Victoria’s public transport minister is claiming a rise in bus, train and tram punctuality
December 2, 2011
Melbourne and Victoria’s train, tram and bus users have benefited from improved punctuality while the satisfaction of train and taxi passengers rose significantly in the September quarter 2011, Public Transport Minister Terry Mulder says.
He says the Department of Transport’s September quarter public transport performance results show a significant rise in metropolitan train punctuality with 90.3 per cent of trips officially on time, a rise of 7.9 per cent compared with the June quarter 2011.
“This is the best result since the December 2008 quarter,” Mulder says.
Melbourne’s famous tram network received a boost from the report, with Mulder saying trams recorded the best quarterly punctuality for at least a decade in the September quarter 2011.
He says 82.6 per cent of trams officially ran on time averaged at monitoring points along each route, up 1.6 percent over the previous quarter.
On the bus front, the trend is up, but only slight, with 94.2 per cent of Melbourne’s buses officially on time in the September quarter 2011, up from 93.8 per cent for the September quarter 2010.
But Mulder was keen to spruik the much maligned Metro and V/Line trains, saying both had significantly improved on-time running.
“V/Line’s country trains recorded their best punctuality for two years with 88.4 per cent of trains arriving officially on time in the September 2011 quarter, 3.6 per cent better than in the same quarter of 2010,” he says.
“Patronage is continuing to rise on Melbourne’s trains as passengers notice the more consistent timekeeping.”