TransLink Tracker

[ozbob]

The TransLink Tracker is being re-introduced.  I understand that subsequent reports will have more detailed bus information than the first edition being released today/tomorrow.

==========================

From the Sunday Mail 20th December 2015 page 8

Price increase suspended

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

20th December 2015

Good Morning,

Brief item in the Sunday Mail today, 20th December 2015 page 8.  No fare increases January 2016 pending fare review.

Price increase suspended



We thank the Minister for Transport Stirling Hinchliffe and the Palaszczuk Government for this decision.

We also welcome the return to publication of the TransLink Tracker.  It is important that public transport data be available, and be easy to follow and understand.  Again another excellent move by the Minister and Government.

Thank you.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[BrizCommuter]

Do you think we will see the QR Passenger Load Survey make a comeback too?

[ozbob]

Do you think we will see the QR Passenger Load Survey make a comeback too?

Probably not in the previous form.  However with the ticketing data that is available now, there should be  more detailed passenger information for line, station and bus routes hopefully.  We will push for that next year.

[ozbob]

TransLink Tracker

> https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/translink-division-quarterly-reports

TransLink Tracker quarterly report - July to September (Q1) 2015-16

>> https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/translink-division-quarterly-reports/resource/5433fedb-d61e-4f90-8bc6-31671e0b70ed PDF Ext

[ozbob]

Well well ...

on-time running

95.74% bus

97.65% train

Suddenly we find train is better than bus.  Always was.  Hopeful this new data might be a bit more objective.

[techblitz]

good to see these figures
i think we need to look at overall reasons why buses are lagging....
train should be better than bus since buses have to deal with cars/trucks....in particular the mum brigade picking up kids after school which plays havoc with on-time running....paper ticket purchases/gocard topups also play havoc with buses(especially the 700).....they essentially dont effect train otr......any train otr issues are mostly of their own making(freight movements)......since forcemajeure incidents are not included in these figures....
Also bus is running 5.7% above benchmark...train only 2.65%
personally aprt from the abyssmal BT otr which is the result of inept timetabling and the westside debacle(another 463 cancelled yesterday)....bus is faring quite well...

[ozbob]

What will be interesting for bus is the OTP by regions and even routes.   As an aggregate figure it is a little hard to really get a handle on it.

At least the charade of days gone by seems to be over. 

Buses will always suffer road congestion issues etc.  To pretend they didn't was nonsense.   

[hU0N]

What I think is a bit scandalous is that City Train services have been rated as, "Least safe", "Least comfortable", "Least legible", "hardest to get to", "Least affordable", "Least accessible (PWD)" and "hardest to use a go-card on"

Some of those are inevitable (affordability for example given longer overall trips), but others seem like QR needs to try harder. Legibility seems an obvious one (referred to in the report as "ease of use"). Rail is supposed to have natural benefits when it comes to legibility, but when rated on criteria including finding a station, figuring out your correct destination station, figuring out when and where to transfer (esp. to other modes), understanding the fares and using the ticketing system; trains do slightly worse than ferries and buses. Given the natural advantage, even doing the same would be something of a failure, but doing worse is terrible.

[ozbob]

I think that is an aberration. Related to parking and the fact one has to locate a reader on the platform etc

However there is definitely an issue with transfer legibility eg Goodna. Nothing to indicate on platforms that there are bus interchange facilities. It is a system wide issue and is a consequence of the fragmented bureaucracy.

Sent from my E2353 using Tapatalk

[hU0N]

^^ I think that's what I'm getting at Bob. And not just at Goodna. I think there's numerous interchange points on the network that would benefit from a bus logo on the City Train map and some "To Buses" signage on platforms. What would be even better would be listing the major frequent bus route numbers in the City Train map next to each railway station with an interchange facility. I notice that at some point the busway has been taken of the railway map, and this seems like a back step to me, but I don't suppose it'll ever change back.

But yeah. All of this is (to quote an advertising campaign) super simple stuff.

[ozbob]

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2015/12/20/public-transport-patronage-tracking-up-as-fares-freeze

Media Release
Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe

Public transport patronage tracking up as fares freeze

The Palaszczuk Government today announced a freeze on public transport fares across South East Queensland until 1 July, 2016 while the independent Fare Review is underway.

