Track Record 41, October to December 2009 - Public Transport ...

ISSUE
41
Services October to December 2009
Track Record
Victorian Transport Services
Quarterly Performance Bulletin
Department of Transport

Contents
Minister’s Foreword 2
SECTION 1
Introduction and Summary 3
SECTION 2
Punctuality and Reliability 5
SECTION 3
Payments 9
SECTION 4
Customer Satisfaction 12
SECTION 5
Performance of
Automatic Ticketing System
(ATS) Equipment 18
SECTION 6
Glossary of Terminology 20

MINISTER’S FOREWORD
An important milestone in the delivery of the $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan has
been achieved with the commencement of new contracts between the Victorian
Government and Melbourne’s new train and tram operators.
Metro Trains Melbourne (MTM) and Keolis Downer EDI (KDR) assumed operational
control of the metropolitan train and tram networks on 30 November 2009,
heralding a new partnership with the Victorian Government to provide passengers
with safe, clean and reliable public transport.
Both operators were chosen because of their commitments to continuously
improve the train and tram services. These commitments are backed by updated
franchise arrangements designed to meet customer expectations.
Performance measures for punctuality and reliability have been toughened: a train or tram must now arrive
within five minutes of its scheduled time to be regarded as on-time. Punctuality was previously defined as
arriving within six minutes of the scheduled time.
In addition, the reliability measure has now been expanded. This measure continues to include cancelled
services, but now also includes services that complete some but not all of the scheduled journey.
Under updated Operational Performance Regime arrangements, good performance will be rewarded
with bonuses while failure to meet target benchmarks will result in fines of up to $1 million a month. A new
Customer Experience Performance Regime will also apply to ensure safety, cleanliness and information are
core parts of service delivery.
The Track Record quarterly and monthly bulletins will continue to provide the community with access to
performance results and ensure we have an open and accountable system.
Through the Victorian Transport Plan, the Government is taking action to build a better transport network.
MTM and KDR, along with our other public transport operators, will be significant contributors to that plan.
MARTIN PAKULA MP
Minister for Public Transport
2

Section 1
Introduction and Summary
1.1 Introduction
This edition of Track Record provides details on the performance of public transport services in Victoria
for the period from October to December 2009 (referred to as the December quarter 2009).
During that period, new franchise contracts for the operation of Melbourne’s passenger train and tram
networks commenced. From 30 November 2009, Metro Trains Melbourne (operating as Metro) and
Keolis Downer EDI (operating as Yarra Trams (KDR)) commenced eight-year contracts with the
Victorian Government.
The new contracts and customer charters include revised definitions for punctuality and reliability measures
and new service level thresholds for passenger compensation:
• Metropolitan trains and tram services are now regarded as punctual if they arrive no earlier than 59 seconds
before and no later than four minutes and 59 seconds after the timetabled arrival time.
• Reliability for metropolitan trains and trams is now based on the percentage of the timetable delivered.
Performances measures for regional trains and coaches and for metropolitan buses are unchanged.
Further explanations and threshold details are outlined in the Glossary at the back of this bulletin.
To enable comparisons of performance of current and past performance, punctuality and reliability figures
based on both the new and former measures are provided in Section 2 of this bulletin.
The means by which the new franchisees are funded has also changed including the method by which
incentive and penalty payments are determined. These changes are explained in the Payments section
of this bulletin.
Please note:
Metropolitan trains =
Connex (October 1 –
November 29) and Metro
(November 30 – December 31)
Metropolitan trams =
Yarra Trams operated by Metrolink
(October 1 – November 29)
and KDR (November 30 – December 31
Regional trains
= V/Line Passenger
3
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1.2 Summary
Punctuality
Metropolitan trains
Metropolitan trams
V/Line Passenger
Punctual to 4 minutes, 59 seconds: 86.0%
Punctual to 5 minutes, 59 seconds: 90.7%
Punctual to 4 minutes, 59 seconds: 82.2%
Punctual to 5 minutes, 59 seconds: 85.3%
84.8 per cent
Reliability
Metropolitan trains
Percentage of timetable not delivered: 1.2%
Percentage of network cancellations: 1.0%
Metropolitan trams
Percentage of timetable not delivered: 0.7%
Percentage of network cancellations: 0.2%
V/Line Passenger Percentage of services cancelled: 1.7%
Payments
Yarra Trams (KDR) received an incentive payment for reducing service disruption levels below the agreed
contractual performance standards. The other operators did not meet these performance standards and
incurred penalty payments for the December quarter 2009.
