Why is a tram like a banana? Because they come in a bunch! ba dum tsh
So why do trams supposedly timetabled an even distance apart end up running up against each other?
The usual cause is the tram in front getting a bad run, which results in it getting progressively more delayed as passengers try to cram on board, while the tram behind makes up time because nobody is waiting for it.
Melbourne’s route 58 commonly suffers from trams getting bunched up, which was flagged a few years ago as a reason behind the route being one of the most overcrowded in Melbourne.
However, tram load breaches are caused more by tram reliability than tram capacity, according to Tony Morton, the Public Transport Users Association president.
“Route 55 trams are meant to be running about every four minutes in morning peak and there are on a regular basis delays of up to 10 minutes between trams,” Dr Morton said.
“So the tram that comes after 10 minutes has more than twice as many people on it as there would be if the tram route was able to operate according to a schedule.”
Seeing a pair of route 58 trams following themselves down William Street is a common sight in morning peak.
But sometimes you’ll have a 15 minute gap.
As the crowds of waiting passengers grow.
Time continues ticking.
Until three of them appear at once.
Great.
Footnote
This animation from the New York MTA shows how a single delayed train can cause delays throughout an entire subway line.
At times it can be down to a slow or inexperienced tram driver, or one who thinks they should wait for someone running for the tram when it is a four minute service, but mostly it is caused by traffic and inconsistent tram traffic light bias.
A friend of mine worked for transfer for a bit driving buses and he said if he got behind on the timetable, maybe 15 mins then he could express which meant not picking up passengers and only dropping ones that were safest on the bus, out maybe till at least he caught back up to his schedule. Is that something Yarra trams do?
Original tag line was “Because they are yellow and green and come in bunches”, but those colours are long gone.
The way to fix bunching problems is to have shorter routes… Through routing 55 to 8 was a false economy.
On a serious note though, it can be fixed by adding time checkpoints and loosening the timetable a bit – but that annoys passengers who have to sit on a stationary tram, and needs careful planning to make sure nothing else gets disrupted.
Moral of the story: public transport in traffic sucks.