Right: a W Class tram rumbles through the streets. Have tram conductors, too, become museum pieces?
web links and documents
Wikipedia's entry covering the current operation and some of the history of 'Trams in Melbourne' can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_MelbourneOn February 10, 1993, The green Weekly published a news item which outlined the terms of an agreement the Kennett Government reached with the Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees Association to allow the Government to remove all tram conductors from trams. The text of the article can be read at http://www.greenleft.org.au/1993/87/4657
In April 2007, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) released a report titled, 'Victoria's public transport: Assessing the results of privatisation', written by Richard Allsop, Richard Allsop, a Research Fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs. He also is a consultant with Melbourne-based consulting firm Globe Communications and from 1992 to 1999, was Senior Adviser and then Chief of Staff to the Ministers for Transport in the Kennett Government.
The report judges privatisation of Victoria's public transport system a 'reasonable success'. The full text of the report can be read at http://www.ipa.org.au/library/ALLSOP_Transport.pdf
On July 15, 2008, the ABC's Radio Australia broadcast a report detailing the Victorian Government's statement that it would not reinstate tram conductors. The transcript of this report can be found at http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200807/s2304658.htm
On July 20, 2008, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) posted an opinion piece (also published in The Age) from one of the Institute's Research Fellows and the Editor of the IPA Review, Chris Berg. The piece is titled, 'Connies a nostalgic symbol of lost community spirit' and it outlines a range of depersonalising social and commercial developments which have made Melbournians nostalgic for the days of the return of the tram conductor.
The full text of the piece can be found at http://www.ipa.org.au/news/1644/connies-a-nostalgic-symbol-of-lost-community-spirit-
The pro conductor site 'Melbourne Tram Conductors: 10th anniversary of Melbourne's last tram conductor' has a detailed list of the services tram conductors used to perform and additional services they could now provide for commuters.
This site can be found at http://www.tramconductors.net/reintroducing_conductors.php
The Public Transport Users' Association has a section of its Internet site on which it challenges the claim that reinstating conductors on trams would cause a dramatic rise in fares. The Associations arguments can be found at http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/staff.shtml
On July 28, 2008, The Age Education 'Issues in the news' section provided a treatment of the question 'Time to backtrack on connies.' This can be found at http://www.education.theage.com.au/pagedetail.asp?intsectionid=0
A detailed history of trams in Melbourne can be found at http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Trams_in_Melbourne_-_History/id/5540281
Vicsig aims to be the most comprehensive resource for information about all aspects of trams and trains in Victoria. Chris Gordon, the creator of Vicsig, has been publishing railway information on the internet since 1997.
On July 21, 2008, Vicsig published an article originally published in The Sunday Age on July 13, 2008, and titled, 'Connie comeback may solve city's transport woes"
The article details John Odgers' findings and may be read at http://www.vicsig.net/?page=news&id=1752