Metropolitan trains - Metro
Metropolitan trams - KDR
Metropolitan trains - Connex
Metropolitan trams - Metrolink
V/Line Passenger
Customer satisfaction
Metropolitan modes (trains, trams and buses)
Metropolitan taxis
V/Line Passenger trains
V/Line Passenger coaches
Availability of ticketing equipment
Railway vending machines
Railway validators
Tram vending machines
Tram validators
Bus ticket issuing machines
Bus validators
-$413 thousand
$450 thousand
-$4.237 million
-$231 thousand
-$387 thousand
59.7 index points
57.5 index points
73.4 index points
71.7 index points
98.70 per cent
99.51 per cent
97.7 per cent
98.1 per cent
99.4 per cent
99.5 per cent
4

Section 2
Punctuality and Reliability
For an explanation of how punctuality and reliability is determined, please refer to the Glossary on page 20.
2.1 Punctuality
Please note: punctuality outcomes for metropolitan trains and trams discussed in the text below are based
on revised measures introduced in the new franchise contracts, ie, punctual to 4 minutes and 59 seconds.
Details of the results under both the previous and current measures appear in Table 1.
Metropolitan trains Metropolitan Trams V/Line Passenger trains Metropolitan buses
Metropolitan train
punctuality in the
December quarter
2009 was 86.0 per cent.
This is lower than in
the September quarter
(88.6 per cent) and
the December quarter
2008 (90.9 per cent).
Tram punctuality
(average over route) in
the December quarter
2009 (82.2 per cent)
was comparable
with the previous
quarter (82.3 per cent)
and higher than the
December quarter
2008 (78.5 per cent).
Regional train
punctuality was 84.8 per
cent in the December
quarter 2009, lower than
in the previous quarter
(89.3 per cent) and
the December quarter
2008 (88.2 per cent).
Metropolitan buses.
Metropolitan bus
punctuality was 93.9 per
cent in the December
quarter 2009. This
is comparable with
the previous quarter
result (94.2 per cent).
Table 1 On-time performance for trains, trams and buses as a percentage of
services run, December quarter 2008 to December quarter 2009
Oct-Dec
2008
Jan–Mar
2009
Apr–Jun
2009
Jul–Sept
2009
Oct-Dec
2009
Metropolitan trains
4 minutes, 59 seconds
5 minutes, 59 seconds
90.9
94.2
85.1
88.7
86.3
90.2
88.6
92.4
86.0
90.7
Metropolitan trams –
average over route
4 minutes, 59 seconds
5 minutes, 59 seconds
78.5
81.9
77.9
81.4
80.0
83.5
82.3
85.3
82.2
85.3
Metropolitan trams
– at destination
V/Line Passenger
trains
4 minutes, 59 seconds
5 minutes, 59 seconds
66.8
71.8
66.2
71.2
68.9
74.0
71.9
76.6
71.8
76.7
88.2 82.0 86.5 89.3 84.8
Metropolitan buses 93.7 94.5 94.5 94.2 93.9
5
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Figure 1 On-time performance for trains, trams and buses, December quarter 2008
to December quarter 2009*
Percentage of services running on time
100
80
60
Oct–Dec 2008 Jan–Mar 2009 Apr–Jun 2009
Metropolitan buses
Metropolitan trams – average over route
Metropolitan trams – at destination
V/Line Passenger trains
Metropolitan trains
Jul–Sep 2009 Oct–Dec 2009
*On-time figures for metropolitan trains and trams in the table above are based on the new punctuality measure.
2.2 Reliability (cancellations)
Please note: reliability outcomes for metropolitan trains and trams discussed in the text below are based on
the revised measures introduced under the new franchise contracts, ie, percentage of timetable not delivered.
See the Glossary for more information on the new reliability measures. Details of the results for both the
previous and current measurements appear in Table 2.
Metropolitan trains Metropolitan Trams V/Line Passenger trains Metropolitan buses
A total of 1.2 per cent
of the timetable was
not delivered in the
December quarter 2009.
This is an increase on
the September quarter
result (0.8 per cent) but
is comparable to the
December quarter 2008
(1.1 per cent)..
A total of 0.7 per cent
of the timetable was
not delivered in the
December quarter 2009.
This is comparable to
the previous quarter (0.6
per cent) and lower than
the December quarter
2008 (0.9 per cent).
Cancellations in the
December quarter
2009 (1.7 per cent)
were higher than the
September quarter
(1.1 per cent) and the
December quarter 2008
results (1.0 per cent)
A total of 0.1 per cent of
services was cancelled
in the December quarter
2009. This is consistent
with previous quarters
over the preceding 12
months..
