Refund Plan For Late Trains A Gimmick, Says Carr
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday January 11, 2001
The Premier yesterday rejected an Opposition idea to reimburse CityRail customers for late trains as a power failure stranded thousands of commuters at North Sydney station.
A power cut at 8.20am caused signal failure on the network. The problem was fixed by 9am, but delays continued until about 10.30am.
Ten trains had to pull into stations and wait, leaving travellers stranded.
Some North Sydney passengers took to walking across the Harbour Bridge, while CityRail put on buses between Wynyard and Gordon.
The Opposition's refund idea, based on a model operating in Melbourne, includes offering compensation if trains run more than 15 minutes late, or if they are dirty or overcrowded.
But Mr Carr said the proposal, estimated to cost between $5million and $10million, was a gimmick.
He said commuters did not want a refund; they wanted the trains to run on time and the money to be invested in maintenance, new tracks andcarriages.
Last month less than 88 per cent of trains ran close to time under targets which allow delays of up to three minutes for suburban trains and five minutes for intercity trains. The target is 92 per cent. During the Olympics 94 per cent on-time running was achieved.
The Opposition transport spokesman, Mr Barry O'Farrell, said his proposal would entitle passengers to refund vouchers to the value of their journey if CityRail breached its customer charter.
He had drafted such a charter a document CityRail was asked to develop two years ago by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal. It included undertakings for reliable, safe, clean and uncrowded trains, as well as good information and customer service.
Commuters could fill in a form if they believed any of the undertakings had been breached, and deposit it in special boxes at stations. They would then be sent a refund voucher to use as credit for their next ticket purchase, he said.
But Mr Carr said such a plan would be a drain on the budget.
``It would mean millions being paid out to commuters money that commuters aren't asking for, and that money wouldn't go in where it's needed.
``It would be money ultimately taken from the maintenance of carriages or improving the track or building new track so that all-station trains can be overtaken by express trains."
© 2001 Sydney Morning Herald
