Article: Passenger growth underestimated again

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Passenger growth underestimated again

Passenger growth underestimated again

Stephen Moynihan
February 4, 2008

PASSENGER numbers on Melbourne's public transport system will exceed forecasts for the third year in a row amid claims the State Government has failed to manage the impact of petrol prices and interest rate hikes.

This year passengers will make 10 million more train and tram trips than targeted in last year's budget papers.

Documents obtained by The Age under freedom of information reveal the actual growth in passenger numbers across Melbourne's rail network is expected to be 10%. Last year's budget papers forecast growth of 7%.

Greens MP Greg Barber said passenger growth had exceeded targets for the past three budget years.

"The petrol price has been on a steady upward trend since the invasion of Iraq in June 2003 and surged 17 cents in two months from June 2005," Mr Barber said. "Since 2003, public transport usage has risen sharply ? now 50 million trips per annum, or about one third, higher."

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen called on the state and federal governments to make major investments in Melbourne's public transport network.

Mr Bowen said new rail lines were needed to connect the outer suburbs and fill in missing links to Rowville, Doncaster and South Morang.

"Investing in urban and regional rail networks would cut through congestion, cut transport emissions, cut oil imports and cut household petrol bills," Mr Bowen said.

But Mr Barber was more critical, saying the State Government had failed to plan for its ambitious targets to get more Victorians on public transport. "When the growth, for reasons totally outside their control, did appear, they were caught napping," he said. "Imagine what sort of growth we would get if the Government actually made serious investment in boosting the speed and coverage of public transport."

A spokeswoman for Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the Government was working hard to address patronage growth and is implementing a $10.5 billion plan to meet future challenges.

She said the recent order of 18 new trains would carry an extra 14,000 people during the peak periods.

"We have now developed a database using information gained over several years to isolate what sort of problems occur at which times of the day and in what locations," Connex's general manager of customer service, Geoff Young, said.