6

Table 2 Cancellations of trains, trams and buses December quarter 2008
to December quarter 2009
Oct-Dec
2008
Jan–Mar
2009
Apr–Jun
2009
Jul–Sept
2009
Oct-Dec
2009
Metropolitan trains
% of timetable not delivered
% of network cancellations
1.1
1.0
3.0
2.8
0.8
0.6
0.8
0.6
1.2
1.0
Metropolitan trams –
% of timetable not delivered
% of network cancellations
0.9
0.2
1.1
0.4
0.8
0.2
0.6
0.1
0.7
0.2
V/Line Passenger
trains
% of network cancellations 1.0 3.5 1.4 1.1 1.7
Metropolitan buses % of network cancellations 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1
Figure 2 Cancellation of trains, trams and buses, December quarter 2008
to December quarter 2009*
Percentage of services cancelled
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Oct–Dec 2008 Jan–Mar 2009 Apr–Jun 2009
Metropolitan buses
Metropolitan trams
Regional trains
Metropolitan trains
Jul–Sep 2009 Oct–Dec 2009
*Figure 2 reflects the new reliability measure of percentage of timetable not delivered for metropolitan trains and trams.
7
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For details of thresholds for passenger compensation, please refer to the Glossary on page 20.
2.3 Passenger compensation
Metroplitan trains Metropolitan trams V/Line Passenger trains
• Passenger compensation
was payable in October,
November and December as
network punctuality was below
the applicable threshold.
•No passenger compensation
was payable in the
December 2009 quarter.
• Passenger compensation
was payable in October
2009 as punctuality was
below the applicable
threshold on all corridors
except Ararat, Shepparton
and Swan Hill/Echuca.
• Passenger compensation was
payable in November 2009
as punctuality was below
the applicable threshold
on all corridors except
Ararat while reliability was
also below the threshold
on the Bendigo corridor.
• Passenger compensation
was payable in December
2009 as punctuality was
below the applicable
threshold on all corridors
except Ararat and Ballarat.
8

Section 3
Payments
See the Glossary on page 20 for an explanation relating to the payment details in this section.
3.1 Metropolitan trains and trams
The payment information provided in Tables 3 and 4 relates to the current metropolitan franchise contracts
that commenced on 30 November 2009. The payment schedule in these contracts includes several
adjustments in the types of payments provided.
The new franchise contracts have introduced several new payments and/or payment arrangements,
including:
• The establishment of a monthly cap (of $1 million for train and $500,000 for tram) for penalty and
incentive payments.
• The replacement of farebox and farebox-related payments with a new ticketing revenue guarantee payment
for the transition period (ie. until 18 months after the Metcard ticketing system is turned off).*
• The introduction of a new Business Systems Upgrade payment to encourage incremental upgrades to
information, telecommunications and technology systems.
• The introduction of the Customer Service Standards and Customer Experience Performance Regime
(aimed at improving customer satisfaction with public transport services) with capped payments/penalties
(of $1 million per annum for train and $500,000 per annum for tram).
* More information on the new ticketing revenue guarantee payment is available from the Glossary. The total metropolitan farebox
for the period from 27 November to 31 December 2009 was $44,328,398. This farebox was not distributed to the operators.
All operators, except KDR, incurred Operational Performance Regime penalty payments as service disruption
levels exceeded the agreed target levels in the December quarter 2009:
• Metro -$413 thousand
• Yarra Trams (operated by KDR) $450 thousand
• Connex -$4.237 million
• Yarra Trams (operated by Metrolink) -$213 thousand
Table 3 Metro payments ($ ,000)
Table 4 Yarra Trams (KDR) payments ($ ,000)
Payment type 30 Nov – 31 Dec 2009
Base contract 23,900
Ticketing revenue
guarantee
21,866
Maintenance 0
Business Systems
Upgrade
0
Payment type 30 Nov – 31 Dec 2009
Base contract 4,246
Ticketing revenue
guarantee
14,648
Maintenance 0
Business Systems
Upgrade
0
Rolling stock
adjustment
7,233
Rolling stock
adjustment
2,922
Incentive and penalty -413
Capital projects 0
Other 0
TOTAL 52,586
Incentive and penalty 450
Capital projects 0
Other 1,788
TOTAL 24,054
9
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The payment information provided in Tables 5 and 6 relates to the previous metropolitan rail franchise
partnerships which operated from 18 April 2004 to 29 November 2009. The farebox figures in these tables
represent an agreed payment of 40 per cent of the metropolitan farebox to each of the rail franchisees.
The remaining 20 per cent was remitted to the State.
