Same in Brisbane. Just in the last couple of weeks it seems to have gone back to pre-Covid levels. I think the lower public transport patronage is a big factor.
Maybe COVID related in people thinking theyâre more likely to catch the virus on public transport?
Iâm sure thatâs a big factor. Other thing is parking got substantially cheaper during Covid, although itâs heading back up to where it was.
Most likely, so many people rushed to buy a car, whether it was new or used (which led to a surge in prices in secondhand cars). Now that the COVID pandemic is almost over, those people wonât relinquish their cars and return to public transport, after noticing the benefits of car ownership.
It will be interesting to see if the rising cost of living and interest rates changes that behaviour.
Yes quite possibly. Although the cost of public transport continues to rise tooâŚ
Near my neck of the woods, Melbourne had its third freeway shut-down within a fortnight late this afternoon, with a serious accident and resulting fire on the Mornington Peninsula Fwy near the Baxter service centres, with diversions at Bungower Rd but many opting to use the old route prior to the Link of the Moorooduc Hwy or even before at the Nepean Hwy by the beach, traffic was banked-up for kilometres. I didnât see any news stories so luckily mustâve got under control and no bad injuries. Itâs re-opened now I think. Itâs somewhat surprising considering its great track record, regarded as one of the best and safest arterials in Victoria.
Interesting to see the Holden brand getting slowly phased out even at a service / parts level in favour of GMs ACDelco brand.
I wonder why they arenât doing something with the brand. Surely thereâd be an automaker out there who could do with something well recognised here, rather than trying to grow their own brand in whatâs a fairly cluttered market.
Selling to PSA when they were offloading Opel would have made the most sense, but even now Iâd think thereâd be a Chinese automaker that would like to have a familiar brand - SAIC seem to have been successful with that with MG, and thereâs others that havenât yet entered where doing so by reviving Holden would be a big way of generating buzz.
I suppose if GM are phasing out their own usage of Holden, maybe that makes selling the brand more viable?
Retiring the brand is probably a good thing - allowing it to continue after local manufacturing stopped was a bit of a mistake IMO.
If this is planned at some point in the future, Iâd suspect theyâll wait until at least since the 10 year anniversary of exiting the country to ensure a âNewâ Holden isnât confused with the âOldâ when it comes to parts, service, etc.
Alternatively, they may be holding onto it in case they change their minds and want to re-enter Right Hand Drive markets again in the future. GM have revived dead brands before, e.g. Hummer and donât seem willing to give up IP of retired brands theyâve used in the US like Pontiac, Saturn, Geo, etc.
Indeed, it should have been retired alongside the end of local manufacturing. Whereas Toyota and Ford were very strong in other product categories after exiting local manufacture, by the time Holden left its imports were unpopular and doing very poorly.
I think if General Motors ever returns to Australia, they will use the Chevrolet brand, not Holden.
Like this?
According to todayâs Herald Sun, data from the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning shows the 3.7m-high Racecourse Road railway bridge in Flemington (close to Newmarket station) was hit 21 times by trucks during 2021 and 2022, followed by the notorious Montague Street bridge (16 times) and Napier Street railway bridge in Footscray (14 times).
Victorian Transport Association chief Peter Anderson said that untrained drivers were to blame.
The pacemaker light system through the Burnley Tunnel went operational on Tuesday this week.
Very curious to see if this is effective!
Uh oh! You donât see this every day, some pretty funny comments/quotes too
update
Some morning for this stuff 