Minister for Transport Stirling Hinchliffe said the decision to freeze fares and not proceed with a scheduled annual CPI increase had been made to ensure commuters would not be impacted while the current fare structure in South East Queensland was being considered by the expert-led taskforce.

"The Palaszczuk Government is committed to restoring confidence in our public transport system and boosting patronage by delivering fair, affordable and sustainable fares across our network," Mr Hinchliffe said.

"That's why in August the Queensland Government appointed an independent taskforce of public transport experts to lead a comprehensive review of TransLink's fare structure in South East Queensland.

"In the spirit of fairness, while the taskforce continues its work, the Palaszczuk Government will suspend the projected annual CPI increase due in January 2016."

Mr Hinchliffe said affordability in public transport fares was a priority for the Palaszczuk Government because public transport patronage in South East Queensland declined under the former LNP Government – with two million fewer public transport trips recorded across the network.

"In stark contrast, public transport use has increased over the past few months under the Labor Government," he said.

"Public transport patronage increased by 3.1 percent between July and September 2015, with more than 47 million trips recorded on South East Queensland's public transport network."

The data was released today in the TransLink Tracker, a quarterly report of the performance of South East Queensland's public transport network that was scrapped by the former LNP Government.

"The Palaszczuk Government's decision to release the TransLink Tracker is about restoring accountability and transparency in our public transport network and overturns the former LNP government's decision to withhold this data from the community," he said.

Mr Hinchliffe said Queenslanders would have an opportunity to have their say on the future of public transport fares when the recommendations of the review are released.

"Queenslanders can be confident that the review will deliver a fair and affordable fare structure that will help boost patronage while delivering a sustainable fare revenue stream to allow the network to continue to grow," he said.

Public transport fares regional services will not rise in 2016 as the Bus Cost Index has not increased.

The Fare Review Taskforce is set to release its recommendations for community consultation early next year. Public transport patronage increased by 3.1 percent between July and September 2015, with more than 47 million trips recorded on South East Queensland's public transport network.

For public transport information, download the My TransLink app, visit www.translink.com.au or contact the TransLink call centre on 13 12 30, anytime.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

20th December 2015

Improved data reporting for PT in Queensland

Greetings,

We congratulate the  Minister for Transport Stirling Hinchliffe and the Palaszczuk Government on restoring the TransLink Tracker.

We agree that is fundamental that accountability and transparency in our public transport network is restored.  Thank you.

Well done Queensland Rail for the upgraded performance data reporting, particularly Service punctuality and reliability.

See --> http://www.queenslandrail.com.au/aboutus/ourperformance  This sets a new high standard of reporting for all operators.

We understand that more SEQ bus ontime performance and reliability data will be made available in future publications of the TransLink Tracker.  This is very welcome.  Aggregate figures do not tell the complete story.

Consideration could also be given for ferry performance reporting as well.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2015/12/20/public-transport-patronage-tracking-up

Media Statements
Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Public transport patronage tracking up

Public transport patronage increased by 3.1 percent between July and September 2015 compared with the same period last year, with more than 47 million trips recorded on South East Queensland's public transport network.

The data was released today by the Minister for Transport Stirling Hinchliffe in the TransLink Tracker, a quarterly report of the performance of South East Queensland's public transport network that was scrapped by the former LNP Government.

"The Palaszczuk Government's decision to release the TransLink Tracker is about restoring accountability and transparency in our public transport network and overturns the former LNP government's decision to withhold this data from the community," Mr Hinchliffe said.

"It's fantastic to see that after three years of stagnating under the former government's watch, patronage on our public transport network is growing and is up by 3.1 per cent.

"The last TransLink Tracker report was released more than three years ago, and under the former LNP government key performance data about our public transport network was not published in full drawing criticism from public transport advocates and national organisations.

"The decision to publish the full report honours our commitment to the people of Queensland to lead an open and transparent government and provide people with an easy to access document that informs then how we are working to make their public transport journey better.

"The full report provides a snapshot of South East Queensland's public transport network performance and ensures full transparency about patronage, on-time running, customer enquiries, go card use, customer satisfaction, passenger safety, fare evasion and service kilometres.

"Through the TransLink Tracker, the community can measure how we are progressing towards our goal of providing a safe, integrated, reliable and efficient transport system."

