Random Gunzel Insanity

Some More Randomness 11

2008-07-31T20:50:00.003+10:00

It hasn't even been four weeks since my last update, so I must be doing good.

Since my last update, I've done routes 367, 414, 431, 561 and 570. Five routes is better than nothing, right?

Yeah, I thought so.

Some More Randomness 10

2008-07-05T01:25:00.002+10:00

It's been just barely over three weeks since my last post, so I'm doing reasonably well I'd like to think.

Since my last update, I've sadly only gotten one day specifically for gunzelling (which was Thursday just past). However, I did do routes 279 (to Templestowe), 401, 409, 432 and 704. It's not all that many, but it's still a few off my list.

I had been intending to do routes 927, 928 and 929 since I went to Pakenham during the day, but I decided to give that a miss and do 704 instead, so I could head home slightly earlier. After all, gunzelling after waking up at 4:40am with sweet FA sleep is hard. ;)

I have some free time coming up in the next few weeks, though, so I might get out a bit more. I need to concentrate more on the northern and outer eastern suburbs, which account for about two thirds of the routes I haven't done yet. I'll get around to them eventually, though.

Some More Randomness 9

2008-06-13T14:50:00.000+10:00

I've done some gunzelling in the last few weeks since I updated. I have now done routes 772, 773 (via Seaview Rd - what a pointless deviation), 833 and 901.

Anyway, I've decided for once, that I'm going to rant about something that actually has a point: bus sizes.

There are plenty of routes where the use of smaller buses (or larger, as the case may be), is justified on patronage grounds.

Areas where midi-buses already run include Doncaster, Sunbury, Rowville, Lilydale and Rosebud. Some routes that I believe midi-buses might be useful for include 467, 512, 582, 606, 772, 894, 895 among others.

Compared to other cities in Australia, Melbourne seems to have only a few articulated buses, and even fewer 14.5 metre rigids. There are a lot of routes where higher-capacity buses are needed at the busiest times (in addition to a higher frequency where possible), including but definitely not limited to 216, 220, 307, 406, 476, 508, 630, 700, 767, 893 and 901.

Anyway, enough ranting. Maybe I'll update again in a few weeks.

Some More Randomness 8

2008-05-19T14:01:00.002+10:00

Sadly, in the two months it's been since I last updated, I've only done five routes - 509, 533, 832, 892, 894.

I'm going bunzelling tomorrow, so hopefully I can add at least five more.

That is all.

Some More Randomness 7

2008-03-25T13:03:00.003+11:00

I ended up going to Frankston on Thursday. I am proud to say I have now done routes 768, 770, 771 (plus the Orwil St extension), 776, 777, and the former 832 (though I never did the Lyrebird Dr deviation). I was also intending to do routes 772 and 773, but I ended up not doing them because I'd had enough of Peninsula for one day...haha.

I didn't end up going out there again on Monday to do routes 832, 833 and 901...but I'll get around to it some time later this week, perhaps Sunday. I might do 781, 784 and 785 with them as well, I guess I'll see what happens though.

Some More Randomness 6

2008-03-16T16:25:00.004+11:00

Okay, I admit that I'm lazy.

Umm...not much actual gunzelling in the past four weeks, however I have done route 580. I've mostly been taking photos for the last month, about 120 in fact. One day I'm going to upload all of these photos I've taken, but considering the sheer volume of them that might take a while.

In the next week or so, I've got a fair bit of gunzelling to do - I'm going to focus on the Frankston area this week mainly, since a couple of routes around there are getting altered/deleted. I'll probably do some gunzelling around there on Thursday and Saturday.

On Easter Monday I might do route 901...or I might do it on the Tuesday and combine it with some other routes in the Ringwood/Croydon area, I'm not sure yet.

Some More Randomness 5

2008-02-15T14:27:00.007+11:00

I was intending to update this thing that long ago, but meh. I've been busy.

I've done at least a bit of gunzelling so far in 2008. I've finished 517, 582, 779, 789/790/791, and I've also done route 782 between Hastings and Flinders, so I never need to head out there again. ;) I've taken a few hundred photos at a dozen locations already, so I'm doing pretty good with that so far. Of course, more will come when I get a day out of my temporarily-busy life...heheh.

Anyway, the next update should be in a week or so if I'm lucky.

