I went to Melbourne over the weekend and it really highlighted a lot of things we could be doing better in Sydney. Melbourne people have flaws, they are artsy stuck up idiots with no clue about globalisation, but Melbourne has a sense of humanity that Sydney lacks. And it begins with their public transport system.
Its amazing. Trams come all the time. Cars are made to give way to them and driving in the city must be a nightmare (but there is no reason to anyway). There is an LCD screen in the city that tells you which trams are coming and when. A strange chinese man who worked for the tram company saw us looking at a map and helped us out. Another woman yelled at people for some reason. The trains were equally efficient[1]. There is just a sense of public commuters being people, rather than poor idiots or crazy people as they are seen in Sydney.
The public transport system is so good it has created better people. Melbourne people are relaxed and calm, they do not need to go to war everyday on the roads, they can calmly enter a tram and know they are all kings of the road. Melbourne people have entirely different priorities, and are more concerned with making the most of their lives rather than their wallets, I guess because there is less paranoia about housing prices.
Overall it was a pleasant experience. Highlight of the trip was on the way back when the nice Virgin lady asked whether I had any flammables and I said I had lighter fluid. She took that and made me mail myself my zippo. How rude.
[1] Bizarrely in Sydney an automatic voice announces at the station, and a human one in the train, whereas in Melbourne it is the other way around. I find human voices irratable.