Ben Lever
@benleverau.bsky.social
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
November 18, 2025 at 1:58 PM
What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?
I'm sorry but WTF are LXRA thinking with this design??
bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/lev...
Oh yeah, let's just tell cyclists to stop in the middle of the road in order to turn right, I'm sure a dirty great SUV won't immediately plough through them.
bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/lev...
Oh yeah, let's just tell cyclists to stop in the middle of the road in order to turn right, I'm sure a dirty great SUV won't immediately plough through them.
November 15, 2025 at 3:37 AM
I'm sorry but WTF are LXRA thinking with this design??
bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/lev...
Oh yeah, let's just tell cyclists to stop in the middle of the road in order to turn right, I'm sure a dirty great SUV won't immediately plough through them.
bigbuild.vic.gov.au/projects/lev...
Oh yeah, let's just tell cyclists to stop in the middle of the road in order to turn right, I'm sure a dirty great SUV won't immediately plough through them.
It's 10pm on a Wednesday. You might assume travel demand would be low. Apparently the govt do - they've already dropped the frequency to 15 mins and it'll soon drop to 20.
But as you can see, the tram is so packed people are struggling to board.
We need more frequent services, even in the evenings
But as you can see, the tram is so packed people are struggling to board.
We need more frequent services, even in the evenings
October 29, 2025 at 11:39 AM
It's 10pm on a Wednesday. You might assume travel demand would be low. Apparently the govt do - they've already dropped the frequency to 15 mins and it'll soon drop to 20.
But as you can see, the tram is so packed people are struggling to board.
We need more frequent services, even in the evenings
But as you can see, the tram is so packed people are struggling to board.
We need more frequent services, even in the evenings
#EV folks - why are we still reliant on numbers self-reported (or not) to industry bodies?
Are these sales figures not reported to the government, now that the NVES is in effect?
Pretty ridiculous that we don't have a complete, public dataset for this.
Are these sales figures not reported to the government, now that the NVES is in effect?
Pretty ridiculous that we don't have a complete, public dataset for this.
September 3, 2025 at 8:18 AM
#EV folks - why are we still reliant on numbers self-reported (or not) to industry bodies?
Are these sales figures not reported to the government, now that the NVES is in effect?
Pretty ridiculous that we don't have a complete, public dataset for this.
Are these sales figures not reported to the government, now that the NVES is in effect?
Pretty ridiculous that we don't have a complete, public dataset for this.
Supposedly "Good service" on the Ballarat line this morning, despite my train being about 30 mins late, and receiving several notifications about issues with other services.
August 28, 2025 at 11:04 PM
Supposedly "Good service" on the Ballarat line this morning, despite my train being about 30 mins late, and receiving several notifications about issues with other services.
Eyeballing the rolling average, I see 3 distinct phases:
1) <1% before Feb 2022
2) Growth of ~0.5% per month, Apr 2022-Apr 2023
3) Hovering around 7.5% since May 2023
The average has been creeping upwards since Feb, but it's too soon to tell if this is a new phase or just more hovering. (3/4)
1) <1% before Feb 2022
2) Growth of ~0.5% per month, Apr 2022-Apr 2023
3) Hovering around 7.5% since May 2023
The average has been creeping upwards since Feb, but it's too soon to tell if this is a new phase or just more hovering. (3/4)
July 26, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Eyeballing the rolling average, I see 3 distinct phases:
1) <1% before Feb 2022
2) Growth of ~0.5% per month, Apr 2022-Apr 2023
3) Hovering around 7.5% since May 2023
The average has been creeping upwards since Feb, but it's too soon to tell if this is a new phase or just more hovering. (3/4)
1) <1% before Feb 2022
2) Growth of ~0.5% per month, Apr 2022-Apr 2023
3) Hovering around 7.5% since May 2023
The average has been creeping upwards since Feb, but it's too soon to tell if this is a new phase or just more hovering. (3/4)
A rolling six-month average smooths out these spikes, and gives a much better sense of what's going on. Two individual months have cracked 10% so far, which people saw as very significant, but they were surrounded by lower months and the rolling average has never cracked 8.5%. (2/4)
July 26, 2025 at 3:35 AM
A rolling six-month average smooths out these spikes, and gives a much better sense of what's going on. Two individual months have cracked 10% so far, which people saw as very significant, but they were surrounded by lower months and the rolling average has never cracked 8.5%. (2/4)
Quick 🧵 on Aus EV sales.