The first TransLink Tracker to be delivered under the Palaszczuk Government for the 1 July to 30 September quarter shows patronage increased across all public transport modes.

Key highlights in the Q1 2015-16 report compared with the same period last year include:

    More than 47.09 million trips on the South East Queensland network - an increase of approximately 1.42 million trips
    A 430,000 increase in bus trips, 305,000 increase in train trips and 40,000 increase in ferry trips
    An increase of than 640,000 trips on Gold Coast Light Rail from 1.24 million to 1.88 million

Mr Hinchliffe said the TransLink Tracker confirmed that affordability remains the weakest performing category.

"These results show that affordability continues to be a barrier to growing patronage on our public transport network," Mr Hinchliffe said.

"The Palaszczuk Government is addressing this issue and has appointed an expert-led taskforce to conduct a comprehensive review of TransLink's fares to improve affordability and meet the government's objectives of promoting fairness, affordability and patronage growth.

"Today the government also announced a fare freeze until 1 July, 2016 while the Taskforce Review is underway to ensure commuters will not be impacted while the current fare structure in South East Queensland is being considered."

Mr Hinchliffe said that from today Queensland Rail would also proactively publish (external site) a suite of performance data on its website every month about punctuality, reliability, safety, security and customer satisfaction.

The TransLink Tracker is available online https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/translink-division-quarterly-reports

For public transport information, download the My TransLink app, visit www.translink.com.au (external site) or contact the TransLink call centre on 13 12 30, anytime.

[bcasey]

Well well ...

on-time running

95.74% bus

97.65% train

Suddenly we find train is better than bus.  Always was.  Hopeful this new data might be a bit more objective.

I would treat these on-time running % with some scepticism, especially for bus.

For one, their bounds for being on time for rail (4 mins late, 4 minutes early, exc Sunshine and Gold Coast which is 6 mins late, 6 mins early), and for bus (6 minutes late, 2 minutes early) is very generous, compared to reports from other cities, so it would be much easier to achieve higher on-time running percentages. Unless they use similar bounds to other cities, it is not really feasible to make any comparisons between them.

Also, in the report, they do not give any indication on how the on-time running % was measured (please correct me if I've missed this somewhere in the report or elsewhere). Was it for all stops or just for timing points, or for a single stop on the service like the departure from the first stop or arrival at last stop? Was it on-time running for all services that are run, or just a subset, like the major high frequency ones, peak only, the ones that run along the busways, etc? For bus, are cancelled services or skipped stops excluded from the calculation?

I wouldn't consider this report to be truly transparent and objective, unless they are willing to describe how they produced these measures, and potentially release the raw data to allow for an independent verification of their results. It's a step in the right direction, yes, but at the moment, I would only consider it a token gesture.

[ozbob]

The bus data has always been cryptic.  I understand that subsequent editions of the Tracker will have further break ups of the bus data.

There is a secrecy in Queensland that is very unhealthy.

[ozbob]

With respect to rail, it is within 4 minutes or 6 minutes (interurban), NOT as you have suggested (early = doubling).  Trains don't run early, they are held if they get ahead.

In fact Queensland Rail has the tightest OT criteria in Australia.

With the exception of skipped station services, the OTP for rail is very accurate (they have the signalling records etc).  Bus is often fantasy it seems.

[#Metro]

It's not 95.74% bus, it's 95.74% * bus 

* Conditions, assumptions and lots of small legalistic writing apply. Statistic may not reflect reality.

I wonder how they are compiling the bus statistic now? Self report??
Theoretically, you could get whatever on time figure you wanted by widening the bands for what on time is. I mean, put a +/- 1 hour on the on time statistic, and all services would be "on time".

[ozbob]

In the days gone bye, they used to report bus reliability as 100% and OTP somewhere around 97 to 98%.  It was aberrant nonsense.

In fact the bus (even with the more generous timings) was better than class A ROW rail ...  total nonsense.

I constantly challenged the reliability particularly.  The response was to stop publishing it ... 

[ozbob]

Adelaide bus OTP

>> https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/About-us/On-Time-Running

^ This what real bus OTP looks like.  Not the fantasy bus OTP we have in SEQ ...

