Transwa

Transwa is the brand and operating name for the road and rail public transport system serving regional centres in the southern half of Western Australia. Our purpose is to provide a customer-focussed, safe and cost-effective public transport service to regional Western Australia.

We monitor our performance against a range of non-financial and financial indicators such as customer satisfaction, OTR and cost per passenger kilometre.

Objectives and outcomes

OBJECTIVE	OUTCOME
To provide customer-focussed passenger transport services for regional Western Australia	We maintained a high level (90 per cent) of overall customer satisfaction, with cleanliness, punctuality and staff manner rating highly, reflecting a commitment to continuous improvement.
To provide safe and cost-effective passenger transport services for regional Western Australia	While maintaining an emphasis on safety, we continued to look for opportunities to lift our commercial performance without compromising our high level of customer service.
Services to arrive within acceptable punctuality parameters (within 15 minutes of schedule for the Prospector and within 10 minutes of schedule for all other services)	OTR improved in most areas with Australind, AvonLink, MerredinLink and Road Coach services maintaining consistently high levels, though Prospector services were adversely affected by speed restrictions around track and culvert worksites For the Australind, 95 per cent of services arrived within the acceptable parameter; for the AvonLink 98 per cent, the MerredinLink 92 per cent, the Prospector 75 per cent; and the Road Coaches 98 per cent

Review of performance

Trends in patronage

Overall patronage fell by 2.1 per cent from 2009-10’s 456,022, to 446,637, driven largely by a 5.8 per cent slide in Australind numbers and a 15.9 per cent downturn in AvonLink passengers.

Transwa: Total patronage

Service reliability and information

The key performance indicator is OTR and 2010-11 targets were:

Prospector - 90 per cent of services to arrive within 15 minutes of schedule
Australind - 90 per cent (10min)
AvonLink - 95 per cent (10min)
MerredinLink - 95 per cent (10min)
Road Coaches - 95 per cent (10min)

The combined effect of WestNet Rail’s (now Brookfield Rail Pty Ltd) rolling program of track upgrade work, speed restrictions around culvert and track worksites, and crossings with other trains impacted on the Prospector’s OTR, which ended the year at 75 per cent, though this was still an improvement on the 72 per cent in 2009-10.

Transwa: OTR performance

The OTR performance of the other trains was good - the AvonLink remained very strong at 98 per cent (98 per cent previously), the Australind was 95 (95) per cent and the MerredinLink was 92 (87) per cent - with the Prospector’s 75 (72) per cent reflecting some of the same factors which affected this service in previous years.

The Road Coaches maintained a high level of reliability - 98 (97) per cent of services arrived within the time parameter, continuing a long record of meeting or bettering performance targets.

Passenger satisfaction

Overall customer satisfaction was maintained at a very high level. The Transwa PSM conducted in the second half of the year, showed that 90 per cent of our passengers were either satisfied or very satisfied. This result is the same as the previous year’s.

Transwa: Customer Satisfaction

Passenger safety

Transwa continued to provide a very safe service for customers through its commitment to safety systems, procedures and processes. The number of passenger injuries during the year remained low.

Efficiency

The average cost per road coach passenger kilometre was up 10 per cent, from 2009-10’s $0.20 to $0.22, while the rail equivalent went down 2.3 per cent, from $0.44 to $0.43.

Transwa: Average cost per passenger kilometre

Revenue and expenditure

Revenue was up 1.5 per cent, from $10.26 million in 2009-10, to $10.41m. At the same time, expenditure was fractionally higher than in 2009-10 - up 0.9 per cent from $45.79m to $46.22m, due to general cost pressures.

Transwa: Revenue ($ million)

Transwa: Revenue ($ million) by service

Transwa: Expenditure ($ million)

In the future

Transwa will continue to implement initiatives to improve customer service and information. Plans are under way for the construction of a shop front on Platform 3 at Perth Station. This will provide improved service for Australind customers and offer an outlet delivering the full range of Transwa’s ticketing and information services.

During 2011-12 we will seek to replace the existing booking system with a more functional and modern system.

Transwa trains

The train fleet consists of 14 railcars - seven Prospector, two AvonLink (also used to provide MerredinLink services) and five Australind railcars. We run four distinct services:

The Prospector provides a daily service (and two on Mondays and Fridays) each way between Perth (the East Perth terminal) and Kalgoorlie for a total of 18 services a week
The Australind operates two daily return services between Bunbury and Perth for a total of 28 services a week
The AvonLink provides an early-morning weekday (except public holidays) service from Northam to Midland, returning early each evening, for a total of 10 services a week
The MerredinLink provides an all-stops return service between Perth (the East Perth terminal) and Merredin on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (except public holidays), for a total of six services a week

In 2010-11 Transwa employed 17 railcar drivers based at East Perth and Bunbury. Australind onboard services are provided by Bunbury-based Transwa staff; a contractor provides services on the Prospector, AvonLink and MerredinLink.

The year’s developments

The Prospector underwent a major upgrade with the engines, transmissions and bogies all being replaced and a new inter-car communication and assistance system fitted to all the railcars. The interior decor was also upgraded, with the vinyl in the saloons being replaced by carpet to improve overall aesthetics and amenity.

New seats were manufactured and fitted into the Australind railcars to improve passenger amenity.

Patronage

Patronage on Transwa rail services fell 3.2 per cent from 2009-10’s 241,484, to 233,711. After a small slip in the previous year, Prospector numbers went up slightly, from 87,188 to 90,418 but this was more than offset by lower results for the Australind, AvonLink and MerredinLink services.

The substantial downturn in AvonLink numbers (down 15.9 per cent) reflected a drop in early-morning commuter demand. Australind patronage fell 5.8 per cent from 2009-10’s 129,228, to 121,778, with a major contributing factor being the continuing impact of the new Forrest Highway, which has significantly reduced the time of road travel.

Transwa Trains: Patronage