Public transport services complaints double: Public Transport Ombudsman

SICK of waiting for trains, buses and trams? You’re not alone. Complaints about unreliable Melbourne public transport services have more than doubled in the space of a year.

FRUSTRATED passengers are becoming fed up waiting for public transport, with complaints about unreliable services more than doubling in the space of a year.

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The Public Transport Ombudsman warned dissatisfaction could continue as pop­ulation and growth major projects put pressure on the city. It comes as a month of maintenance and level crossing removal work is set to produce travel headaches for passengers on train lines.

New figures released today in the Ombudsman’s annual report show 20 per cent of cases handled by the watchdog are now related to service ­delivery.

In the past financial year, reliability complaints surged by 111 per cent to a total of 137, while cancellation issues increased by 29 per cent to 90.

Public Transport Ombudsman Treasure Jennings.

Ombudsman Treasure Jennings said service issues would continue to rise across the network, with bus delays and cancellations a major source of frustration for customers.

“This shift in complaints was expected given the growing pressure on the public transport network, stemming from various sources including patronage growth, increasing traffic and congestion and the disruption caused by the many major transport projects such as the removal of level crossings,” she said.

Commuter chaos at Flinders St station earlier this year. Picture: Cheryl Critchley

Myki complaints decreased but remained the most popular area of concern, with 990 ­issues raised compared to 1176 in the previous year.

Over the next month, commuters have been warned to expect major delays as work ramps up on maintenance and level crossing removal projects.

From today, buses will replace trains between Coburg and Upfield until December 17, and trip times may increase by as much as 30 minutes.

Between November 30 and December 5, buses will also replace trains during track work from Parliament to Camberwell and Richmond to Darling stations.

Peak-hour commuters at these stations have been warned to allow for delays of up to 70 minutes and 40 minutes respectively.

Metro spokesman Marcus Williams said the disruptions were caused by important network upgrades. “The vast majority of maintenance works are carried out overnight and on weekends but occasionally major upgrades require closures for several days,” he said.

“We are carrying out important signalling upgrades on the Belgrave, Lilydale, Alamein and Glen Waverly lines.”

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Full list of changes at metrotrains.com.au/planned-works/