[Melb] Train fare pledge dumped

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

http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/01/04/FFXLXEGVHHC.html

By SUSHI DAS
TRANSPORT REPORTER
Thursday 4 January 2001

Stung: Country rail passengers were hit with rises of as much as 20 per cent
from Monday.

The private operator of Victoria's country rail network has defied a
government guarantee on ticket prices by increasing some fares by 20 per
cent.

The increases, which took effect on January 1, are at odds with a
government-backed "passengers' charter" released in the lead-up to
privatisation, guaranteeing that fares would not rise by more than the
inflation rate.

National Express, the British transport giant that took over the V/Line
country network in 1999, yesterday defended the fare rises, saying they were
permitted under its franchise agreement with the government.

National Express spokesman Daniel Moloney admitted that when it came to
ticket pricing, there was a "technical difference" between the franchise
agreement and the passengers' charter, both written by the former Kennett
government.

He said: "If the old PTC document does not reflect the franchise commitment
that the Kennett government drew up for us, then there's not much we can do
about that."

The passengers' charter was launched in October, 1998, before contracts were
let for the private operation of trains and trams. The charter states: "The
government guarantees that throughout the term of each contract, fares will
not increase above the rate of inflation."

Advertisements placed in newspapers at the time stated that when the
privatisation contracts came into effect, "the guarantees in the charter
will become legally binding on operators".

Country rail passengers using customised "date-to-date" tickets and business
card tickets were hit with rises of as much as 20 per cent from Monday. Mr
Moloney said the date-to-date ticket was previously heavily discounted. Even
with the price increase, both the date-to-date and business card tickets
remained between 10 and 20 per cent cheaper than weekly tickets.

The operators of Melbourne's suburban rail networks have also effectively
imposed big price increases this week by scrapping some of their cheapest
concession fares, forcing some passengers to pay up to 50 per cent more for
alternative tickets.

Under the public transport franchise agreements, tickets are classified as
regulated or non-regulated.

The prices of regulated tickets - including daily, two-hourly, weekly,
monthly and yearly - may be increased as long as they follow a formula
linking the rise to the CPI. From January 1, regulated ticket fares rose by
an average 8.3 per cent.

Under their franchise agreements, the private operators are entitled to
abolish non-regulated tickets, or raise their price to whatever level they
deem acceptable.

Transport Minister Peter Batchelor yesterday criticised the suburban train
companies, Connex and Bayside, for failing to notify the public of their
decision to scrap the cheap concession fares.