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. Transwa’s purpose is to provide a customer-focussed, safe and cost-effective public transport service to regional Western Australia.

To achieve this, it is recruiting the right people and planning safe, clean and reliable services to meet customers’ current and future needs.

Transwa monitors its performance against a range of non-financial and financial aspects 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.	The 2009 PSM indicated that Transwa increased overall customer satisfaction to its highest level at 92 per cent. In order to deliver a more efficient service to our customers, additional features of the new web-based call management system were activated offering customers greater choice.
To provide safe and cost-effective passenger transport services for regional Western Australia.	Transwa’s emphasis on safety continued. Transwa staff received training on safety legislation, regulations and systems as well as the implementation of fatigue management strategies.
Services to arrive within acceptable punctuality parameters.	Transwa maintained a high-level of OTR across all of its services, with the following results: Australind - 82 per cent of services arrived within 10 minutes of schedule AvonLink - 99 per cent of services within 10 minutes of schedule MerredinLink - 83 per cent of services within 10 minutes of schedule Prospector - 77 per cent of services within 15 minutes of schedule Road Coaches - 95 per cent of services within 10 minutes of schedule

OBJECTIVE

OUTCOME

To provide customer-focussed passenger transport services for regional Western Australia.

The 2009 PSM indicated that Transwa increased overall customer satisfaction to its highest level at 92 per cent. In order to deliver a more efficient service to our customers, additional features of the new web-based call management system were activated offering customers greater choice.

To provide safe and cost-effective passenger transport services for regional Western Australia.

Transwa’s emphasis on safety continued.

Transwa staff received training on safety legislation, regulations and systems as well as the implementation of fatigue management strategies.

Services to arrive within acceptable punctuality parameters.

Transwa maintained a high-level of OTR across all of its services, with the following results:

Australind - 82 per cent of services arrived within 10 minutes of schedule

AvonLink - 99 per cent of services within 10 minutes of schedule

MerredinLink - 83 per cent of services within 10 minutes of schedule

Prospector - 77 per cent of services within 15 minutes of schedule

Road Coaches - 95 per cent of services within 10 minutes of schedule

Review of performance

Service reliability

The key performance indicator for service reliability is OTR and the targets for 2008/09 were:

Prospector	80 per cent of services to arrive within 15 minutes of schedule
Australind	80 per cent of services to arrive within 10 minutes of schedule
AvonLink	95 per cent of services to arrive within 10 minutes of schedule
MerredinLink	95 per cent of services to arrive within 10 minutes of schedule
Road Coaches	95 per cent of services to arrive within 10 minutes of schedule

The road coaches maintained a high level of reliability with 95 per cent of services arriving within 10 minutes of the scheduled arrival time, continuing a long-held record of performance at or above target.

Results for the AvonLink also remained high at 99 per cent but the MerredinLink and Prospector services both experienced delays as a result of track speed restrictions placed around culvert and track worksites. This resulted in an on-time performance of 83 per cent for the MerredinLink and 77 per cent for the Prospector.

The Australind’s performance was pleasing at 82 per cent given the nine-month program of works undertaken to replace wooden sleepers on the SWM (South West Mainline).

As expected, OTR has improved since the completion of works.

Trends in patronage

Overall patronage decreased by four per cent in 2008/09 largely driven by a 15 per cent drop in patronage on the Australind - a result of disruptions because of track works. This result is also reflective of the impacts of the economic downturn in the latter half of the year, as evidenced by a scaling back of the patronage growth experienced by the Prospector earlier in the year.

Passenger satisfaction

A high level of customer satisfaction was achieved in 2008/09 with 92 per cent of passengers either satisfied or very satisfied. These results are especially pleasing because increases occurred across all service modes except the MerredinLink which slipped marginally.

Passenger safety

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

Efficiency

There was an overall increase in the cost of providing Transwa services due to the provision of contract coach services in lieu of the Australind during track upgrades, and increased spending on maint enance of both trains and coaches.

A range of cost efficiencies was achieved in the reservations and ticketing area through alignment to normal business hours and the introduction of a more efficient phone system. The enhancement of Transwa’s website commenced, and it is expected that over time more customers will book online, providing further efficiencies.

Revenue and expenditure

There was a two per cent decrease in revenue in 2008/09, driven by a fall in ticketing and catering revenue on the Australind as a result of lower patronage.

