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

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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