A WEEK ON PTV
I experienced the Public Transport Victoria (PTV) for more than a week continously and it has been a learning experience after I hear many people cribbing about the 'bad' bits of it. I hopped on with an open mind and here is my analysis;
The Good:
- On Wednesday I traveled from Springvale to Williams Landing and did not have to wait more than 5min for the next connecting train or bus. This made my loong journey quite time effective on the whole and very comparable to driving the same distance at peak hours.
- Trains at peak hours to and from the city is every 10-11min and provided it is all running on schedule, you save your frustration on road congestion and can reach your destination well on time.
On Thursday morning I overheard a man saying, "I'm taking the train today as the Westgate has been horrific the last three days!"
- You experience the local life in your city, school kids, family talks, business talks and university blues. It's entertaining to watch people in their everyday life compared to you driving all alone for hours stuck in traffic.
- Lastly, if you have a bad experience with PTV you can lodge a complaint and there is follow up to your case with a case number assigned to you and investigation on the topic.
Well my complaint's outcome hasn't been decided yet but I've been pleasantly surprised by the follow up emails telling me that I have been brushed off as another person complaining. Feeling like you are being heard is a big plus.
- On Wednesday I traveled from Springvale to Williams Landing and did not have to wait more than 5min for the next connecting train or bus. This made my loong journey quite time effective on the whole and very comparable to driving the same distance at peak hours.
- Trains at peak hours to and from the city is every 10-11min and provided it is all running on schedule, you save your frustration on road congestion and can reach your destination well on time.
On Thursday morning I overheard a man saying, "I'm taking the train today as the Westgate has been horrific the last three days!"
- You experience the local life in your city, school kids, family talks, business talks and university blues. It's entertaining to watch people in their everyday life compared to you driving all alone for hours stuck in traffic.
- Lastly, if you have a bad experience with PTV you can lodge a complaint and there is follow up to your case with a case number assigned to you and investigation on the topic.
Well my complaint's outcome hasn't been decided yet but I've been pleasantly surprised by the follow up emails telling me that I have been brushed off as another person complaining. Feeling like you are being heard is a big plus.
The Bad:
- Most days you do not get a seat on train/bus/tram during peak hours. You wonder why you pay so much for a hard
A bit of leg exercise anyone?
- Apparently 10-12min delays are 'Minor Delays' as per PTV! If that is the standard of delays then it's obvious that 2-3min delays are not worth announcing to passengers at all.
- There is difference between the services to the East and West of Melbourne. I have caught trains from the east spot on time or even 2 min earlier once. The speed of the train was much faster and they even apologized for the 'delay' when the train had only halted outside the station for 30sec! Now that's called paying heed to quality service and respect for time.
Unfortunately, these are not things I say about the services in the west.
- Most days you do not get a seat on train/bus/tram during peak hours. You wonder why you pay so much for a hard
A bit of leg exercise anyone?
- Apparently 10-12min delays are 'Minor Delays' as per PTV! If that is the standard of delays then it's obvious that 2-3min delays are not worth announcing to passengers at all.
- There is difference between the services to the East and West of Melbourne. I have caught trains from the east spot on time or even 2 min earlier once. The speed of the train was much faster and they even apologized for the 'delay' when the train had only halted outside the station for 30sec! Now that's called paying heed to quality service and respect for time.
Unfortunately, these are not things I say about the services in the west.
The Ugly:
- When there a train breakdown for any reason, all other trains get delayed by 15 - 20min which is more than the time difference between two consecutive trains running on time and hence few trains are cancelled.
The cancelled trains are not replaced by extra services which should be the case so the passenger load can be taken into account. With the usual crowd the trains are packed after two stopped, with cancelled trains, most people cannot even get on board the next train and end up waiting for the next delayed service.
In my week of travel this happened once, but that day's rush and lack of proper replacements compelled me to lodge a complaint!
- When there a train breakdown for any reason, all other trains get delayed by 15 - 20min which is more than the time difference between two consecutive trains running on time and hence few trains are cancelled.
The cancelled trains are not replaced by extra services which should be the case so the passenger load can be taken into account. With the usual crowd the trains are packed after two stopped, with cancelled trains, most people cannot even get on board the next train and end up waiting for the next delayed service.
In my week of travel this happened once, but that day's rush and lack of proper replacements compelled me to lodge a complaint!
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