New report highlights NSW’s late running trains and unreliable buses

ROADS are more clogged, trains are more crowded and some of the busiest bus routes are the most unreliable. No wonder commuters are frazzled.

Overcrowded trains from Parra

IF YOU’RE in a rush to get home after work you might not want to bank on the train with a new report revealing that the vast majority of non-suburban afternoon departures regularly run late.

But driving might not be the answer either with motorists taking longer than ever to travel on traffic clogged roads.

A report by the NSW Audit Office examining the state’s transport network also found more people were crowding onto Sydney’s trains, and bus services in the outer suburbs were more reliable than those in the inner city. It also found 15,000 Opal card readers had broken down during the year. But it’s not all bad news with most suburban trains running to time.

Labor has said the report showed Sydney was “slowing down” and the government needed to get the basics of public transport right.

More than two thirds of intercity services in the afternoon peak ran late, the report found, with less than 30 per cent of trains on lines to the Central Coast, Blue Mountains and Wollongong, operating on time. Although, overall, intercity services were punctual 87 per cent of the time, this was below target and lower than last year.

Suburban services were more reliable beating punctuality targets of 92 per cent on-time performance but, again, trains were less reliable than in 2014.

Transport for NSW (TfNSW) said trains were delayed or cancelled due to unavoidable issues ranging from sick customers and breakdowns to hazardous weather conditions including bushfires and flooding.

The report’s authors recommended TfNSW focus its spotlight on the government-owned State Transit after it was revealed bus services around the inner city failed to meet punctuality targets for the third year running.

While most areas did see improvements in bus reliability, commuters in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, where there are few alternative transport options, saw reliability go backwards.

In contrast, private bus operators in the outer suburbs all exceeded reliability targets with the biggest improvements seen in Bankstown. All of Sydney’s ferry services also exceeded their punctuality aims.

More than 12,000 extra bus services had been introduced since 2011, TfNSW told news.com.au. The body said they were working with State Transit to improve on-time running with improvements of around five per cent over the last year.

“State Transit operates bus services in some of the most challenging environments in Sydney, both in terms of congestion and the geographic size of its contract regions,” a spokesman said. “Improvements have been noticed by customers.”

Free trips abounded in 2014 with Opal card readers breaking down on 15,000 occasions with buses experiencing the most breakdowns of the tap-on tap-off machines.

More than 100,000 Opal cards had a negative balance meaning people in NSW owe almost half a million dollars in unpaid fares.

“The reality is this report shows that Sydney is slowing down,” Ryan Park, shadow transport spokesman, told news.com.au.

“More buses are running late, commuters are spending a greater amount of their day in cars and now it is revealed that the Opal card system is breaking down at a rate of 30 machines per week.

“The Government urgently needs to focus on getting the basics right and getting the city moving again.”

The Greens transport spokeswomen, Dr Mehreen Faruqi, said the Premier was more interested in photo opportunities with a hard hat than focus on better transport services.

“Decades of under investment in the rail system has led to these abysmal statistics such as only one in three afternoon peak services running on time.

“Regional rail services are the lifeblood of our communities throughout NSW. It is disappointing to see the long legacy of neglect of rural rail services being continued by the Baird Government.”

Despite the peak hour crush, Sydney train passengers enjoy significantly less crowded trains than other global cities, the report said. But the average number of people on peak hour trains has increased on nine of the twelve suburban lines with passengers on the Western line facing journeys where the carriages are at 137 per cent capacity at times.

Meanwhile, motorists are taking longer to get to and from work with average travel speeds on Sydney’s roads in the afternoon rush hour falling from 36.0 to 35.2 kilometres per hour.

“Transport for NSW is committed to delivering the best possible service for customers,” a spokesman said. “Our experts monitor the network closely and where we notice issues, such as overcrowding, we will look to address them.”

Originally published as New report highlights NSW’s late running trains and unreliable buses