Table 5 Connex payments ($ ,000)
Payment type Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 1 Oct-29 Nov 2009
Base contract 44,541 39,355 40,959 60,907 32,398
Farebox 54,851 58,350 59,279 60,949 37,531
Concession top-up 6,979 6,109 8,263 6,810 6,923
Maintenance 30,484 27,687 22,258 33,038 26,999
Rolling stock
adjustment
23,149 23,046 22,748 22,366 14,588
Incentive and penalty -5,558 -7,339 -4,501 -3,778 -4,237
Capital projects 12,264 6,990 1,569 4,346 7,555
Other 2,320 -6,779 3,314 3,488 -4,397
TOTAL 169,030 147,419 153,889 188,126 117,360
Table 6 Yarra Trams (Metrolink) payments ($’000)
Payment type Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 1 Oct-29 Nov 2009
Base contract 980 -353 -279 -956 -857
Farebox 54,851 58,350 59,279 60,949 37,531
Concession top-up 7,210 6,384 8,612 7,039 7,162
Maintenance 6,011 8,589 14,386 7,947 4,542
Rolling stock
adjustment
8,679 8,708 8,767 8,767 5,845
Incentive and penalty -1,706 -1,758 -1,611 -130 -231
Capital projects 990 288 7,259 845 3,064
Other -13,424 3,402 7,947 3,970 5,386
TOTAL 63,591 83,610 104,360 88,431 62,442
10

3.2 V/Line Passenger trains
Payments by the State to the regional rail operator (V/Line Passenger)—including payments for coach
services directly contracted by V/Line—are summarised in Table 7. Farebox revenue is retained by V/Line and
is included to provide an overall indication of the cost of the services. State contract payments represent the
net payments required for V/Line Passenger to run the services.
V/Line Passenger incurred an Operational Performance Regime penalty of -$387,000 as service disruption
levels exceeded the agreed target levels in the December quarter 2009.
Table 7 Payment for V/Line Passenger train services ($ ,000)
Payment type Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 Oct-Dec 2009
Base contract 58,866 57,683 64,509 62,284 64,444
Farebox 16,175 17,193 17,739 18,191 16,729
Rolling stock 8,953 8,953 8,953 8,953 8,953
Incentive and penalty -101 -579 -176 142 -387
Capital projects 1,395 843 1,036 2,607 368
Other 37 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 85,325 84,093 92,061 92,177 90,107
3.3 Metropolitan and regional buses
Payments to metropolitan, regional and school bus operators are presented in Table 8. Farebox revenue
collected is not included in the table as other provisions are in place. For metropolitan services, farebox
revenue is returned to the State while regional bus farebox revenue is retained by the operator. School
services, in most instances, do not collect revenue.
Table 8 Payment for metropolitan and regional bus services ($ ,000)
Payment type Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 Oct-Dec 2009
Metropolitan bus 105,644 105,923 111,194 111,787 110,484
Regional bus 23,865 24,176 24,707 24,646 26,866
School bus 45,977 30,435 45,692 46,600 46,723
TOTAL 175,486 160,534 181,593 183,033 184,073
3.4 Metlink
Under current metropolitan rail franchises, Metlink is a provider of system-wide services. Payments to Metlink
for services supplied under contracts with the State are presented in Table 9.
Table 9 Payment for Metlink and services ($ ,000)
Payment type Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 Oct-Dec 2009
Metlink/TTA 3,948 3,948 3,926 4,160 4,355
Other 0 272 0 0 0
TOTAL 3,948 4,220 3,926 4,160 4,355
11
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Section 4
Customer Satisfaction
For an explanation of how customer satisfaction is determined, please refer to the Glossary on page 20.
Please Note: satisfaction rates are presented as index points, not percentages.
5.1 Overall satisfaction with metropolitan services
Metropolitan public transport (trains, trams and buses) recorded an overall satisfaction result of
59.7 index points in the December quarter 2009 which is consistent with the September quarter result
of 59.8 index points.