Some More Randomness 4

2007-12-27T14:54:00.000+11:00

I can't believe I actually went station hopping on the Seymour line last Friday when I said I was going to.

I've now been to every station between Southern Cross and Seymour, except for Donnybrook...so I'm making reasonable progress with my go-to-every-station-in-Victoria goal.

Now, hopefully this won't be my last update for the year. Hopefully I get up early enough to go do at least a few more bus routes tomorrow. But I dunno...I'm lazy.

Some More Randomness 3

2007-12-19T18:26:00.000+11:00

It's amazing - I actually went gunzelling yesterday...heheh.

I may have only done routes 467, 695D, 800 and 857, and 834/835 a couple of weeks earlier, but that's a pretty good achievement for me these days.

Either way, there's no way in hell that I'll have every route done before the end of the year, seeing as there's like...13 days left.

I'm going to Bairnsdale on NYE - can't wait. But before that, there'll probably be a bit of station hopping on the Seymour line.

Um, yeah...if I'm not lazy that is...

Some More Randomness 2

2007-12-01T14:42:00.000+11:00

Blah, shoot me for not updating for the past five weeks.

I finally have a new computer, so I should be able to update more regularly. Don't count on it though.

Since the last update, I've done routes 548, 554, 600, 627, 923, 958 and 980.

That's hardly anything. I'm way off target at the moment for doing every route by the end of the year (seeing as I only have four weeks left, and 79 normal routes to go). Plus only two Nightriders to go...yay. Then there's still that whole pile of route deviations to do.

Needless to say, I've got plenty to gunzel in the coming months - now to actually do it. Considering I'm no longer a student, I have plenty of time to do it, but I can't be stuffed getting off my ass most of the time. :(

Some More Randomness

2007-10-28T23:29:00.000+11:00

It's been another seven weeks since I last updated. Unfortunately, updates might be few and far between for a while, as my computer decided to shit itself a few weeks ago.

Anyway, I haven't gunzelled all that much in October. It sucks having no cash at my disposal.

That said, though, I have done a few routes - 557, 566, 575, 774, 775, 956, 969.

I only have three Nightrider routes and one extension to do - Dandenong, Eltham, Lilydale and Melton. As well, only 84 regular routes and five Telebus routes left to do, plus that whole pile of route extensions and diversions which I'm not really in a hurry to do.

On Tuesday, I'll probably do route 695 to Dandenong, as well as a few other routes which I'll decide on later (though routes 813, 834/835, 836 and 857 are likely to appear).

Maybe I'll update again on Tuesday night...

Randomness 25

2007-09-17T12:38:00.000+10:00

Apologies for the lack of seven weeks of updates.

In that period, I've done routes 219, 438, 439, 441, 530, 531, 538, 542, 552, 555, 572, 577, 699, 844 and 895 (off-peak), and a few others which I'll add later if I remember them. I've also done irregular deviations/extensions of routes 409 to Sunshine Park, 697 to Fountain Gate and 848 via Coolavin Rd.

I only have 89 regular routes left to do, give or take a few. In addition to that, I also have six Nightrider routes and five Telebus routes to do.

That's also in addition to dozens of extensions, variations, deviations, etc. - a couple of major ones being route 279 to Templestowe and route 695 to Dandenong.

Still, progress is good so far......

Randomness 24

2007-07-29T21:22:00.000+10:00

I went gunzelling last night. I seem to have a recent desire to randomly gunzel Nightrider routes. Having already done the Belgrave (but not Rowville), Craigieburn, Croydon (but not Lilydale), Rosebud and St Albans routes, I decided to do a couple more.

Because I got dropped off in Windsor at 8:30pm and got a 64 tram to Swanston St, I decided to do a bit of gunzelling in the city to fill in time. At around 10:30pm, I got on a train to Essendon, from where I boarded route 483 to Sunbury, which only runs at night on Fridays and Saturdays. Whether it needs to run at night on weekends is a different story - there were no other pax onboard.

At Sunbury, I waited the 20 minutes until midnight for the Nightrider back into the city, which is a 77 minute trip via St Albans. I then got the Werribee Nightrider outbound and back in, filling in another couple of hours. By this point it was 3:20am.

