SkyBus gone up again [Up to $23.90 one way]

[AustraliaPoochie]

Not exactly to do with Skybus, but looks like new tram operator Transdev is going to take over from YarraTrams's KD for Melbourne.
Lots of hiccups coming up, if the new operator changes a lot of things, staffing, etc.

 

[DC3]

Not exactly to do with Skybus, but looks like new tram operator Transdev is going to take over from YarraTrams's KD for Melbourne.
Lots of hiccups coming up, if the new operator changes a lot of things, staffing, etc.

Pooch friendly?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Not sure.
Due to my bad ankle, have had xray, doc said the dreaded A word, ie, athritis, a part of getting old, so no more trips to Melbourne.
Transdev and John Holland group, bid much less than the current runner, so its actually a cost cutting sort of thing in a way.
Hopefully it will work out for the better, ie, more low floor trams, high kerbs, more smoother entry and exit (ie less gap), but in the end, with all govt agencies, and private enterprise partnerships, its all to do with saving money.
===
To bring this back to the gist of the thread, will a light rail ever come to Melbourne Airport, seeing John Holland was a part of the Metrotunnel project, who knows, it might be the best in the end, ie, tunnel from under Broady Station to Melbourne Airport, (I can dream).

 

[simmomelb]

Skybus tickets can be bought for $33.80 return or $20.20 for a one-way via Agoda under the category of, activities (cheaper than booking direct with Skybus and it works well from my experience).

https://www.agoda.com/en-au/activities/detail?activityId=1041853&cityId=10372&cid=-42#activity-nav-tabs-panel-1

I've used this when travelling solo, but when travelling with others, Didi is a great option via T1 rideshare pickup point and may be cheaper (along with collecting some Velocity points, if linked).
As Matt Graham pointed out, watch out for unlicensed taxi drivers, who can be very pushy.
They may jump out of their cars at the T1 rideshare pickup point and attempt to convince you to quit your Uber/Didi app booking and jump in a car with them. It's quite bizarre that this still happens (I've experienced this twice in the last month alone).

 

[jrfsp]

Skybus tickets can be bought for $33.80 return or $20.20 for a one-way via Agoda under the category of, activities (cheaper than booking direct with Skybus and it works well from my experience).

https://www.agoda.com/en-au/activities/detail?activityId=1041853&cityId=10372&cid=-42#activity-nav-tabs-panel-1

I've used this when travelling solo, but when travelling with others, Didi is a great option via T1 rideshare pickup point and may be cheaper (along with collecting some Velocity points, if linked).
As Matt Graham pointed out, watch out for unlicensed taxi drivers, who can be very pushy.
They may jump out of their cars at the T1 rideshare pickup point and attempt to convince you to quit your Uber/Didi app booking and jump in a car with them. It's quite bizarre that this still happens (I've experienced this twice in the last month alone).

I think I’ve had more taxi touts at MEL than DPS!

 

[simmomelb]

I think I’ve had more taxi touts at MEL then DPS!

You aren't wrong - that is saying something!

 

[Mattg]

I think I’ve had more taxi touts at MEL then DPS!

I was offered a ride last week by a taxi tout wearing a Melbourne Airport lanyard. I asked if he worked for Melbourne Airport and he walked off.

 

[Trekky1]

Skybus tickets can be bought for $33.80 return or $20.20 for a one-way via Agoda under the category of, activities (cheaper than booking direct with Skybus and it works well from my experience).

https://www.agoda.com/en-au/activities/detail?activityId=1041853&cityId=10372&cid=-42#activity-nav-tabs-panel-1

I've used this when travelling solo, but when travelling with others, Didi is a great option via T1 rideshare pickup point and may be cheaper (along with collecting some Velocity points, if linked).
As Matt Graham pointed out, watch out for unlicensed taxi drivers, who can be very pushy.
They may jump out of their cars at the T1 rideshare pickup point and attempt to convince you to quit your Uber/Didi app booking and jump in a car with them. It's quite bizarre that this still happens (I've experienced this twice in the last month alone).

Thanks for this - I used the last of my 10 ticket book today and I can use this next time I head to Melbourne (no plans at the moment).

When I was lining up the other day to get on the bus, I noticed it was now $40 return.

 

[QF WP]

I used in last weekend with my wife and still think it’s great value

 

[dajop]

Didi is a great option via T1 rideshare pickup point and may be cheaper (along with collecting some Velocity points, if linked).

Depends on time of day, it can get busy in around the T1-3 pick up points with lots of collection traffic. We were advised once by driver to do pickup at T4 (Level 1 of the car park IIRC), the Didi came much quicker and seemed to be a lot easier, despite the 5 min walk from T2.

 

[marki]

Thanks for the tips, so DiDi seems to be ok or better than Uber?

 

[simmomelb]

Thanks for the tips, so DiDi seems to be ok or better than Uber?

I find Didi reliable and far cheaper than Uber now when travelling to the airport.

I always look at both Didi and Uber, just in case, it's very rare to see Uber cheaper from my experience.
I've taken plenty of ~$40 rides to/from CBD to Tullamarine (obviously it can be more, depending on the time of day).
Hence why if I am not travelling solo, I'd rather get Didi over Skybus, which can be cheaper for 2+ people and direct to door.

 

[travelislife]

I find Didi reliable and far cheaper than Uber now when travelling to the airport.

I always look at both Didi and Uber, just in case, it's very rare to see Uber cheaper from my experience.
I've taken plenty of ~$40 rides to/from CBD to Tullamarine (obviously it can be more, depending on the time of day).
Hence why if I am not travelling solo, I'd rather get Didi over Skybus, which can be cheaper for 2+ people and direct to door.

