Searching for a fixed priced airport transfer service since Uber's Melbourne rates have increased and found Omnicar Melbourne offering an airport transfer from CBD to Tullamarine for $59.
CBD to MEL Transfer (Chauffeur) with Omnicar for $59 + Tolls
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yallah on 03/02/2015 - 13:10 omnicar.com.au (303 clicks)
Last edited 03/02/2015 - 13:55 by 1 other user
Last edited 03/02/2015 - 13:55 by 1 other user
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wats wrong with the bus
The bus is useless as it still become stuck in delays on the freeway, so it is slower than a taxi. With a train you can leave the CBD at a certain time and know you will be at the airport x minutes later.
fair nuf.
A train line will probably never happen. Liberal Federal government won't fund rail. Even if a Federal Labor government comes through there are projects that are needed way more (Melbourne Metro for one).
No doubt that the Tulla is congested at peak times but for the remainder of the day, its fairly good. The best & cheapest option would be to put in dedicated bus only lanes. However, that's politically boring so also won't count on that happening.
Or we could just put in a monorail.
It would be far cheaper and better to just have a dedicated Bus lane on the Tullamarine Freeway. A train, if built, will be half hourly frequency at best and take longer vs every 10 minutes for Skybus with a direct 20 minute journey time. An airport train would also be far more costly to build and operate.
@stirlo: There is already a lane on the freeway supposedly for buses and taxis during peak times, but I've never seen police enforcing it.
A train works because it is easier to travel with luggage. In many cities you can even check in your luggage at the train station and only take your carry-on to the airport.
The biggest political issue is the profits being made by Skybus and to a lesser extent taxi drivers.
I don't think Skybus and taxi drivers have any impact on the government's decision. Remember, the Liberal government was promising to build the Airport Rail….in 2022…maybe. But just a promise like the Doncaster rail that we are still waiting over a century for.
It's a huge amount of capital to lay down and the only way a big project is EVER built in Victoria is through Federal funding (e.g. RRL). So recent governments have been dodgily creating these PPP (private/public partnerships) which allows the government to keep the budget in check by borrowing less money upfront but puts the financial burden on future governments. They would also more than likely need to sell public assets such as the Port of Melbourne to fund such projects. And well..you see what happened in Queensland last week when they tried to do that.
@mathew42: The biggest issue is the multi billion dollar cost of building it and then somehow subsidising the ticket price so it remains competitive.
The benefits of offering easier travel with luggage and check-in are somewhat theoretical and would require an even larger investment than just building a train line. And there is no reason the Skybus could not be adapted to accommodate these (larger luggage storage, airline desks at southern cross) with much less cost. And with regards to travelling with luggage you still have to take it on a commuter train to get to southern cross in the first place.
The reality is that an airport train would be inferior in terms of construction cost, operating cost (ticket price), frequency and journey time.
I have no idea why Melbournians are so obsessed with a train. I bet few of them have even tried taking the Skybus.
@mathew42: If it sounds like it is more of an enforcement issue of lanes then surely it would be cheaper to Police it (and collect fines) than to build a train line.
If Taxis are an issue holding up the Skybus then maybe there needs to be rules that taxis need to vacate the lane when a Skybus is coming the same as you would do for a Police or emergency vehicle. Maybe build a dedicated busway purely for Skybus (The right of way can always be converted to rail in the future).
Skybus allow you to take your luggage on no different to a train. You don't even need to stow your large bags under the bus you bring it on with you.
There is nothing inherent with a train that can't be done with a bus, unless the demand requires more than one busload at the same time (Hiring bus drivers is expensive compared to a train that only needs one driver for many carriages).
Checking airport luggage for transfer at Southern Cross is an excellent idea, please contact your local MP and ask for this to be implemented here. Not restricted to rail/bus either.
I think that Taxi is be biggest lobby than Skybus preventing change to the status quo.
If Taxis are an issue holding up the Skybus then maybe there needs to be rules that taxis need to vacate the lane when a Skybus is coming the same as you would do for a Police or emergency vehicle.
The issue is not taxis it is commuters using the lanes reserved for Skybus & taxis. Skybus provides zero value to me over a taxi because the journey time is longer and both forms of transport are affected by delays.
A train service enables you to avoid congestion issues on the freeway and enables you to easily connect with other train services.
Oh man i first saw the title and through it said CBR (as in Canberra) and I thought WOW thats cheap for such a long drive LOL
$59 + Tolls according to their call centre.
How much are tolls?
Been happy with the bus in the past but out of interest what's the going rate for a city-airport cab (multi user) these days?
Thanks Neil. So essentially sfa difference, unlike say London where private fixed price chauffeur cars are much cheaper than cabs.
Wife got charged $70 by uber north Melbourne to airport on Sunday with no traffic. Needless to say, we won't be doing that again! Thanks for the reminder about other options
I wish Victoria would just build a train line to the airport.