Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Melbourne's grumpy train commuters

I couldn't help but chuckle after reading about this survey of Australian train commuters see here . It would seem that Melbourne has the grumpiest commuters in the country? But perhaps it's not that surprising, as Melbourne's train operator - Metro Trains - appears to be completely out of its depth when it comes to running this State's complex and antiquated rail system.
As I've mentioned previously, their management style has not endeared them to their workforce, and while you can push around a hapless customer service attendant, try that with the train driver's union (perhaps the last dinosaur on earth?) and you'll soon realise what you're up against.
In order to play hardball you need to have leverage, and Metro management are quickly finding out that when the system is run entirely on goodwill, perhaps the carrot is a better tactic than the stick? Metro have met their monthly performance target three times since taking over in November 2009......an appalling statistic! But what's so curious about all this is that the Government AND Opposition have had virtually nothing to say about it. The reason being that the previous Government recruited Metro, an embarrassing blight on their CV, while the new Government is stuck with them and probably just praying that everything will magically get better......one day?
But with each passing month the pressure just keeps building on the operator, and each new excuse starts to look tiresome. At some point that pressure will explode when least expected and the Government will go into panic mode and start to make rash decisions.
The State really is in a bind at the moment, while their natural conservative leanings may have them cheering on the union busting tactics of the Operator, they also well and truly know that at the end of the day, the public will always blame the Government for inaction and poor performance. Just ask John Brumby, the Frankston corridor of seats cost him Government.
But there is one ray of sunshine for the Government, their new State transport planning authority is in the works, which will (hopefully?) be modeled on its world's best practice equivalents in Zurich and Perth. And considering that Perth had the best commuter satisfaction rating in the country, this new body can't come soon enough!

1 comment:

  1. So, what's the update on all this?

    Savvas Tzionis

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