Expenditure in 2008/09 was slightly higher (0.5 per cent) than in the previous year but 5 per cent higher than budgeted due to maintenance spending on railcars and coaches to extend their life and maintain the required high levels of safety and reliability. The need to hire coaches to provide a replacement service for the morning Australind over nine months also increased cost.

Service information

Major track upgrade work was completed early in 2008/09, enabling a return of normal Prospector services. However, speed restrictions at other worksites impacted OTR performance, which ended the year at 77 per cent. Prospector patronage levels experienced strong growth in the early part of the year but retracted to a year-end increase of 1.1 per cent, as the impact of the global financial downturn struck.

Contract rail replacement coaches were used in place of some Australind services for a nine-month period while old wooden sleepers were replaced and other track upgrades completed on the SWM. These disruptions led to a reduction in passenger numbers of 15 per cent in 2008/09, and a 14 per cent reduction in revenue. Despite the significant impact of speed restrictions around worksites, the Australind’s OTR ended the year on a healthy 82 per cent.

As with the Prospector, the OTR performance of the MerredinLink dipped in 2008/09 to 83 per cent as a result of speed restrictions. These did not affect the AvonLink, which achieved 99 per cent OTR. AvonLink patronage ended the year slightly up (0.4 per cent) while MerredinLink patronage slipped by 4.1 per cent.

The provision of additional services during the SWM disruption meant that passenger numbers on Transwa’s road coach services increased by 0.9 per cent during 2008/09. This reversed the downward trend of previous years, and it is expected that increases will continue as a result of recent changes to services in the mid-west. The coaches maintained a high level of reliability at 95 per cent.

In the future

The commercial branch will continue to implement initiatives aimed at improving customer service and information. Following the recent refreshment of the Transwa website and introduction of online booking facilities for SmartRider concession cardholders, further enhancements are planned to permit online booking for other concession types.

In conjunction with the Federal Government and other State Governments, Transwa extended concessions to interstate Senior Card holders from 1 July 2009. WA Seniors cardholders will enjoy the same benefits in other states.

Detailed preventative maintenance programs will be implemented for Transwa’s railcar and coach fleets to ensure an on-going high level of safety and reliability. Refurbishment and modifications to the Australind and Prospector railcars will also continue in 2009/10 to improve customer amenity and achieve cost efficiencies in cleaning.

Transwa trains

In 2008/09, Transwa’s 62 scheduled weekly train services were provided by a mix of rail and road due to the unavailability of rail access during periods of track upgrade work on both the Eastern Goldfields Railway (EGR) and the SWM.

Four distinct train services were operated.

The Australind offers two daily return services between Perth and Bunbury, making 28 trips a week. For a nine-month period between September and May this was provided by a mix of rail and contracted road coaches services while upgrades were carried out on the SWM.
The Prospector offers 18 services a week between Perth and Kalgoorlie. For a six-week period at the start of 2008/09 this was provided by a mix of rail and contracted road coaches because of the EGR track works.
Between Northam and Midland the AvonLink provides two services a weekday, with the exception of public holidays.
The MerredinLink provides an all-stops service between East Perth and Merredin six times a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) except for public holidays.

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

Transwa employed 17 railcar operators based at East Perth and Bunbury. The on-board services on the Australind are provided by Bunbury-based Transwa staff, and a contractor provides on-board services on the Prospector, AvonLink and MerredinLink.

The year’s developments

Replacement of the carpet and galley flooring in the Prospector railcars began in 2008/09 and will provide benefits in appearance and ease of cleaning.
New seats for the Australind railcars were ordered, and the ongoing maintenance program provided a high level of reliability. Repainting of the railcars to increase their visibility was completed.
Contracted rail replacement road coaches provided weekday morning Australind services for an extended period in 2008/09 while a track upgrade program was undertaken between Pinjarra and Brunswick Junction. These disruptions saw patronage fall 15 per cent but careful planning prior to the disruption was reflected in the on-time performance of both the Australind and connecting coach services.
Transwa’s commitment to safety was again reflected in the low numbers of rail-related incidents.

Patronage

Prior to the commencement of track upgrades on the SWM, train patronage was up by 7.5 per cent mostly due to strong growth on the Prospector, AvonLink and Australind services.

As a result of the extended period of disruption to the normal Australind service and the economic downturn, patronage on Transwa train services ended the year down by 8.1 per cent.

Patronage on the Australind decreased by 15 per cent and on the MerredinLink by 4.1 per cent.

The Prospector, helped by its strong performance early in the year, finished with an increase of 1.1 per cent for 2008/09, while AvonLink patronage increased by 0.4 per cent.