Figure 3 Overall satisfaction with metropolitan public transport services (trains, trams and buses),
December quarter 2007 to December quarter 2009
Customer Satisfaction Index
75
VERY
SATISFIED
70
65
SOMEWHAT
SATISFIED
60
55
50
Oct–Dec
2007
Jan–Mar
2008
Apr–Jun
2008
Jul–Sep
2008
Oct–Dec
2008
Jan–Mar
2009
Apr–Jun
2009
Jul–Sep
2009
Oct–Dec
2009
Customer satisfaction results for metropolitan trains, trams and buses in the December quarter 2009 were
comparable with the September quarter results. Customer satisfaction for taxis recorded a slight increase
Metropolitan trains
Metropolitan trams
Metropolitan buses
Metropolitan taxis
60.6 index points
70.0 index points
70.7 index points
57.5 index points
12

Figure 4 Overall satisfaction with metropolitan train, tram, bus and taxi services,
December quarter 2007 to December quarter 2009
Customer Satisfaction Index
VERY
SATISFIED
85
80
75
70
SOMEWHAT
SATISFIED
65
60
55
50
Oct–Dec
2007
Jan–Mar
2008
Apr–Jun
2008
Jul–Sep
2008
Oct–Dec
2008
Jan–Mar
2009
Apr–Jun
2009
Jul–Sep
2009
Oct–Dec
2009
Metropolitan trains
Metropolitan trams
Metropolitan buses
Metropolitan taxis
4.2 Overall satisfaction with V/Line Passenger services
Overall customer satisfaction indices for the regional modes recorded slight decreases during the December
quarter 2009.
• V/Line Passenger trains 73.4 index points
• V/Line Passenger coaches 71.7 index points
Figure 5 Overall satisfaction with V/Line Passenger trains and coaches, December quarter 2007
to December quarter 2009
Customer Satisfaction Index
VERY
SATISFIED
85
80
75
70
SOMEWHAT
SATISFIED
65
60
55
50
Oct–Dec
2007
Jan–Mar
2008
Apr–Jun
2008
Jul–Sep
2008
Oct–Dec
2008
Jan–Mar
2009
Apr–Jun
2009
Jul–Sep
2009
Oct–Dec
2009
V/Line Passenger trains
V/Line Passenger coaches
13
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4.3 Key aspects of service quality for trains, trams, taxis, buses and coaches
The following graphs summarise customer satisfaction with specific aspects of service. Each graph presents
an overall customer satisfaction index as well as separate measurements for major aspects of service, such
as ‘Passenger travel experience’. Note: the overall customer satisfaction index is produced from a specific
question in the survey and is not an average of other results.
All graphs are for the December quarter 2009. A statistically significant increase or decrease in the customer
satisfaction index from the September 2009 quarter is respectively indicated by a green ‘up’ or red ‘down’
arrow. Where there is no arrow, no statistically significant change has occurred. Minor shifts in the index can
be due to the nature of the survey, rather than reflecting a genuine change in customer satisfaction.
Metropolitan trains
• Metropolitan train services recorded an overall satisfaction rate of 60.6, comparable with the September
quarter result (60.4).
• While there were no significant changes in the satisfaction with individual service aspects, all recorded
slight increases in satisfaction compared with the September quarter results.
Figure 6 Customer satisfaction with metropolitan trains, December quarter 2009
Service aspects
ranked highest to lowest
Overall satisfaction
Train staff
Metcard ticketing
Information
Running of services
Train stations
Passenger travel experience
Price
Personal security
No significant
change from
September
quarter 2009
to December
quarter 2009.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Customer Satisfaction Index
14

Metropolitan Trams
• Metropolitan trams recorded an overall satisfaction score of 70.0 points, comparable to the September
quarter result (69.8 points)
• The service aspects of Running of services; Metcard ticketing; Personal security; and Price all recorded
significant increases in satisfaction.
Figure 7 Customer satisfaction with metropolitan trams, December quarter 2009
Service aspects
ranked highest to lowest
Overall satisfaction
Running of services
Tram staff
Tram stops
Metcard ticketing
Personal security
Information
Passenger travel experience
Price
Statistically
significant
increase
from September
quarter 2009
to December
quarter 2009
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Customer Satisfaction Index
Metropolitan buses
• Metropolitan buses recorded an overall customer satisfaction score of 70.7 points, comparable with the
September quarter result of 70.5 points.
• There was no significant change in any key service aspects between the September and December quarters.
Figure 8 Customer satisfaction with metropolitan buses, December quarter 2009
Service aspects
ranked highest to lowest
Overall satisfaction
Bus staff
Passenger travel experience
Metcard ticketing
Personal security
Bus stops
Information
Running of services
Price
No significant
change from
September
quarter 2009
to December
quarter 2009.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Customer Satisfaction Index
15
Track Record ISSuE 41

V/Line Passenger trains
• Regional train services recorded an overall customer satisfaction of 73.4 points, a slight decrease compared
with the September quarter result (75.0 points)
• The service area of Personal security recorded a significant decrease compared with the September quarter.
