Legislation to create Victoria’s Public Transport Development Authority was introduced into state parliament this week
September 16, 2011
Victoria looks likely to get its new public transport arm after legislation to create the Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA) was introduced into the state’s parliament this week.
Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder says
the new Authority would be up and running in the first quarter of 2012.
“The new authority will be the face of public transport and will be responsible for planning, coordinating and integrating transport services throughout Victoria,” Mulder says.
He says the Authority will focus on the core business of public transport – ensuring trains, trams and buses run on time and that timetables are simple and reliable.
“For too long Victorian commuters have suffered a system in which services are routinely late or cancelled, passenger information is unreliable and infrastructure is poorly maintained,” Mulder says.
“We say Victorians deserve better and this new authority will ensure they get what they deserve.”
The legislation introduced into Victoria’s parliament this week will enable the PTDA to be created as a Transport System Agency under the Transport Integration Act 2010.
Mulder says extensive research has gone into the structure and governance of the new Authority to ensure the ‘best arrangements’ are in place to deliver the ‘best outcomes’.
“Establishing the new authority through legislation ensures it can be properly scrutinised by Parliament which is critical when one of the things we want to overcome is ‘accountability-dodging’ within the transport management sector,” says Mulder.
“The current tangled web of bureaucracies allows agencies to shift blame and avoid responsibility but this will be a thing of the past under the new authority.”
Mulder confirmed Ian Dobbs would be the PTDA’s inaugural CEO and Chair, and would officially commence in the role once the legislation is enacted by the end of October.
The PTDA’s primary objective is to ensure Victoria’s public transport system operates as part of an integrated transport system which seeks to meet the customer service needs of all users.
The Authority will also promote economic prosperity through efficient and reliable movement of public transport users while also supporting rail freight services.
A further objective will be to improve public transport safety.