From there, I was planning to do the Eltham and Dandenong routes (I would've arrived at Dandenong at 6:30am). I was tired and felt a bit nauseous after going over the West Gate twice, so I boarded the Nightrider back to St Albans. I alighted at Main Rd/Station Rd, only a couple of km from my house, but I decided to be lazy and get picked up so I ended up arriving home at 4:30am instead of 5am.

So I've now done half of all Nightrider routes. I might do some more next weekend, too. I'm thinking of getting the 11:27pm trip in from Croydon via Belgrave and Rowville, then 1:30am to Epping and back, 3:30am to Eltham and back, and 5:30am to Dandenong next Saturday night. If I do all of them, I would've done all routes except Croydon to Lilydale and Deer Park to Melton, which I can do on a separate trip.

Let's see what happens though. ;)

Randomness 23

2007-07-20T14:32:00.000+10:00

On Tuesday, I went to Macedon, Woodend, Kyneton, Malmsbury and Castlemaine stations. I can now proudly say I've gunzelled in falling snow.

Yesterday, I did routes 612, 624 via Darling Rd, 624 via Murrumbeena, 734, 737, 821 and 825. I have now done all Driver routes except the short section of route 627 between McKinnon station and Brighton East. I have also done all Moorabbin Transit routes.

I've therefore done more gunzelling just this week than I've done in ages. Hopefully I can make it a habit now.

Randomness 22

2007-07-06T13:59:00.000+10:00

I have actually been somewhere this week. It's about damn time. While it's not much of an achievement, I did routes 799, 842, 845 and 849 yesterday.

Meanwhile, I'm moving on with other planning to do all remaining Melbourne bus routes by the end of 2007. Whether or not I can actually do it I don't know, but hopefully I'll get at least close to doing them all.

Randomness 21

2007-06-16T14:09:00.000+10:00

Interestingly enough, instead of actually gunzelling in the last week, I've been completing more planning to go gunzelling.

I've now completed planning for another Ballarat trip to go bunzelling, which will mean I'd have done all regular Ballarat routes.

The plan:

0557 422 - St Albans 0608
0614 Train - Sunshine 0622
0639 Train - Ballarat 0803
0808 City Loop - Lt Bridge St (via University of Ballarat) 0850
0855 15 - Sturt/Vale - Curtis St 0929
0935 8 - Eureka - Lt Bridge St 0954
1000 12 - Sebastopol - Curtis St 1044
1100 7 - Brown Hill - Lt Bridge St - 1124
1130 1 - Wendouree West - Wendouree Village 1153
1200 17 - Miners Rest - Wendouree Village 1225
1230 6 - Webbcona Loop - Wendouree Village 1244
1255 2 - Curtis St 1324
(Lunch)
1420 14 - Delacombe - Peel St 1454
1455 5 - Black Hill - Lt Bridge St 1520
1550 13 - Delacombe - Peel St 1624
Walk to Lt Bridge St, approx 10 min
1645 3 - North Creswick 1713
1715 3 - Doveton/Mair Sts 1738
Walk to Ballarat Station, approx 10 min
1757 Train - Sunshine 1917

Now I just need to decide when to do it. :)

Randomness 20

2007-06-10T19:44:00.001+10:00

Apologies (again) for the lack of updates, but I've done fuck all gunzelling in the last month apart from a couple of bus routes.

However:

I have completed planning for five minor trips for bunzelling, and three days of station hopping.
Actually doing said bunzelling would add about 35 bus routes to my list, in the areas of:
- Frankston
- Werribee
- Ringwood, Croydon, Lilydale, Belgrave
- Dandenong, Berwick, Cranbourne
- Epping, Greensborough.
Actually doing said station hopping would add approximately 25 stations to my list, being all stations from:
- Donnybrook to Seymour
- Nar Nar Goon to Trafalgar
- Macedon to Castlemaine.
I've also completed planning for two major station hopping/bunzelling trips, which will be dependent on me having sufficient cash available:
- One to Bendigo, doing all three stations plus at least 75% of bus routes and arriving back at Sydenham at 22:09.
- One to the Latrobe Valley, doing all three train stations and all Valley Transit bus routes except Traralgon to Churchill.
In addition to that, I've completed planning for an overnight trip involving a few Nightrider routes, which will probably be done in conjunction with the Craigieburn electrification opening, so I can also gunzel the first spark.