Figure 9 Customer satisfaction with V/Line Passenger trains, December quarter 2009
Service aspects
ranked highest to lowest
Overall satisfaction
V/Line staff
Price
V/Line Ticketing
Passenger Travel experience
Running of services
Information
V/Line Train stations
Personal security
Statistically
significant
decrease
from September
quarter 2009
to December
quarter 2009
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Customer Satisfaction Index
V/Line Passenger coaches
• V//Line passenger coaches recorded an overall satisfaction score of 71.7 points, a slight decrease from the
September quarter result (73.0 points)
• There was no significant change in any key service aspects between the September and December quarters.
Figure 10 Customer satisfaction with V/Line Passenger coaches, December quarter 2009
Service aspects
ranked highest to lowest
Overall satisfaction
V/Line staff
Price
Personal security
Information
V/Line ticketing
Passenger travel experience
Running of services
V/Line coach stops
No significant
change from
September
quarter 2009
to December
quarter 2009.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Customer Satisfaction Index
16

Metropolitan taxis
• Metropolitan taxis recorded an overall customer satisfaction result of 57.5 points, a slight increase on the
September quarter result of 55.2.
• There was no significant change in any key service aspects between the September and December quarters.
Figure 11 Customer satisfaction with metropolitan taxis, December quarter 2009
Service aspects
ranked highest to lowest
Overall satisfaction
Personal security
Booking service
Taxi ranks
Fares and payment system
Passenger travel experience
Finding a taxi
Price
Taxi drivers
Information
No significant
change from
September
quarter 2009
to December
quarter 2009.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Customer Satisfaction Index
17
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Section 5
Performance of Automatic Ticketing
System (ATS) Equipment
See the Glossary on page 20 for details on Customer-Defined Availability (CDA) reporting and a background
on the ticketing contracts.
Note: all figures in this section relate to the performance of the Metcard ticketing system and equipment.
5.1 Railway station ticketing equipment
Availability of railway station ticketing equipment exceeded the relevant targets in the December quarter 2009.
Table 10 ATS CDA for ticketing equipment at railway stations (%)
Device Target Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 Oct-Dec 2009
Vending machines 98.26 98.71 98.46 98.71 98.77 98.70
Validators 99.47 99.57 99.51 99.50 99.56 99.51
5.2 Tram and bus ticketing equipment
Availability remains high for ticketing machines and validators on trams and buses.
Table 11 ATS availability for mobile equipment (%)
Mode Device Oct-Dec 2008 Jan-Mar 2009 Apr-Jun 2009 Jul-Sep 2009 Oct-Dec 2009
Tram
Vending
machines
97.8 96.7 97.6 98.2 97.7
Validators 98.1 97.5 98.1 98.4 98.1
Bus Issuing machines 99.6 99.3 99.5 99.6 99.4
Validators 99.5 99.3 99.5 99.4 99.5
5.3 Long term trends
The availability of ticketing equipment on metropolitan trains and buses has remained very high over the past
two and a half years.
18

Figure 12 Quarterly availability of ATS equipment from September 2006 to December 2009
Availability of Ticketing Equipment (%)
100
95
90
85
Jul–Sep
2006
Oct–Dec
2006
Jan–Mar Apr–Jun Jul–Sep
2007 2007 2007
Oct–Dec Jan–Mar
2007 2008 Apr–Jun Jul–Sep
2008 2008
Oct–Dec Jan–Mar
2008 2009 Apr–Jun
2009
Jul–Sep
2009 Oct–Dec
2009
Train vending machines
Train validators
Tram vending machines
Tram validators
Bus vending machines
Bus validators
5.4 Vandalism of ATS equipment
There were 1,523 reported incidents in the Decemberr quarter 2009..
Figure 13 Incidents of vandalism to ATS equipment by quarter, March 2001 to December 2009
Vandalism indicidents per quarter
8,000
7,000
6,000
5,000
4,000
3,000
2,000
1,000
0
Mar
2001
Sept
2001
Mar
2002
Sept
2002
Mar
2003
Sept
2003
Mar
2004
Sept
2004
Mar
2005
Sept
2005
Mar
2006
Sept
2006
Mar
2007
Sept
2007
Mar
2008
Sept
2008
Mar
2009
Sept
2009
Total Vandalism Incidents
19
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Section 6
Glossary of Terminology
6.1 Contracts and partnership agreements
Metropolitan buses, trains and trams and regional town bus services are operated by the private sector under
contracts or franchise arrangements (referred to as Partnership Agreements) with the State Government.
Regional V/Line train and inter-town coach services are operated by the V/Line Passenger Corporation,
a Government statutory authority.
