Adelaide’s public trains on time more often than Melbourne’s privatised trains
Adelaide public transport ran more efficiently than Melbourne’s did last year – data the Opposition says shows the risks of privatising the network as the Victorians did.
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- Government calls for private operators for trains and trams
- Opposition promises to reverse privatisation if they win next election
- Rail privatisation plan to cost $3m
Adelaide’s publicly-operated trains ran on schedule 97 per cent of the time in 2019, making them more prompt than Melbourne’s privatised trains, new statistics reveal.
The figures, published on the Adelaide Metro and Victoria’s Metro websites, show Melbourne’s privately-run trains were only punctual 90.4 per cent of the time last year.
The data also revealed Adelaide’s trams arrived at their destination on time 95.8 per cent of the time in 2019 while Melbourne’s trams were on schedule just 82.7 per cent of the time.
The Opposition warns the statistics serve as more proof that the State Government’s plan to privatise Adelaide’s train and tram network is a bad idea, describing the data as “a stark reminder of the pitfalls of privately-run public transport”.
The SA Government last year announced it would privatise the operation of Adelaide’s tram network in 2020 and its train system in 2021.
It emphasised that infrastructure and ticket prices would remain under public control. Bus operations are already privatised.
The “on-time” figures come as one of the companies in the running to take over the city’s rail network is set to be stripped of its contract to operate the United Kingdom’s Northern Rail system because of unacceptable service levels.
The UK Government has started a process to rip up Deutsche Bahn’s 10-year contract, issued in 2015, due to trains routinely running late, with only one in two services operating on time.
The Government will either completely oust the company, which is Europe’s largest rail operator, or replace its existing contract with a short-term one.
As The Advertiser reported in December, Deutsche Bahn is among the companies short-listed to run Adelaide’s trains and trams.
Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas said numerous private operators across the UK were failing to provide a reliable service and this should be seen as a red flag for the SA Government.
“The Marshall Liberal Government chose to highlight the UK as a shining example of
privatisation – yet the record shows that privatisation in the UK is failing and there are
moves to bring train services back into public ownership,” he said.
Mr Malinauskas also said Melbourne’s poorer “on-time” results were a sign of things to come in Adelaide once the rail system was privatised.
“Imagine going to a (tram) station and knowing there’s a one in five chance you’ll be waiting and waiting and waiting?” he said.
“That’s the reality for Victorians with their inferior, privately-run public transport.”
Mr Malinauskas, who reiterated his pledge to return the trains and trams to public hands if Labor wins the 2022 State Election, said the figures were “just another example of why this decision to privatise trains and trams in South Australia is a wrong one”.
“Wherever there has been privatisation of trains and trams overseas or even interstate, what we see is a decline in the service and an increase in the cost to the person who is commuting on the trains and trams,” he said.
Both Adelaide and Melbourne’s train services are considered “on time” if they arrive at their destination no later than four minutes and 59 seconds after the scheduled time in their timetables.
Transport Minister Stephan Knoll said the existing system was “not working as well as it should”.
“What we’re seeking to achieve here, and will achieve, as part of this outsourcing program is to help improve the way our public transport services operate,” he said.
“But at the end of the day, the metric by which a transport system needs to be measured is the number of people who choose to use it – On time running is only one part of the equation.”
Mr Knoll said price, frequency, safety and cleanliness also played a part in determining the quality of a service.
He said the contract drawn up by the Government would ensure the private operator would be held to account.
A Government spokesman said Labor were “hypocrites who privatised over $5 billion of assets when they were last in Government”.
“There is a robust and comprehensive independent procurement process that will ensure all companies competing for the tender can deliver better services for South Australians,” he said.