[ozbob]

Transperth Bus

>> http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/About/Surveys-Statistics/Bus-Service-Reliability

LOL

I think the bus OTP for SEQ is bubbles and butterflies ...

[bcasey]

With respect to rail, it is within 4 minutes or 6 minutes (interurban), NOT as you have suggested (early = doubling).  Trains don't run early, they are held if they get ahead.

In fact Queensland Rail has the tightest OT criteria in Australia.

With the exception of skipped station services, the OTP for rail is very accurate (they have the signalling records etc).  Bus is often fantasy it seems.

I stand corrected, thanks ozbob. I was going by what they had in footnote 1 on page 6, which I interpreted as being 4 minutes early or late, etc. I think their wording is a bit ambiguous there.

My main concern is with the bus OTP, very little detail on how it is measured, therefore it can't really be interpreted objectively.

[ozbob]

No worries.  QR really do very well wrt to OT and as a class A ROW they should.

Bus, even taken into account the very generous times allowed to be ' on time '  I still reckon it is fantasy.

The authorities MUST know the real bus OTP derived from the real time for all regions and routes.  Time they fessed up I reckon.

[hU0N]

Trains don't run early, they are held if they get ahead.

This isn't 100% true (or at least it depends on how you evaluate it). The 8:45 and 9:15 Springfield up services out of Roma St are timetabled to be held on the platform at Central to synch up with the clockface timetable. But in practice they frequently arrive at Roma St 2-3 mins after the scheduled arrival at Central (ie 6-10 mins ahead of their scheduled arrival time at Roma Street), and are held on the platform there. Which implies they are departing Central well in advance of the scheduled departure. Not sure if this technically constitutes early running, but I'd say the average person would call it that.

[ozbob]

As you have detailed, if they get ahead they are held.

[hU0N]

Point is, these two services (due to timetable fat) routinely get ahead of the schedule on the way into Central. But they are routinely NOT held at Central. The 9:13 service out of Central is often permitted to depart just after 9:05 and then spends 7-8 minutes on the platform at Roma Street.

Sure, the train is getting held eventually, but not before it leaves at least one station well ahead of the published departure time. If you measure OTP at fixed points at Bowen Hills and Roma Street, then sure, the train gets held and doesn't run early. But if you measure it continuously, or block by block, then it actually does run early, albeit briefly, and it runs early in a way that makes it less reliable for at least some passengers.

[hU0N]

I guess that this is probably for operational reasons, there is more space at Roma Street, so there is less chance a train held there will be inconveniently in the way off peak hour specials. Not to mention that peak hour specials terminate at Roma Street, so the specials can (presumably) more readily use any available platform here than at Central. Doesn't change the fact that this results in services departing Central before the published time.

[ozbob]

It does seem a little odd.  Due at Central at 9.05am and depart at 9.13am.  Looks like an operational fudge. If it happens regularly like you suggest then it needs sorting.  I have never noted that service to depart early but then again I do not observe it that often.

The point is that is very much an exception. Trains generally do not run early in the same way buses do.  Just look at the number of complaints about buses leaving early that TransLink gets.

Train OTP is real.  Bus OTP as reported is fantasy IMHO.

[verbatim9]

It does seem a little odd.  Due at Central at 9.05am and depart at 9.13am.  Looks like an operational fudge. If it happens regularly like you suggest then it needs sorting.  I have never noted that service to depart early but then again I do not observe it that often.

The point is that is very much an exception. Trains generally do not run early in the same way buses do.  Just look at the number of complaints about buses leaving early that TransLink gets.

Train OTP is real.  Bus OTP as reported is fantasy IMHO.

I think with the bus symbol indicating a bus connection they should have a bus symbol with the number of minutes due to departure in real time. The trams onboard PIDs on the Gold Coast display a bus symbol plus the route number but not the eta of departure in real time. This could be added.

[ozbob]

Sydney buses

http://www.statetransit.info/publications/quarterly

Eg. September  http://www.statetransit.info/publications/quarterly/quarterly-performance-information-september-2015

Page 5.

State Transit's on-time running is measured by Transport for NSW as part of its operating contracts. On-time running data is collected in the morning peak only, between 6am and 10am, over three separate days each month, across 11 different locations within State Transit's operating areas. These on-time running figures are not an accurate representation of State Transit's on-time running performance for all services across its operating network.
A bus service is deemed as having operated on-time if it starts its trip between one minute before and five minutes after its scheduled departure time.