Note: new Partnership Agreements for the delivery of metropolitan train and tram services started on 30
November 2009.
The Director of Public Transport manages the train and tram Partnership Agreements and bus contracts.
The agreements and contracts specify requirements which operators must provide in relation to:
• Levels of service and service performance;
• Customer Service Charters including complaints handling and the provision of compensation for poor
service;
• Standards for the cleanliness, services and information available at stations/stops and on trains and trams;
• In the case of trains and trams, working with the Government on network and project planning;
• The tickets they must offer and the fares they must charge for tickets; and
• Other performance standards. For example, during special events and public holidays; and minimising
disruptions during planned works.
In response, the Government monitors the quality of services operators provide to the community, with
emphasis on:
• Punctuality and reliability: comparing the performance of train, tram and bus services with government-set
punctuality and service delivery targets and thresholds; and
• Customer satisfaction: using surveys to measure whether operators are providing the quality of service
customers expect.
6.2 Punctuality and reliability measurements
Punctuality
Punctuality is defined as the percentage of delivered services that run on time.
Metropolitan trains, trams and buses – For trains and buses, on-time performance is measured at the end
of the journey.
Tram on-time performance is measured at monitoring points along the route (as the average of the second,
third and fourth of five monitoring points) and near the destination (at point four of five monitoring points). Since
tram on-time performance is greatly affected by road congestion, both the destination punctuality performance
figures and the average punctuality are reported.
A metropolitan train or tram service is considered on-time if it arrives no more than 59 seconds before and no
more than four minutes and 59 seconds after the time in the timetable. Prior to 30 November 2009, a service
was considered on-time if it arrived no more than 59 seconds before and no more than five minutes and 59
seconds after the time in the timetable.
Metropolitan buses are on time if they are no more than two minutes early or five minutes late at the destination.
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For tram services, the 77 per cent passenger compensation threshold for punctuality relates to the average of
the punctuality at the second, third and fourth of the five monitoring points along the length of the route under
the new punctuality measure.
V/Line Passenger trains – long distance V/Line Passenger services are considered to be on time if they
arrive no more than ten minutes 59 seconds late, while short-distance services are considered to be on time if
they arrive no more than five
Reliability
The reliability measure for metropolitan train and tram services changed on 30 November 2009.
Previously, this was a measure of the percentage of scheduled services that were cancelled and a 98 per cent
threshold applied. The reliability measure has been expanded to include short services (ie services delivered
in part but not in full) and loop bypass events, such as when a service is scheduled to travel through the City
or Westona loops but fails to do so. Although the measure has been expanded, the 98 per cent threshold has
not changed.
For trains, a short service is counted as a quarter of a cancellation and a bypass event is counted as an
eighth of a cancellation. For trams, a short service is counted as an eighth of a cancellation. This improved,
new measure of service delivery is referred to as the percentage of timetable not delivered. An increase in this
measure reflects a decline in performance.
The reliability measure for regional trains continues to be based on the percentage of scheduled services that
are not cancelled. The threshold is 96 percent. See Table 12 for further details.
Metropolitan and regional bus services are deemed reliable if 99 percent of all scheduled services on any day
operate and are completed.
How Operational Performance Regime payments or penalties are calculated
All timetabled train and tram services are monitored every day of the week.
Delays, cancellations and other service failures are measured to the nearest 60 seconds and ‘weighted’
according to the number of people estimated to be travelling on the train or tram. The passenger weightings
vary according to the time period, day of week and direction of travel. Delays to a heavily-loaded peak train
or tram are given a greater value than delays to a less loaded off-peak train or tram. This system provides a
measure of operational performance expressed in ‘passenger-weighted minutes’ of delay.
Passenger-weighted minutes of delay in each month are checked against performance targets set in the
partnership agreements. Performance against these targets determines whether a bonus or a penalty
applies to an operator. This bonus and penalty system is referred to as the Operational Performance
Regime (OPR). Bonuses and penalties are capped at $1 million for metropolitan trains and $500,000
for trams per calendar month.
Metropolitan bus services are not included in this performance regime. Bus operators provide performance
data for bus services (on-time running and cancellations) via monthly ‘key performance indicator’ returns.
6.3 Passenger compensation
Train and tram Partnership Agreements require operators to provide punctuality and reliability (number of
cancellations) service levels above a government-set threshold. Operators must report to passengers every
month on whether or not they have met the minimum service requirements.
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Operators who fail to meet minimum service levels must provide compensation (in the form of complimentary
tickets) to passengers. The compensation applies only to passengers holding valid periodical tickets of four
weeks or more who travelled on the service concerned during the month in question. Passengers apply
directly to the operator for the compensation.
