Up to 20 Merri-bek residents, in Melbourne’s inner north, will soon take part in a new trial of boom-mounted EV chargers, designed to let people charge their cars from home without running dangerous cables across public footpaths.
The project has been green-lit by Merri-bek City Council — which covers prominent suburbs including Brunswick, Coburg and Pascoe Vale — and operates in collaboration with Vehicles Charging Solutions Australia (VCSA), the company behind the retractable boom.
According to this press release from the Victorian Government this morning, Melbourne’s West Gate Tunnel will open to traffic in December.
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“The Liberals tried to block this project.”
If only…
You don’t get trucks off local roads by tolling the West Gate Bridge. This will see a flood of rat runs through suburban streets, this will be an utter nightmare once it opens.
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Yeah, that’s what happened in Sydney when the M8 tunnel opened… truckies objected to the obscenely high $20 toll and took the local roads in protest.
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Toll operator Transurban confirmed it will offer “free weekend travel for drivers using the West Gate Tunnel in January 2026,” in a letter posted by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan on X (formerly Twitter).
It is in response to a call from Allan last week for Transurban – operator of the West Gate Tunnel and CityLink – and ConnectEast, which owns EastLink, to waive toll costs over summer to match the government’s move to make weekend public transport free during the period.
The Victorian Government has launched Servo Sever, a new feature on Service Victoria app.
I had to buy a replacement battery for my Mazda today when I had it serviced. It was nearly $400,I didn’t realise that cars that have a push button start need a special battery.It was the original battery so it had lasted more than 4 years.Luckily the mechanic was able to order one and fit it today 
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My Mazda 6 is still on the original battery after 5 years/60,000 km. I’ll have to keep an eye on that then, mine has push button start too.
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That’s a very good run out of the battery, even a first one. The thing is when they do go, they generally go without any warning these days 
.
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My Holden Barina is now on its fourth battery. Like Brian said, my first two batteries went without any warning and I had to call on RACV to come to replace them. The initial battery (when I bought the car brand new) lasted eight years, the second lattery lasted three years, and the third was only replaced two months ago during a regular service at my dealership.
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And it’s still on the original tyres too! Being lower profile 19 inch wheels/45 series tyres I thought they would wear quicker, but they haven’t.
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List of average closing times for railway crossings during peak hour released.
New figures show 26 level crossings were closed for between one hour and an hour and 50 minutes on average between 5am and 10am in the past financial year, up from 13 in 2022.
The longest delay was at South Pine Road at Strathpine, where boomgates were down for an hour and 50 minutes on average, an increase of 21 minutes since 2022.
The second-longest downtime was at Sherwood Road in Sherwood, which was closed for an hour and 44 minutes.
Based on these figures, I think the Queensland government should embark on a medium-term level crossing removal project, similar to the one which has been happening in Melbourne.
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My old 2016 Mazda 2 had a push button start also.Maybe Mazda was first to have them .
I think some recent model Toyota vehicles ,Rav 4 ,Corolla ,Camry ,etc,also have push button start.
EAnother very bad level crossing is the one on Wacol Station Road ,Wacol . When I was still volunteering at RSPCA QLD ,especially on weekdays,
There was always a long lineup of vehicles,waiting to cross the tracks
Early mornings and after 4pm weekdays were particularly bad.
Most times I was scared crossing the road to walk to the train station especially in the afternoon .I didn’t think cars would stop for me.
Then I started walking further down the road where I could cross at the traffic lights to get to the station,much safer
Online articles claiming new nationwide road rules will crack down on distracted driving have been dismissed as false.
The articles claim new laws are being introduced throughout October which will class eating, vaping, smoking or even drinking non-alcoholic beverages as a “serious distraction” while driving — with fines of $561 and up to three demerit points.
However, authorities in at least two states (NSW and QLD) have dismissed the claims.
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First time driving a hybrid car - 2018 Toyota Aqua (Prius C) as a rental in New Zealand. First ignition with it and I thought it wasn’t working. Turns out it was - it started in EV mode.
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Yes, it can feel strange at first, I’ve driven a Toyota Camry Hybrid a few times, but never a pure EV.
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