Exciting times are ahead, perhaps. And it's going to cost a fair bit, and take up a lot of my time. But I have plenty of it anyway, since I finished uni for this semester on Friday.

Randomness 19

2007-05-05T21:17:00.000+10:00

I need to get out more. I also need to update this bitch more, but I'm too damn lazy.

Anyway: random ranting time.

I am officially not in love with Watergardens as much as I was previously, currently anyway. For one, the shopping centre expansion isn't even finished yet despite having been open for four weeks now. Two, the interior is too tacky. Three, Westrans has already withdrawn services from the former shopping centre interchange, meaning access from the station to the shopping centre is shithouse at the moment.

Route 461 is okay, but it is indirect, and I hate loops. I want to run it along Community Hub instead of Catherine Dr and split it into two routes (461 along Hume Dr, 462 via Community Hub) in both directions. Its frequency is adequate for its purpose and current patronage level, but both my 461 and 462 should be every half-hour.

Add to that route 460 is too indirect for my liking considering it could be a major route. The deviation through the backstreets of Sydenham is stupid and should be a local route (463, every 30 minutes). 460 can then run direct along Melton Hwy and Gourlay Rd, and should be progressively upgraded to every 15 minutes.

That'll do; enough ranting. ;)

Randomness 18

2007-04-17T21:02:00.000+10:00

I like buses. There, I said it. I, Jarf, am a bunzel.

I am progressively putting my photos from the last five months online.

Go look at my new Fotopic gallery.

Randomness 17

2007-04-05T20:11:00.000+10:00

So, I did some more station hopping today.

Random observations:

Clarkefield station is dead. Poor location, in the middle of nowhere. Needs more people. Until then needs less trains, possibly peak only.
Riddells Creek station is equally dead a lot of the time, but isn't completely useless. Needs more trains.
Gisborne station is busyish. Good location. Needs more people and more trains. Needs sparkification, in fact.

That is all.

Randomness 16/I hate Designline

2007-03-18T17:50:00.000+11:00

After doing route 700 to Chelsea on Wednesday, I am officially able to say that Designline seriously makes the most absolutely fucking atrocious buses ever.

For one, they have absolutely no grunt to them, and the engine noticeably slips a lot.

Two, the air-conditioning sucks. There's not enough air, and it's hardly cold.

Three, they're as ugly as fuck. They make me happy that Westrans isn't as sucky as Ventura.

Don't mind the language. ;)

Randomness 15

2007-02-20T14:33:00.000+11:00

What have I been doing for the past month? Pretty much nothing, because I'm a boring gunzel.

I need more money...I want to go to Bendigo. :(

Randomness 14

2007-01-17T02:46:00.000+11:00

I've hardly done any gunzelling in the last two weeks, apart from taking a few photos while randomly driving, at on Monday at Heidelberg station while waiting for my mother to get out of a job interview.

Uni in five weeks, yay. I really want a massive bitch of a skyscraper to start getting built in Footscray right now, to cure my boredom for a year or so. :P

Proof that I am a loser

2007-01-03T15:07:00.000+11:00

It's awesome to know that for the first time ever, I ushered in the new year while gunzelling.

A time-less trip log for NYE/NYD:

Leave home approximately 0915
425 - St Albans
Train - Flinders Street
Train - Mentone
811 - Springvale
Train - Dandenong
V/Line - Pakenham
V/Line - Flinders Street
75 - Vermont South
732 - Knox City
664 - Lilydale
Train - Ringwood
Train - Flinders Street
Train - Upfield
Train - Coburg
Train - Flinders Street
(roam around Swanston St for about 45 minutes)
Nightrider - Croydon
Train - Ringwood
Train - Box Hill
Train - Blackburn
Train - Laburnum (last up to stop there)
Train - Blackburn (last down to stop there)
Train replacement - Camberwell
Train - Flinders Street
Train - St Albans
Arrive home approximately 0630

So, I was officially the last person to get off an up train at Laburnum, and get on a down train, before it got demolished. :D

What's worse is that I was gunzelling for 21 hours, without falling asleep.

Randomness 13

2006-12-21T15:41:00.000+11:00

Again with the lack of updates. :( I'm hopeless.

That said, I went to Adelaide, and knocked some extra stations off my list there.

I've also now been to every station in Melbourne. :D