V/Line services within each corridor are separated into short-distance and long-distance services, with
passenger compensation assessed and payable separately for the two categories.
Table 12 Service level thresholds for compensation purposes (%)
Punctuality
Reliability
Arrival by 4 minutes,
59 seconds
Arrival by 5 minutes,
59 seconds
Metropolitan trains Metropolitan trams V/Line Passenger
88 77
92 # 80 # 92^
% of timetable delivered 98 98
% of kilometres delivered 98 # 95 # 96
#Measure valid until 29 November 2009
^For long distance V/Line services, on-time arrival is defined as arriving no later than 10 minutes and 59 seconds after the
timetabled arrival time.
6.4 Payments
The details presented in this bulletin on payments for public transport services include:
• Components of the contract payments made by the State to the operators and major service suppliers for
the services provided;
• Incentive or penalty payments relating to performance during a particular period; and
• In the case of metropolitan train and tram operators, farebox revenue for the period from 1 October 2009
to 26 November 2009 and new ticketing revenue guarantee payments from 30 November 2009 until 31
December 2009.
The incentive and penalty payments are reported on an accrual basis. The magnitude of these payments
(whether an incentive or penalty payment) is capped at $1 million per month for metropolitan trains and at
$500 thousand dollars per month for trams. The figures are not final, as the contracts allow for adjustment in
limited circumstances in later periods. Payments for prior quarters are subject to change based on audits or
mitigated performance adjustments.
The new ticketing revenue guarantee payment replaces the farebox distribution that was provided to all
operators prior to 30 November 2009. The new payment is a result of the introduction of the new Myki
ticketing system and is expected to continue for 18 months after the Metcard ticketing system is turned off.
At that time, the franchisees will be entitled to farebox distribution under the revenue split arrangements
stipulated in the New Ticketing System Revenue Sharing Agreement.
The new train and tram Partnership Agreements do not include concession top-up payments for the usage
of concession tickets.
All payments are exclusive of GST. Negative figures represent payments by the franchisee to the State.
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6.5 Customer satisfaction
The Director of Public Transport commissions monthly surveys to measure whether operators are providing
the quality of service customers expect. A sample of people is randomly selected from electronic telephone
directories in areas where train, tram, bus, coach and metropolitan taxi services operate. Interviews are
conducted by telephone. Interviewees are asked to:
• Indicate their usual public transport usage
• State their level of satisfaction with specific aspects of public transport, as well as the service overall.
Respondents who do not use public transport are asked for their reasons and to indicate what would
influence them to begin using public transport.
Up to the end of March 2009, responses from interviewees were given a score of between 0 and 100 as per
the following scale:
• Totally satisfied 100
• Very satisfied 80
• Somewhat satisfied 60
• Somewhat dissatisfied 40
• Very dissatisfied 20
• Totally dissatisfied 0
From April 2009 onwards, customers provided ratings using a 0 to 10 scale where 0 represented ’extremely
dissatisfied‘ and 10 represented ’extremely satisfied‘. Note that overall satisfaction questions continued to be
asked using the old scale to facilitate comparisons over time.
Survey results are compiled into quarterly customer satisfaction indices to allow for comparisons between
modes, operators and aspects of service delivery.
Note: Differences between metropolitan and regional passenger services should be taken into account when
making such comparisons. These differences include the purpose and distance of travel, and the types of
services offered on metropolitan and regional services.
6.6 Ticketing and Customer-Defined Availability (CDA)
A private company under contract to the State Government operates and maintains the Metcard ticketing
system for Melbourne’s public transport. The current contract was awarded in May 1994 to the consortium
OneLink Transit Systems Pty Ltd.
CDA targets represent minimum levels of acceptable availability and performance, and allow for specified
levels of non-availability due to maintenance, servicing and breakdowns.
The targets are included in the OneLink contract and determine whether OneLink incurs a penalty or receives
an incentive payment for its performance.
Monitoring of ticketing equipment
The status of ticketing equipment at railway stations is automatically monitored via communication lines to
OneLink. OneLink, therefore, has accurate and up-to-date information on the availability of ticketing machines
at railway stations and can promptly schedule repairs or servicing. For repairs, OneLink gives priority to
equipment at busier stations, where more tickets are purchased.
Mobile equipment on board trams and buses does not have a permanent communication link. Therefore,
equipment availability cannot be known exactly. Tram and bus operators are required to make vehicles with
faulty equipment available to OneLink.
Due to these differences between fixed and mobile equipment, measures and performance targets vary
between modes.
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DOT4775/10