Only downside with Didi is you can't prebook. I often get a 5am Uber to the airport in Sydney, can't use Didi because at that time of the morning without prebooking it is a lottery of getting a car to arrive.

 

[aspro2]

I use the PTV connection via Broadmeadows a few times a year because I have enough spare time to do so. Board the second-last carriage outbound for less walking at Broadmeadows.

The PTV solution works, but connection times vary greatly and for the inexperienced user it's worth disbelieving a short interchange time because the train might run late (missing the bus) or the bus often runs late, making for a much longer wait. This is worst between 2.30 and 7.00pm (not sure about morning rush hour) when buses can be running 15-30mins late. This can be unproblematic if they're all running that late cos in the end the timetable functions almost correctly, but if a cluster are stuck in heavy traffic at one spot it can mean bad spacing. The run to/from the airport is usually smooth. Departures *from* the airport are mostly on time, but a tight connection at Broadmeadows (5mins) is unwise because of small bus delays and the need to drag your luggage down through the underpass and up the ramp to the citybound platform.

It's also worth noting that PTV journey planner can't calculate the walk from Grants Rd/Melbourne Airport bus stop correctly, so it's best not use the terminal itself as your destination/origin. In Google Maps and Citymapper it's impossible to disprefer Skybus, and they are unresponsive to requests to solve that (as is PTV re Grants Rd).

 

[serfty]

I use the PTV connection via Broadmeadows a few times a year because I have enough spare time to do so. Board the second-last carriage outbound for less walking at Broadmeadows.

The PTV solution works, but connection times vary greatly and for the inexperienced user it's worth disbelieving a short interchange time because the train might run late (missing the bus) or the bus often runs late, making for a much longer wait. This is worst between 2.30 and 7.00pm (not sure about morning rush hour) when buses can be running 15-30mins late. This can be unproblematic if they're all running that late cos in the end the timetable functions almost correctly, but if a cluster are stuck in heavy traffic at one spot it can mean bad spacing. The run to/from the airport is usually smooth. Departures *from* the airport are mostly on time, but a tight connection at Broadmeadows (5mins) is unwise because of small bus delays and the need to drag your luggage down through the underpass and up the ramp to the citybound platform.

It's also worth noting that PTV journey planner can't calculate the walk from Grants Rd/Melbourne Airport bus stop correctly, so it's best not use the terminal itself as your destination/origin. In Google Maps and Citymapper it's impossible to disprefer Skybus, and they are unresponsive to requests to solve that (as is PTV re Grants Rd).

Agreed. I use the 901 about half the time My 'rules' are similar - in summary:

• Allow 15 minutes each way from T1 (QP) to/from the Grant's Road stop.
• Min Train->Bus connection Time I plan is 5 minutes.
• Min Bus->Train connection time I allow is three minutes (not as painful if you miss as the trains are generally more frequent than the bus, so the "Penalty" for missing can be less).
• Bus Drivers often depart the airport within 1 minute of schedule - early!

 

[aspro2]

• Bus Drivers often depart the airport within 1 minute of schedule - early!

Oh it's good to know it isn't a one-off -- I've experienced that and was annoyed on the behalf of others, but didn't realise it happens enough to mention it.

 

[jrfsp]

I use the PTV connection via Broadmeadows a few times a year because I have enough spare time to do so. Board the second-last carriage outbound for less walking at Broadmeadows.

The PTV solution works, but connection times vary greatly and for the inexperienced user it's worth disbelieving a short interchange time because the train might run late (missing the bus) or the bus often runs late, making for a much longer wait. This is worst between 2.30 and 7.00pm (not sure about morning rush hour) when buses can be running 15-30mins late. This can be unproblematic if they're all running that late cos in the end the timetable functions almost correctly, but if a cluster are stuck in heavy traffic at one spot it can mean bad spacing. The run to/from the airport is usually smooth. Departures *from* the airport are mostly on time, but a tight connection at Broadmeadows (5mins) is unwise because of small bus delays and the need to drag your luggage down through the underpass and up the ramp to the citybound platform.

It's also worth noting that PTV journey planner can't calculate the walk from Grants Rd/Melbourne Airport bus stop correctly, so it's best not use the terminal itself as your destination/origin. In Google Maps and Citymapper it's impossible to disprefer Skybus, and they are unresponsive to requests to solve that (as is PTV re Grants Rd).

The fact that that’s the best public transport to the second busiest airport in the country is shameful

 

[moa999]

The last few times I've caught it I've had very tight connections, that have had me running down the underpass to catch the citybound train.
The bus always takes ages to snake around the shopping centre.

I use TripView to monitor which lets you build custom connections (covers Syd, Mel and Bne).

And while I've never caught it, the 479 bus also connects to the 59 tram which runs down Elizabeth St. Journey time typically a bit longer but might be better if heading the the centre of Melbourne CBD.

 

[AIRwin]

59 bus

Tram

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Only trouble with the #59 tram, is that its a 2 car, so by the time it gets to North Melbourne or so, its totally full like a sardine can.
But if you are staying in one of the outer suburb hotel/motels, that tram is a good option.
If however, you have to/want to get into the CBD, when it gets into the city and then the FTZ (free tram zone) starts, so everyone then gets a free ride, so it gets even fuller.
If you have a hotel on one of the roads, then you have to preplan when to get off the tram.
I prefer the Brody train, get off at Southern X, and then walk to where I need to go to.
Granted, still have to then join the trong, but at the least, with the train, you can get onto another train to get to Melbourne Central/Flagstaff/Parliament/Flinders St.