^ at least they are upfront about it.

Contrast that bus information in their report to what we get here in SEQ ...   

[ozbob]

It's not 95.74% bus, it's 95.74% * bus 

* Conditions, assumptions and lots of small legalistic writing apply. Statistic may not reflect reality.

I wonder how they are compiling the bus statistic now? Self report??
Theoretically, you could get whatever on time figure you wanted by widening the bands for what on time is. I mean, put a +/- 1 hour on the on time statistic, and all services would be "on time".

SEQ has the greatest bounds for bus OT in Oz land ... lol  It is a deeply ingrained plot to try to make things appear better than they actually are.

Rail has the tightest in the Oz land.  Every other state does it wrong of course ..   

They would get away with it except for the few voices in the wilderness that call " bullsh%t! "

[SurfRail]

I basically consider these Trackers to be meaningless.

When they start reporting on-time running and patronage by individual route, come back to me.

[#Metro]

I think the next thing should be breakdown by operator/region. Obviously a bus on the Gold Coast is different to a bus in Ipswich is different to a bus on the Sunshine Coast is different to a bus in Brisbane. It doesn't make sense to average over all of them.

Indeed, I would suggest that the reliability in non-Brisbane areas is much higher than in Brisbane, because congestion is far less. The averaging process is likely to skew the figure towards the higher reliability. So my guess is that the Brisbane region the reliability is much lower, particularly for peak services.

[James]

I basically consider these Trackers to be meaningless.

When they start reporting on-time running and patronage by individual route, come back to me.

Individual routes might be too vague, particularly if you're looking at the reliability along a particular corridor. The list would be too long and unless OTP summed, meaningless e.g. the P458 or 446 being '100% on time' - not hard with only 3-4 services per day.

A starting point would be reporting OTP for individual regions - the five Brisbane regions (Inner city, South, East etc.) and each other sub-region (GC, Moreton Bay, Ipswich etc.). You'd probably see enough patterns from that alone to make decent changes.

[SurfRail]

I basically consider these Trackers to be meaningless.

When they start reporting on-time running and patronage by individual route, come back to me.

Individual routes might be too vague, particularly if you're looking at the reliability along a particular corridor. The list would be too long and unless OTP summed, meaningless e.g. the P458 or 446 being '100% on time' - not hard with only 3-4 services per day.

A starting point would be reporting OTP for individual regions - the five Brisbane regions (Inner city, South, East etc.) and each other sub-region (GC, Moreton Bay, Ipswich etc.). You'd probably see enough patterns from that alone to make decent changes.

They can of course do both.  Outside of Brisbane the individual route is going to be far more relevant than in the BCC area as there are very few corridors with multiple services outside the Logan and Redland peaks.

[hU0N]

What method would be best to calculate OTP?

One method I thought of is bus OTP could be calculated on a stop by stop basis, weighted by numberof touch on/off, then averaged.  If the average exceeds a certain standard, the bus is 'late'. This way, due to the effect of the weighting, a bus could become late by missing a minor stop by a large margin, by missing a string of smaller stops by small margins, or by missing a majorstop by a small margin.

This seems to me to avoid most of the pitfalls of fixed point pass/fail calculations, and would be hard to game (by padding the timetable at the measurement ooint for example).

[ozbob]

Individual routes might be too vague, particularly if you're looking at the reliability along a particular corridor. The list would be too long and unless OTP summed, meaningless e.g. the P458 or 446 being '100% on time' - not hard with only 3-4 services per day.

A starting point would be reporting OTP for individual regions - the five Brisbane regions (Inner city, South, East etc.) and each other sub-region (GC, Moreton Bay, Ipswich etc.). You'd probably see enough patterns from that alone to make decent changes.

That is what I hope will be done for subsequent editions of the Tracker ...

viz.  OTP for individual regions - the five Brisbane regions (Inner city, South, East etc.) and each other sub-region (GC, Moreton Bay, Ipswich etc.)

This will a lot more meaningful than the present ' aggregate figure ' ...

Consolidated route information OTP / reliability should be available on line, not necessarily published in the Tracker.  Similarly more detailed information on patronage (all modes), route stop and line and station etc.