Track Record 5, October to December 2000 - Public Transport Victoria

Track Record
Victoria’s Train, Tram and Bus Services
2
1.2 Background
On 29 August 1999, responsibility for the operation of Victorian train and tram services transferred from the Government to
a number of private-sector companies:
• Yarra Trams was franchised to MetroLink Pty Ltd
• Hillside Trains was franchised to Melbourne Transport Enterprises (now trading as Connex Trains Melbourne)
• Bayside Trains, Swanston Trams and V/Line Passenger were franchised to National Express Group Australia.
Each operator entered into a legally binding franchise agreement with the Government for a period of 10 years for V/Line
Passenger, 12 years for Swanston Trams and Yarra Trams and 15 years for Bayside Trains and Connex Trains. This followed
a program of bus privatisation which, by mid-1998, had transferred the previously government-owned MetBus to two
private sector companies (National Bus Company and Melbourne Bus Link). The whole metropolitan route bus service is
now operated by 39 separate private-sector companies under government contracts for 10-year terms which expire in
2007 and 2008.
The franchise agreements and bus contracts are managed by John Taylor, Director of Public Transport in the Department of
Infrastructure. The agreements and contracts set out overall levels of service that each operator is required to provide, the
tickets they must offer (including Metcard), the maximum fares they can charge for tickets and other performance standards.
The Bracks Government is monitoring the quality of service that the operators are providing for the community, particularly:
• punctuality and reliability – comparing the performance of train, tram and bus services with government-set
punctuality and service delivery targets
• customer satisfaction – using passenger surveys to measure whether operators are providing the quality service
their customers expect.
This issue of Track Record presents a brief overview of service delivery performance for the quarter ended 31 December
2000. It also includes an overview of the performance of ticketing equipment and a summary of changes and additions to
metropolitan transport routes since franchising.
1.3 Key results
Punctuality
Bayside Trains was the only operator to show an improvement in punctuality from the September quarter 2000 to the
December quarter 2000. Connex Trains achieved the highest punctuality rate with 96.7 per cent, with Bayside Trains at
96.5 per cent, Yarra Trams at 75.2 per cent and Swanston Trams at 70.7 per cent. V/Line Passenger recorded a punctuality
rate of 92 per cent and metropolitan buses a punctuality rate of 91 per cent.
The on-time performance of all operators was lower when comparing the December quarter 2000 with the December
quarter 1999.
Cancellations
The metropolitan tram operators (Swanston Trams and Yarra Trams) each achieved a marginal improvement in service
reliability compared with the previous quarter, however the cancellation rate for Swanston Trams in the December quarter
2000 was almost twice that for the same quarter in 1999. Bayside Trains achieved an increase in service reliability for the
second successive quarter, while there was a marginal decrease in service reliability for Connex Trains.
The cancellation rate for V/Line Passenger increased significantly during the quarter to 0.8 per cent, while the cancellation
rate for metropolitan buses remained steady at a low 0.1 per cent of scheduled services.
Performance Payments
For the December quarter 2000, $763,000 in net penalties were incurred by the public transport operators. Bayside Trains,
Connex Trains and Yarra Trams all received bonus payments for exceeding performance targets during the December
quarter 2000, while V/Line Passenger and Swanston Trams incurred substantial penalties. The large penalty payment for
V/Line Passenger train, around $1.3 million, was largely the result of a disruption to services caused by industrial action
and excludes the effect of the Corio overpass collapse.
Customer satisfaction
Overall customer satisfaction with metropolitan public transport services increased significantly from the September to the
December quarter 2000. No significant declines in satisfaction were recorded for any other operator or for any aspect of
service. Bayside Trains achieved a significant increase in overall satisfaction in the December quarter 2000 following a
significant decline in the previous quarter.