouts have been replaced with ….. more red lights! Yes, I know some places have '7 second' T lights pop up, or start with a Green + Right Arrow which help, but they are nevertheless not priority. That only happens when the lights were going to change anyway.
In 2011 a trial was carried out in Nicholson St on the 96, but whatever the results were, the clear improvements from the test did not continue. No doubt the trial found that 'disruption to road traffic was intolerable' or something like that. Totally hopeless. Trial video below.
At present I am editing a video for Friday - St Kilda Junction to University. Some of the worst light delays are:
Arthur St 48 seconds
Toorak Rd 49
Anzac 43
Lonsdale St 30 No tram stop here
Latrobe St _ 42___
212 seconds
or 3 minutes 32 seconds.
Obviously some of that time is loading passengers, but taking far less time than those big totals.
Yes, occasionally some motorist straggle into the tram Fairways, but overall to no significant degree. Main delays are where roads are too narrow to get cars off the tram lines, not helped by tinpot municipal councils who refuse to ban parking in such streets in the peak hour.
Richard
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