Article: Private operators raid public transport purse

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Private operators raid public transport purse

Private operators raid public transport purse
Clay Lucas
September 24, 2010

THE cost of running Victoria's public transport has more than doubled in six years, despite the state's trains, trams and buses travelling only 26 per cent further.

The cost jump, revealed in budget papers and government annual reports released last week, is partly due to increased payments to Melbourne's privatised train, tram and bus operators.

In this financial year alone, payments to operators will rise by more than half a billion dollars.

Public Transport Minister Martin Pakula defended the figures yesterday, saying the doubling of the cost of public transport since 2004 was a ''massive investment'' that had ensured it was coping well.

He said the system ''bears up pretty well'', carrying more passengers and suffering less disruption than 20 years ago.

But Melbourne University transport expert John Stone said the privatisation of train and tram services from 1999 had given government someone to blame when things went wrong.

He said the public was not getting good value from the huge increase in spending.

The Transport Department said funding for public transport in 2004-05 was $1.31 billion, and this would rise to $2.82 billion in the current financial year.

In 2004-05, trains, trams and buses in Melbourne travelled 113.8 million kilometres. By this financial year, public transport services are expected to cover 143.3 million kilometres, a 26 per cent increase.

Over the past six years, patronage on all three modes of public transport has boomed, rising by about a third. Trains and trams have experienced overcrowding because the growth in extra services has fallen far behind increases in patronage.

The department said the big increase in outlays did not include the $1.35 billion myki system cost.

Figures supplied to The Age by the department showed major expenditure had gone to new train, tram and bus services over the six-year period.

It also showed millions had been spent on increasing train maintenance, extending the Broadmeadows line to Craigieburn, a big jump in the number of permanently staffed stations and more parking at stations.

Last week's Transport Department annual report, released amid a flurry of more than 200 reports, showed that in this financial year payments to public transport operators will rise by $534 million.

A separate department spreadsheet said this increase was half due to a new way of paying operators, whereby ticket revenue came first to the government before being paid back to train, tram and bus companies.

Operators will receive higher payments this financial year despite no increase in the distance travelled by trams, a tiny increase by trains and a 5 per cent increase by the city's buses.

Dr Stone, who has done extensive research into Melbourne's operators, said the political reason for privatisation had triumphed over an efficiently run system. ''It's good to have somebody to blame,'' he said.

Must agree with Dr Stone, privatisation/franchise has not been the touted success at all.