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City rail network in meltdown
- Thread starter pahoffm
- Start date
The situation is pretty simple. Growth in patronage due to increases in fuel costs is outstripping the ability to increase capacity. Usual suspects use it as an opportunity to rant and moan about Labor to no avail, life goes on. Trains are on order, expansions to the network are being planned, all of this takes time.
Perhaps that Connex, given that they have been receiving a windfall from the extra patronage, might be expected to invest in the network. Not as soft a target though.
Perhaps that Connex, given that they have been receiving a windfall from the extra patronage, might be expected to invest in the network. Not as soft a target though.
Phantom said:
No, no it can't.
I struggle to think of a major project that hasn't been months, if not years, behind schedule. And almost all projects seem to be way over budget by many millions.
Only 1 major project I can think of that will be completed early, but Eastlink is a private project, but one that the government either lied to the electorate about tolls, or were incompetent with their sums before the election.
In regards to the rail network.Its a complex issue.to keep it short.The system currently is at breaking point.There isnt much more they can do.Sure they can bring in more services but not many.The inner city can not handle the extra volume of traffic.
And now the government is providing better incentive to the next transport operators by.........reducing fines for slack services ??? :
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23912029-661,00.html
THE Brumby Government has told train and tram operators they can run late and still dodge millions of dollars in performance fines.
The Government has told potential bidders it will set new performance targets and cap under-performance penalties when new transport contracts start next year.
Secret tender documents admit service is "deficient" in the booming outer suburbs, and show that overcrowded rail services will squeeze in an extra 76 million annual passenger trips by 2011.
The State Government's confidential brief for companies interested in the franchise, obtained by the Opposition, says service standards will drop as thousands of extra commuters cram on to trains and trams every day.
Current operators Connex and Yarra Trams, both applicants in the tender process, are already struggling to cope with the boom.
Last year, late and cancelled services meant Connex was slugged more than $40 million in penalty payments, while Yarra Trams paid $7 million in penalties.
But the new contracts will limit fines to 1-2 per cent of the operators' total revenue.
Train and tram operators will take a one-third share of total ticket revenue under the new contracts.
Opposition public transport spokesman Terry Mulder said with a conservative estimate of $180 million going to the operators, they faced penalties of just $3.6 million each for late and cancelled services.
A similar mechanism to cap bonuses for operators who beat their performance targets is unlikely to bother the state -- last year, not one operator was paid a bonus.
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky admitted the Government was trying to even out the discrepancies.
"We want to ensure that any operational performance regime strikes a balance between penalties and bonuses in the face of increasing patronage and an expanding network," she said.
Ms Kosky said the Government could still change details within the expressions-of-interest briefing.
Mr Mulder said the document, and planned penalty changes, were an admission that Connex and Yarra Trams were not to blame for poor service levels.
"John Brumby and Minister Kosky are acknowledging that the failures in public transport are because of Labor's lack of investment, not because of the operators' performance."
Under the current contracts, penalties kick in when a train or tram runs six minutes behind schedule.
The documents shows train traveller satisfaction is just 62.5 per cent, with trams at 70.5 per cent.
A shortlist of applicants for the new transport franchises will be announced in August.
V/Line said yesterday it was carrying more than a million passengers a month -- up almost 14 per cent in a year.
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23912029-661,00.html
THE Brumby Government has told train and tram operators they can run late and still dodge millions of dollars in performance fines.
The Government has told potential bidders it will set new performance targets and cap under-performance penalties when new transport contracts start next year.
Secret tender documents admit service is "deficient" in the booming outer suburbs, and show that overcrowded rail services will squeeze in an extra 76 million annual passenger trips by 2011.
The State Government's confidential brief for companies interested in the franchise, obtained by the Opposition, says service standards will drop as thousands of extra commuters cram on to trains and trams every day.
Current operators Connex and Yarra Trams, both applicants in the tender process, are already struggling to cope with the boom.
Last year, late and cancelled services meant Connex was slugged more than $40 million in penalty payments, while Yarra Trams paid $7 million in penalties.
But the new contracts will limit fines to 1-2 per cent of the operators' total revenue.
Train and tram operators will take a one-third share of total ticket revenue under the new contracts.
Opposition public transport spokesman Terry Mulder said with a conservative estimate of $180 million going to the operators, they faced penalties of just $3.6 million each for late and cancelled services.
A similar mechanism to cap bonuses for operators who beat their performance targets is unlikely to bother the state -- last year, not one operator was paid a bonus.
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky admitted the Government was trying to even out the discrepancies.
