NEWS RELEASE: Transport authorities warned on fares submissions
Sydney's public transport bureaucrats have been warned to sharpen themselves 
up before calling for fare rises this year.

In a submission to the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART), 
the commuter watchdog Action for Public Transport (APT) has reminded bus and 
ferry operators and government departments of IPART's criticisms of their 
2004 fare-increase submissions.

A spokesman for APT, Allan Miles, said that in last year's determinations, 
IPART noted many shortcomings both in the agencies' submissions calling for 
higher fares, and in their general management procedures.

Mr Miles said that the criticisms included:
<ul>
<li>revenue growth coming mainly from fare increases well above inflation
<li>little revenue growth from rising patronage
<li>no plans to encourage patronage or manage peak usage of services
<li>lack of detailed information on efficiency measures
<li>the level of increase sought not justified either on a cost basis or from 
a business plan
<li>examples of interstate fares are unrepresentative and not consistent with 
public perception
<li>performance measurement processes do not provide sufficient information to 
make a detailed assessment of service quality
<li>no information provided on service improvements in terms of greater 
frequency, or faster times or greater comfort
<li>inadequate performance criteria and reporting processes
</ul>
"If the authorities want fares rises, they must justify them to an 
independent body, and not just put their hands in commuters' pockets," Mr 
Miles said.

Mr Miles said that IPART is conducting a review of bus and ferry fares and 
is calling for submissions from transport authorities and from the general 
public.

"APT is taking the initiative in this review," Mr Miles said, "and has 
proposed its own new fare schedule." "We propose a three percent increase in 
single bus fares and TravelTens," he said. "This will maintain the TravelTen 
discount at around the current 20%." Mr Miles said that the Ministry of 
Transport wants to reduce the discount to an unacceptable level of 15%.

Since fare harmonisation in January 2005, State Transit and private bus 
fares are the same.

"APT has also proposed a maximum five percent increase in single ferry fares 
and in FerryTen tickets," Mr Miles said.

"We recommend no increases in TravelPass tickets," he said, "because there 
is no increase in rail fares, and there have been excessive increases in 
TravelPass prices over recent years."

<b>Contact</b>: Allan Miles 9516-1906