Article: Sleepy commuters doing bit to save state $85m

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Sleepy commuters doing bit to save state $85m

Sleepy commuters doing bit to save state $85m
REID SEXTON
September 27, 2009

''EARLY-BIRD'' travel on Melbourne's trains - where passengers can travel free before 7am - has been a huge success, according to a new study, and extending it to 7.30 would further reduce overcrowding and potentially save the Government more than $100 million.

The report, by leading transport expert Professor Graham Currie, found that early-bird travel, launched in March last year, moved up to 2600 passengers each day out of the peak travel times and on to trains that were previously almost empty.

It showed the cost benefit to the network of so much earlier travel is the equivalent of buying an extra five trains - a capital saving of $100 million - because it eases pressure on peak services that run around 7.30am. Taking into account reduced fares and operating costs, the scheme saved the Government up to $85 million.

Professor Currie, from Monash University is urging the Government to consider extending the scheme to allow free travel up to 7.30am.

Calculations he made for The Sunday Age show extending the scheme would divert an extra 2000 to 4000 passengers each day from the worst period of the morning peak around 8am and beyond and save the Government up to $128 million.

Professor Currie's study outlines what the scheme - which is available to anyone travelling on services that reach their destination before 7am - has delivered so far.

It shows that in the seven months before October 2008, the free travel deal diverted 2600 passengers daily away from peak travel times, which significantly offset record overcrowding on the network by creating a more efficient spread of travellers.

Record patronage growth of almost 60 per cent over five years has fuelled overcrowding, particularly during the ''peak of the peak'' from 7.30 to 8.30am, creating delays as trains wait longer at stations and risking commuter safety.

However, the Transport Department's latest patronage survey found that, on average, not one pre-7.30am train service was overcrowded.

''The beauty of the project is that it actually saves the state money while giving us lots of benefits,'' Professor Currie said.

''Extending it is certain to attract more people because more people travel at this time.''

Targeting the most overcrowded times through an extended early-bird scheme would also improve running times and passenger comfort while reducing road congestion.

Professor Currie's study shows that even the most conservative estimates of the early-bird scheme's success reveal that financially it has almost broken even but delivered knock-on effects and significant reductions in overcrowding - something that would be repeated if it was extended.

''Authorities facing these problems have no choice but to consider programs of this kind,'' he said. ''No other method can as quickly act to ease impacts of overloading.''

The plan has won mixed support from other public transport experts, with RMIT public transport advocate Paul Mees saying that extending the scheme to 7.30am would be more effective because it would reduce overcrowding when it was needed.

But Dr Mees, a long-time critic of government policy, said the scheme had failed to deliver benefits because the patronage shift it created only moved people away from services that were not seriously overcrowded.

Opposition transport spokesman Terry Mulder said early bird travel had acted only to reduce revenue and expressed reservations about it being extended. ''If passengers shifted en masse to earlier trains they would rapidly become as overcrowded as Lynne Kosky's sardine cans at the current height of morning peak.

''This would be compounded by the fewer trains that arrive in the city before 7.30am compared with the current busiest morning peak periods,'' Mr Mulder said.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said the early-bird extension plan should be investigated. He said running more trains in off-peak periods would shift patronage there without costing the Government revenue.

Professor Currie conceded that stretching the scheme to 7.30am meant the risk of losing revenue could outweigh the benefits of reducing overcrowding. But this was unlikely given the success of the scheme so far and the ''virtual certainty'' that large amounts of capacity would be freed during the day's busiest time.

''New trains commonly cost up to $20 million and often require a procurement period of up to five years,'' he said. ''New lines can cost billions. Cheaper, shorter-term solutions are needed.''

Earlier this month, Transport Department chief Jim Betts said the new myki ticket system would allow government to capitalise on the success of early bird travel by offering more incentives for off-peak travel.