Monthly sales data is very spiky, particularly while numbers are low, because something like a cargo ship being delayed can push sales from one month to the next. But ppl often seek a narrative in one month's spike.
(Data from robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/) (1/4)
Monthly sales data is very spiky, particularly while numbers are low, because something like a cargo ship being delayed can push sales from one month to the next. But ppl often seek a narrative in one month's spike.
(Data from robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/) (1/4)
July 26, 2025 at 3:35 AM
Quick 🧵 on Aus EV sales.
Monthly sales data is very spiky, particularly while numbers are low, because something like a cargo ship being delayed can push sales from one month to the next. But ppl often seek a narrative in one month's spike.
(Data from robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/) (1/4)
Monthly sales data is very spiky, particularly while numbers are low, because something like a cargo ship being delayed can push sales from one month to the next. But ppl often seek a narrative in one month's spike.
(Data from robbieandrew.github.io/carsales/) (1/4)
New myki readers installed at Ballarat over the weekend
July 6, 2025 at 9:06 PM
New myki readers installed at Ballarat over the weekend
New blog post! Finally, a review of Ballarat's bus network in the state budget. What should it look like? the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/06/fina…
June 10, 2025 at 9:39 PM
New blog post! Finally, a review of Ballarat's bus network in the state budget. What should it look like? the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/06/fina…
My UK map isn't much better really.
Similarly I'd love one based on Australian LGAs!
Similarly I'd love one based on Australian LGAs!
May 31, 2025 at 2:48 AM
My UK map isn't much better really.
Similarly I'd love one based on Australian LGAs!
Similarly I'd love one based on Australian LGAs!
Appropriately attired and shod to hand out this afternoon!
Not pictured: democracy sausage (ate it too quickly)
Not pictured: democracy sausage (ate it too quickly)
May 3, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Appropriately attired and shod to hand out this afternoon!
Not pictured: democracy sausage (ate it too quickly)
Not pictured: democracy sausage (ate it too quickly)
New blog post! Is walkable urbanism just for our capital cities? the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/04/is-w…
April 15, 2025 at 10:13 PM
New blog post! Is walkable urbanism just for our capital cities? the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/04/is-w…
New blog post! This weekend will see upgrades on trains and buses across a lot of western Victoria, so a quick look at what they'll mean. the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/04/more...
April 12, 2025 at 4:09 AM
New blog post! This weekend will see upgrades on trains and buses across a lot of western Victoria, so a quick look at what they'll mean. the-iron-road.blogspot.com/2025/04/more...
Later this month I'll be speaking on Smart Living Ballarat's panel discussion about life without a car! Come along or tune in online: m.facebook.com/events/s/lif…
April 2, 2025 at 9:56 PM
Later this month I'll be speaking on Smart Living Ballarat's panel discussion about life without a car! Come along or tune in online: m.facebook.com/events/s/lif…
The other prime example was Mitsubishi taking the sporty little Eclipse coupe and bloating it into an SUV. WTF are you doing, guys.
April 1, 2025 at 3:17 AM
The other prime example was Mitsubishi taking the sporty little Eclipse coupe and bloating it into an SUV. WTF are you doing, guys.
Interesting diagram of the 'future rail network layout' from a video on Steve McGhie's socials: www.facebook.com/Steve4Melton... (H/T @danielbowen.au)
A few things to note:
- it shows Metro services going to Melton, and quad track for V/Line till just past Caroline Springs. (1/4)
A few things to note:
- it shows Metro services going to Melton, and quad track for V/Line till just past Caroline Springs. (1/4)
March 2, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Interesting diagram of the 'future rail network layout' from a video on Steve McGhie's socials: www.facebook.com/Steve4Melton... (H/T @danielbowen.au)
A few things to note:
- it shows Metro services going to Melton, and quad track for V/Line till just past Caroline Springs. (1/4)
A few things to note:
- it shows Metro services going to Melton, and quad track for V/Line till just past Caroline Springs. (1/4)
They might need to clean up some of the data, though. Amsterdam scores fairly poorly overall, because they include not only very good Amsterdam but several surrounding cities like Haarlem, the countryside in between, and quite a bit of literal ocean.
