[Melb] Fines for private operator hit $5.9m

["D Lindstrom" <D_Lindstrom@Bigpond.com>]

The Melbourne Age reports today:

Fines for private operator hit $5.9m

By SUSHI DAS
TRANSPORT REPORTER
Thursday 11 January 2001


One year after Victoria's public transport system was privatised, the
state's biggest train and tram operator, National Express, has been fined a
total of $5.9 million for failing to meet punctuality and reliability
targets on Bayside Trains, Swanston Trams and V/Line services.

The latest State Government report outlining the performance of tram and
train companies between July and September last year shows that National
Express was fined $1.8 million, making it the only company to suffer
penalties for that quarter.

National Express yesterday blamed vandalism, "acts of God" and an increase
in the penalty rate for the high level of fines. Over the past year it has
also blamed traffic congestion as a result of City Link toll avoiders and
motorists' ignorance of tram fairway laws for poor services.

The report, Track Record, was released yesterday. It shows that since the
public transport system was privatised in August, 1999, Swanston Trams has
failed to win any bonuses.

In the latest quarter it was fined the highest amount, $1.1 million. Bayside
Trains, the only service to record a significant decline in overall customer
satisfaction in that period, was fined $407,000. V/Line was fined $322,000.

In comparison, Connex Trains, run by French company CGEA, received a bonus
of $1.4 million and Yarra Trams, operated by Metrolink, received $689,000 in
incentive payments.

Under their franchise agreements with the state, the companies that operate
trams and trains pay fines for failing to meet government targets for
improving punctuality and reliability and receive bonuses if the targets are
exceeded.

Transport Minister Peter Batchelor said he was unhappy with the performance
of Swanston Trams in particular and called on National Express to raise
standards.

"Swanston do have to lift their game ... it's in need of improvement," Mr
Batchelor said. "Swanston understand that. They are desperately trying to
analyse these performance outcomes. They don't want to be paying hefty fines
on an ongoing basis."

"We are not in the business to set up a system where we routinely fine some
or all of our public transport providers. The idea is to have a system that
encourages them to perform to the service standards so there are no
penalties imposed."

The report states that with the exception of route 64 and 5 services, routes
operated from the Glen Huntly and Malvern depots fell below punctuality
targets because of congestion on St Kilda Road and Swanston Street.

National Express spokesman Dean Souter said the fines did not reflect a drop
in services. He said an increase in the penalty rate was one of the factors
that made the total fine seem bigger.

"The large levels of vandalism we were getting (on Bayside Trains) back in
July meant we had a lot of cancelled trains," he said.

Explaining the fines imposed on V/Line services, he said: "They suffered a
larger-than-usual number of acts of God during that period: trees falling on
the line, which is not nice and certainly does not help things."

The train companies achieved the highest punctuality rates, with 97 per cent
of Connex trains and 96 per cent of Bayside trains running on time.

The tram companies did not do as well, with 78 per cent of Yarra trams and
72 per cent of Swanston trams meeting punctuality standards.

In the September quarter, both tram companies cancelled more trams than in
the previous quarter. Customer satisfaction remained relatively steady.

In related news, Mr Batchelor said Swanston Trams and Yarra Trams had
indicated they were given incorrect information about the safety of W-class
trams during the tender process by the Kennett government.

He said taxpayers and the private operators would share the cost of fixing
brakes on the trams.