Transwa
Transwa is the brand and operating name of the public transport system operated by the PTA which provides road and rail passenger services to regional centres in the southern half of Western Australia.
Statement of Objectives
Transwa’s objective is to provide customer-focused, safe and cost-effective passenger transport services for regional Western Australia.
Key indicators of performance for Transwa in 2005/06 were services to arrive at their destinations within the acceptable parameters set for punctuality:
- Prospector – within 15 minutes for 90 per cent of services
- Australind – within 10 minutes for 90 per cent of services
- AvonLink – within 10 minutes for 95 per cent of services
- MerredinLink – within 10 minutes for 95 per cent of services
- Road coaches - within 10 minutes for 95 per cent of services
and 90 per cent passenger satisfaction across all rail and road coach services.
Service
The total of passenger place kilometres for road coaches increased slightly as a result of the completion of the delivery of the new fleet of road coaches (56 seat capacity) which occurred in 2004/05.
The passenger place kilometres for rail services began the recovery to the levels of previous years following recent equipment upgrades to the new Prospector railcars and general improvements in reliability.
On-Time Running
The road coach services continued to perform to target, with consistent on-time running across the last four financial years.
The improvement in the on-time running of the Prospector in 2005/06 is representative of improved reliability of the railcars as some major problems were overcome late in the year. Continued improvement is expected in the future.
The introduction of new railcars for the AvonLink and MerredinLink services in August 2005 also resulted in improvements in the on-time performance of these services.
Customer Satisfaction
Although overall customer satisfaction levels remained consistent with previous years, Transwa initiated a number of measures to provide improved levels of service to its customers.
Cost Efficiency
There were some adjustments in the cost per passenger kilometre as a result of changes in the allocation of overhead costs between road and rail services and lower passenger kilometres due to reliability issues with the Prospector.
Passenger Safety
Very few instances of anti-social behaviour which threatened the safety of other passengers were experienced during the year. Transwa continued to receive an excellent response from local police when situations arose on the services.
Prospector and AvonLink trains are equipped with closed-circuit television monitoring of the passenger cabins and a similar system is being considered for the Australind.
Patronage
Total patronage on Transwa services increased by 2.4 per cent compared with 2004/05, mainly due to increases on the Australind and AvonLink services.
Revenue/Expenditure
The 10 per cent increase in revenue was a reflection of the annual increase in fares coupled with a 2.4 per cent increase in overall patronage figures.
Expenditure increased due to a number of reasons including rising fuel prices and wage increases.
Service Information
The introduction in August 2005 of a new train for the AvonLink service as well as equipment upgrades for the Prospector railcar sets boosted the overall on-time performance for the year and promises to deliver further improvements for 2006/07.
Transwa road coach operations continued to provide a high level of service, with excellent on-time performance and a high level of amenity provided by the new fleet of five-star coaches.
In the Future
Transwa will continue to provide customer-focused, safe and cost-effective passenger services and will increasingly focus on delivering a high level of customer service.
To ensure it understands customer requirements, Transwa has committed to engaging with community groups and to communicate with its customers.
Work will continue on reviewing services around the State to ensure that appropriate changes are made as the requirements of customers’ change.
Review of Performance
Trains
Description of Services
Transwa operated 62 scheduled rail services every week during 2005/06 covering four distinct services.
On the South West Railway between Perth and Bunbury, the Australind train operated 28 services per week. The Prospector operated 18 times a week (nine services each way) between East Perth and Kalgoorlie. The AvonLink operated 10 services a week from Northam to Midland on weekdays and the MerredinLink provided an all stops service between East Perth and Merredin and return each Monday, Wednesday and Friday (six services per week).
These services operated a total of 969,161 service kilometres.
The train fleet consists of 14 railcars made up of seven Prospector railcars, two AvonLink railcars and five Australind railcars.
Transwa employs 17 railcar operators based in Perth and Bunbury.
The on-board services on the Australind are provided by eight Bunbury based on-train staff while a contractor provides the on-board services on the Prospector, AvonLink and MerredinLink.
From February to April of 2006, Transwa released one Prospector train at a time for equipment upgrades designed to improve mechanical reliability. These upgrades resulted in immediate improvements in on-time performance and renewed confidence in the Prospector service, as the following graph shows.
The performance of the Australind service recovered from the disruptions caused by a five-month re-sleepering program in 2004/05. The new high- quality track offered greater comfort and improved running times for Australind services. Unfortunately, the year’s on-time performance does not show a significant improvement over previous years due to signalling problems caused by vandalism of signalling wire at Mundijong in March 2006. With repairs under way at year’s end, it is expected that the Australind’s on-time performance will improve during 2006/07.
Patronage
Patronage levels have remained virtually unchanged for the last three years. The reduction in Australind patronage in 2004/05 was due to track re-sleepering works which resulted in some services being replaced by road coaches.
Customer Satisfaction
Note: The AvonLink service was included in the survey for the first time in 2004/05.
The effect of improvements in the on-time running performance of the Australind was offset by falls in satisfaction with the AvonLink and Prospector services.
A number of measures were being implemented at year’s end to improve the level of service and it is expected that an increase in customer satisfaction will result.
Infrastructure
An Australind refurbishment program began during the year and will continue in 2006/07. Under the program, the passenger saloon areas and mechanical equipment of the Australind rollingstock are being upgraded.
The installation of an additional maintenance pit further improved facilities at the new Kewdale Railcar Depot. This permits both routine and unscheduled maintenance of Transwa railcars to be carried out simultaneously. The depot now provides facilities for servicing, repairs, cleaning, provisioning and secure stowage together with driver management and book-on offices.
Commonwealth funding was arranged, and a formal agreement is expected soon, for extensions to the crossing loops on the railway between Perth and Kalgoorlie which will improve the on-time performance of both the Prospector and MerredinLink services.
Road Coaches
Description of Services
Transwa operates road coach services on a comprehensive network which extends to Kalbarri, Geraldton and Meekatharra in the North, Augusta, Pemberton and Albany in the South West and Esperance in the South East. The Transwa road coach service is a vital transport link to many small communities in the southern half of Western Australia.
During the year, Transwa operated 144 separate road coach services each week and employed 32 road coach drivers for its fleet of 22 five-star coaches.
The Year’s Developments
A range of modifications was undertaken on the road coach fleet during 2005/06 to improve the safety and comfort for passengers and staff. These include modifications to the coach luggage bins and doors, installation of privacy blinds and air-conditioning boost fans for drivers and additional protection for the steering gear.
Additionally, minor improvements were made to the road coach depot in East Perth.
Patronage
Patronage for the road coach services remained relatively consistent with previous years.
Customer Satisfaction
Transwa’s attention to its customers’ needs, and the high levels of comfort, reliability and on-time performance of its fleet of five-star coaches, were reflected in the continuing high level of customer satisfaction.
Infrastructure
Transwa introduced systems to closely monitor the performance of the coach fleet to assist in improving maintenance. This will provide important information for Transwa in considering the optimal time for fleet replacement.
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