February 13, 2025 at 7:53 AM
They might need to clean up some of the data, though. Amsterdam scores fairly poorly overall, because they include not only very good Amsterdam but several surrounding cities like Haarlem, the countryside in between, and quite a bit of literal ocean.
I gotta say, it's a rare joy to find a dataset like this (particularly an international one) that includes regional cities as small as Ballarat. Even if there are... gaps.
February 13, 2025 at 7:48 AM
I gotta say, it's a rare joy to find a dataset like this (particularly an international one) that includes regional cities as small as Ballarat. Even if there are... gaps.
Came across this interesting site today - analysing 15 minute cities around the world. See your city's overall score, then click through for a fine-grained look at your neighborhood! (substantially better on desktop than mobile)
whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/
whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/
February 13, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Came across this interesting site today - analysing 15 minute cities around the world. See your city's overall score, then click through for a fine-grained look at your neighborhood! (substantially better on desktop than mobile)
whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/
whatif.sonycsl.it/15mincity/
At the city end, they've made the sensible decision to head directly north from Ballarat Station, rather than going south to serve Bridge Mall before backtracking north. Everyone has said since day 1 this byzantine routing was a mistake; seems like PTV might finally be conceding. (7/9)
February 12, 2025 at 8:03 AM
At the city end, they've made the sensible decision to head directly north from Ballarat Station, rather than going south to serve Bridge Mall before backtracking north. Everyone has said since day 1 this byzantine routing was a mistake; seems like PTV might finally be conceding. (7/9)
The new loop provides ok coverage to the southern part of Lucas, but not the northern part. It probably would've been better to route it via Shortridge Dr; for an end-of-route loop like this I think it makes sense to prioritise coverage over directness. (5/9)
February 12, 2025 at 8:03 AM
The new loop provides ok coverage to the southern part of Lucas, but not the northern part. It probably would've been better to route it via Shortridge Dr; for an end-of-route loop like this I think it makes sense to prioritise coverage over directness. (5/9)
This new change will eliminate an old loop that buses used to turn around, and extend the route into the Lucas estate. The old loop is no huge loss, as most people within range of it will still be able to walk to the remaining bits of Route 10 or nearby Route 26. (4/9)
February 12, 2025 at 8:03 AM
This new change will eliminate an old loop that buses used to turn around, and extend the route into the Lucas estate. The old loop is no huge loss, as most people within range of it will still be able to walk to the remaining bits of Route 10 or nearby Route 26. (4/9)
In a few weeks, one of Ballarat's bus routes is being extended into a new (ish) suburb. This follows years of advocacy, so a bit of a 🧵 (1/9) www.ptv.vic.gov.au/footer/about...
February 12, 2025 at 8:03 AM
In a few weeks, one of Ballarat's bus routes is being extended into a new (ish) suburb. This follows years of advocacy, so a bit of a 🧵 (1/9) www.ptv.vic.gov.au/footer/about...
Great to see this project completed, providing another safe cycling link in Ballarat! I'm not crazy about the continued use of shared paths, I'd prefer fully separated, but it's a great start.
City of Ballarat - Connecting Victoria Park to Morshead Park www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/news/connect...
City of Ballarat - Connecting Victoria Park to Morshead Park www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/news/connect...
January 30, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Great to see this project completed, providing another safe cycling link in Ballarat! I'm not crazy about the continued use of shared paths, I'd prefer fully separated, but it's a great start.
City of Ballarat - Connecting Victoria Park to Morshead Park www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/news/connect...
City of Ballarat - Connecting Victoria Park to Morshead Park www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/news/connect...