"We want to ensure that any operational performance regime strikes a balance between penalties and bonuses in the face of increasing patronage and an expanding network," she said.
Ms Kosky said the Government could still change details within the expressions-of-interest briefing.
Mr Mulder said the document, and planned penalty changes, were an admission that Connex and Yarra Trams were not to blame for poor service levels.
"John Brumby and Minister Kosky are acknowledging that the failures in public transport are because of Labor's lack of investment, not because of the operators' performance."
Under the current contracts, penalties kick in when a train or tram runs six minutes behind schedule.
The documents shows train traveller satisfaction is just 62.5 per cent, with trams at 70.5 per cent.
A shortlist of applicants for the new transport franchises will be announced in August.
V/Line said yesterday it was carrying more than a million passengers a month -- up almost 14 per cent in a year.
Dumby and Dosky know what the words 'penalty' and 'bonus' mean but don't know what 'service' means.
TigerForce said:
....and they know who to blame when it goes all pear-shaped too! :spin
If myki fails, ticket user cops blame
Clay Lucas
July 1, 2008
WHEN Victoria's public transport users finally get the long-awaited myki smartcard, it will come with a condition — if it doesn't work, it's your fault.
A fare manual for the long-overdue $850 million ticketing system, obtained by the Opposition under freedom-of-information laws, says myki tickets that do not work will be assumed to have been damaged by the users, and not defective.
"Where there is doubt about whether a ticket is damaged or defective, it will be taken to be damaged," the manual states.
Tickets judged to be damaged will cost $9.80 to replace, it states.
"Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky wants to blame passengers for myki's problems," Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said.
"Minister Kosky will place the onus on public transport users to prove it was not their fault that a ticket could not be used — despite her recent public exhibition as to how the myki equipment can fail," Mr Mulder said.
Ms Kosky last month visited the offices of Kamco, the consortium building the myki system. While there, she gave up on trying load a $20 note into a ticketing machine after the note was rejected three times. (Kamco staff later pointed out this was due to human error.)
The current Metcard fare manual does not place the onus of proof on passengers but demands $9.80 for a replacement ticket if a ticket is deemed to be damaged.
Acting Public Transport Minister Bob Cameron said nothing would change under myki, despite the manual obtained by the Opposition.
http://www.theage.com.au/national/if-myki-fails-ticket-user-cops-blame-20080630-2zgs.html
All that money lost on a ticketing system.
And a system currently managed by those who would well qualify for the Ustase of Croatia in WW2.
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=ustase&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=ustase&gbv=2&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw
Money that would have been better spent on new train lines & trains.
And a system currently managed by those who would well qualify for the Ustase of Croatia in WW2.
http://images.google.com.au/images?hl=en&q=ustase&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=ustase&gbv=2&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=iw
Money that would have been better spent on new train lines & trains.
Phantom said:
Phantom,
Beats me why they didn't build a train line (or tram line) up the guts of the new Eastlink and along the Eastern.....but especially the new Eastlink, because it would have been far easier to put a line of some sort in place while the road was under construction.
Of course now if they choose to do something like that, the roadworks and problems it would cause would be terrible.
I just think it was a lost opportunity to get some more public transport out and around the Eastern suburbs and into the city while we had the chance.
Liverpool said:
Couldn't agree more - there would have been some way to make it work. At it is needed. Even Connect East yesterday acknowledged that people will have to use Eastlink because there are no public transport options.
I wonder what agreements are in place between the state government and Connect East with regards to changing public transport infrastructure to compete with East link.
I'm no gunzel but it seems to me that one way of dealing with congestion on public transport is to stagger working hours in the city.
This may seem like a radical idea but it's already happening in the schools in your area. Why do some schools knock off at 3:20 and others at 3:10 or 3:30? Likewise with start times.
Obviously with offices the start times would neded to be staggered over a longer time. And we know that drinks play a part.
But we can manage this with staggered starting and finishing hours to some extent.
I don't think it's enough and I believe that much more money should be spent on public transport and often ignored bike paths. But it's a start.
For mine, bike paths cost bugger all. Why take the train to work and then spend an hour at the gym?
This may seem like a radical idea but it's already happening in the schools in your area. Why do some schools knock off at 3:20 and others at 3:10 or 3:30? Likewise with start times.
Obviously with offices the start times would neded to be staggered over a longer time. And we know that drinks play a part.
But we can manage this with staggered starting and finishing hours to some extent.
I don't think it's enough and I believe that much more money should be spent on public transport and often ignored bike paths. But it's a start.
For mine, bike paths cost bugger all. Why take the train to work and then spend an hour at the gym?
