Source
r/melbourne•
AndyJS81

Wifi on V/Line busses/coaches or at Southern Cross Station?

Ex-pat here coming home for a visit soon, and don't have the benefit of having someone pick me up from the airport this time. I gotta get out to Gippsland on a V/Line bus, which is going to suck extra hard after a 15hr flight.

Anyone know if there's wifi on V/Line busses these days? Or any wifi available at the station so I can at least tell my family that the bus left on time (or that it didn't, which is what I'm more expecting)?

Posted Sep 29, 2019, 6:00 AM UTC

623
heykody•

What do you think this is? A first world country!?

25
Playapan•

Third world country with first world ideologies?

2
renstimpy•

If you catch the Skybus to Southern Cross, you can get free wifi onboard

12
DynamoSnakeGet off me fucken lawn•

They spam the fuck out of your email when you register with them though.

3
blitzskrieg•

That's why get a temporary email from www.temp-mail.org to sign in for dodgy services.

3
alstom_888m•

V/Line doesn’t operate any busses road coaches. They are contracted out and could be brand new or they could be a 30-year-old clunker with a crash-box and 2 million on the clock.

8
Playapan•

Oh yea, wifi is great. Loading page loads forever. Once you manage to get on, it is 1 mb per minute.

1
chahfc91•

Southern Cross has free wifi on the train platforms, I assume it would be in the bus terminal too.

1
rob_080•

Or buy a local SIM card at the airport with a crapload of data and go wild the entire trip - you might find having a local phone number is of some benefit.

1
AndyJS81OP•

Yeah I always do get a SIM but normally just order it online and get it delivered to a family member, who then brings it to the airport. That way I can activate it online in advance, and it's all good to go as soon as I land. Unfortunately this time I gotta get out of the airport myself, but I only have to survive data-less for a few hours, hence the wifi questions.

What's the activation time on new SIM's purchased at the airport? In the past I've had pre-paid Telstra SIM's work almost instantly, but other times it's taken a few hours which wouldn't really be much help in this scenario...

1
rob_080•

My friend arrived from Singapore, bought a SIM from the WH Smith stand in the international arrivals hall and it was working right away - literally within seconds of having it in her phone.

1
AndyJS81OP•

Ah OK sweet, I'll have a look into that, thanks!

1
rob_080•

Of course, I should add, that particular SIM came through a reseller who used the Optus network. So depending on where you end up in Gippsland, it may not be too crash hot coverage wise.

I assume you're heading towards either Leongatha/Yarram or Wonthaggi/Inverloch/Phillip Island?

2
mindsnareGeetroit•

This is the right answer.

1
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
TwinSparx•

There’s wifi at Starbucks in Southern across station. Just need to buy a cup of coffee. Doubt there’s any wifi on the buses.

-2
AndyJS81OP•

Ugh, half the reason to come back is to get a decent coffee finally, and now you tell me the first thing I need to do is go to Starbucks?

I guess I don’t have to drink it. Thanks for the tip.

3
Nebarik•

There's free wifi all through the CBD, including Southern Cross. No need for shitty coffee.

Also there's wifi on the skybuses between airport and southern.

vline buses, ive never seen it, but i dont use them very often.

13
BIG_YETI_FOR_YOUpeepeepoo•

Nah the WiFi in the DFO is straight up free and has been for at least 3 years.

2
Bonejax•

Enjoy that first proper coffee (not Starbucks)

1
bob_parker38•

Public transport Victoria has a website that you can access from anywhere in the world.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/

It has journey planners so your starting point will be Southern Cross Station going to wherever in Gippsland.

You might want to do your preliminary planning where you reside now.

The interface is a bit clunky sometimes but you will learn to use it.

-8
AndyJS81OP•

I know where I’m going mate, but I’m hoping to be able to let my family know (who will be picking me up) whether I’m on time, as I mentioned in my post.

3