$4,000 to park your car

This notice came around work on the internal email. I've blanked out the specific details, but the main detail is the $300/month (plus 10% GST). I work that out to be $3,960 per year.

Of course, this is in additional to the weekly 3-figure cost of running even the smallest car.

Meanwhile, my total travel expenses average $30 per week. These parking fees alone are more than double that. Surely there's got to be smarter ways of getting to work.

PS. A friend reminds me to take tax into account. To earn $3960 after tax, you have to earn $6000. That's a tenth of the average Australian wage. In other words, the average Australian would have to work 5 weeks each year just to pay for parking!

If someone offered me the choice of a carspace or an extra 5 weeks holiday a year, I know which one I'd choose.

What bike riders don't say

This gave me a chuckle. I've often thought (and blogged) about how convenient parking is when you ride a bike somewhere.

Biking to Work

I participated in Ride to Work day this year. One of the joys of riding during peak times is not being caught in the traffic. There's something freeing about cruising along, in a bike lane or path. Even at my not-so fast riding pace, I was easily passing the stop-start vehicle traffic.

I felt a bit like the rider in this video, but looking even less like a pro-rider. ;)


Related post: Ride to work day 2012

120 good reasons to be car-free

There are many good reasons to be car-free. Bicycle SA put some of them into a graphic.

That figure is about the same as I've written before (check your car in the calculator) but they also looked at what else people could do with that money.

Or we could just keep the cash :)

Billy Slater for Bikes

Rugby league star Billy Slater (Melbourne and Austalian fullback) promoting Ride to Work day (and Australian Bananas).

First Glimpse - G:link tram

Here it is. The first of the new light-rail trams for the Gold Coast's new G:Link has arrived for a trial run. It's 43m long, and can carry more than 300 people.

The service starts in mid 2014 with a route of 16 stations from the University Hospital, through Surfers Paradise and down to Broadbeach. End-to-end will take just 37 minutes, and high-frequency services will be available from 5am to midnight.

PS. I'm a previous Gold Coast resident, so it's exciting to see more public transport options in that area.

Best I've seen

"This is the best mass transit I've ever seen"

...said an American on my train this afternoon. He was particularly talking about the way the different transit modes interact with each other.

Even though we can see room for improvement, it's reassuring when overseas visitors realise how good our system is now.

Farewell 88

I took this photo a few weeks ago - before the removal of the P88 bus route. Already I'm starting to feel a bit nostalgic (having caught it many times).

It was a great bus route. It went to the city (like most Brisbane buses) but didn't terminate there. It also continued through to southern suburbs like Stones Corner, and out to Eight Mile Plains.

The 'P' in P88 meant it was prepaid. Either show-a-ticket or swipe-a-go-card. It might seem like a small thing, but bus trips are much quicker when each person can get on in 2-3 seconds. No fossicking for loose change while all the other passengers wait.

Combined with other West Brisbane routes, it made the bus frequency really impressive for those of us in the inner west.

I'm sad to see it go, but hopefully the resources saved can help make other routes better.

Parking Pain

Another benefits of going car-free is parking. Or more precisely - not parking.

In my office building, drivers can either pay to park in the basement, or spend 10 minutes before work scouring the streets for an available spot. The first of those options became even less attractive recently when this email was sent to all employees.


In short, a 50% increase in parking fees. While full time workers now pay $60/week to park in the building, most weeks I pay less than 30 for public transport (for work and personal use). Also I don't pay for petrol, registration, insurance or vehicle maintenance.

Extra morning trains :)

Public transport keeps improving all the time. Now there are two extra morning trains on my train line - arriving in the city at 7:50 and 8:02am.


This means that for most of the morning commuting period, trains are every 6 minutes. This is so convenient. Even if you've just missed one, it's only a few minutes to the next one.

On my line the morning trains arrive now arrive in the city at 7.44, 7.50, 7.56, 8.02, 8.08, 8.14, 8.20, 8.32, 8.44, 8.50 and 8.56.

Earlier than 7.44, they're about every 12 minutes, but i'm not really interested in being at work that early ;) After 9am, they're still every 15 minutes.

I reckon that's quite a good service. But of course, if even more people who use it, it will get even more frequent. :)

When's the next bus?

There's those times when you're thinking "I'm here at ___. I wonder when the next bus/train leaves."

Here's how to solve that problem.


Translink has a page called stops and stations. 1. Go to it. 2. Enter the name of your nearet train station or bus stop. (If you just enter your street name, it will give you a map to choose from). 3. Select the stop/station you're interested in. It will give you a list of upcoming buses/trains from that place.

At home and at work I've bookmarked my regular stops and stations. It's good to know just how much time I've got - so I always show up just at the right time. :)

Overheard on the train

This is what I overheard from 'Samantha' on the train this afternoon:

I ran through a red light last night. I was sooo tired.
Nathan said to me "you just went through a red light"
I said "just-red or red-red"
He said "red-red"
I wasn't worried so much about the camera; whatever. I was endangering people's lives!

This is one of the reasons i like public transport. If i'm tired/exhausted, it's much better to be the passenger rather then behind the wheel (running red lights).

Related link: What causes bad driving

Good Mood Guaranteed

I'd imagine there would be plenty of people jealous of the Germans who came up with this idea.


"A good mood is always guaranteed" claims the Bierbike website. I reckon riding a bike usually brings on a good mood by itself. Perhaps the activity of pedalling, while enjoying a relaxed drink with some friends adds to the joy.

PS. I'm assuming the driver isn't partaking in the beverages ;)

Traffic Tetris

Does driving a car ever feel like this?


I know i've seen it from the outside. Yesterday i was cruising past traffic on my bike - without even pedalling. Gravity and a gentle slope was all it took for me to be gliding by two lanes of stationary cars - backed up from one intersection to the next.

And that was on a Saturday!

Of course the difference with traffic tetris is that filling every available space is not a winning move.

23.5 Hour Challenge

Who would have thought a doctor talking for 9 minutes would get over 3 million views on you tube? But that's what happened withe the 23.5 hour challenge.


According to the video, the best single thing you can do for your health is exercise. But that doesn't mean being a fitness fanatic. It just means keeping your inactive time to less than 23.5 hours per day.

That could be as simple as riding a bike to work or the shops. Or maybe walking to the train station each day. (A friend of mine used to get off the train one stop early to get in some walking after work).