Performance
Performance
Yarra Trams is committed to keeping tram services reliable whilst improving them. We are required to deliver a minimum of 95% of tram services with the ultimate aim of providing 100% of all advertised tram services.
In order to do so, we will continue to look at ways to upgrade the tram network infrastructure and improve traffic and road management in conjunction with the Victorian Government, VicRoads and local councils.
In addition, Yarra Trams will continue to provide additional services during special events and anticipated periods of heavy passenger loading, where possible.
Yarra Trams is committed to meeting and exceeding the requirements of our Operational Performance Regime (OPR), which provides incentives and penalties related to punctuality and reliability.
Drivers are not supposed to re-open doors for passengers who approach a tram stop when they are ready to move off. This is to enable trams to run according to their timetables, which is something that benefits all passengers. To help maintain the reliability of our service we ask passengers to be at the stop prior to the arrival time of the tram. Real-time tram arrival information can now be obtained over the phone or via SMS
through Yarra Trams tramTRACKER™.
Penalties apply whenever a tram service differs from its schedule by more than one minute. The penalty is proportional to the divergence – for example, a tram running three minutes late is penalised three times as much as a tram running one minute late.
Incentives can be obtained through the OPR when the total number of delays is below a target agreed to by Yarra Trams and the Director of Public Transport.
During peak periods, trams drivers sometimes pass through some stops without picking up any passengers if another tram travelling to the same destination is close behind, especially when the tram has reached capacity. This is to avoid delaying other trams and to ensure the safety and comfort of our passengers.
Late or Cancelled Services
The major objective of Yarra Trams is to provide a regular and reliable transport service. However, it is not always possible to anticipate fully where or when incidents may occur that will cause delays. Delays to tram services throughout the network usually occur during peak times as a result of heavy motor vehicle traffic or incidents along the route. This may result in some late running of services.
Although Yarra Trams attempts to improve these types of situations, the service adjustments that we make are sometimes not enough to alleviate delays completely.
Platform stops in the CBD are equipped with Passenger Information Displays (PIDs) which show the expected arrival time of the next tram on each route. Yarra Trams is planning to increase the number of PIDs at major stops across the network, progressively.
In addition, Yarra Trams has launched tramTRACKER™, a service that provides real-time tram arrival information directly to your phone. Using your Tracker Stop ID you can either
SMS 199YARRA (19992772) or
call 1300 MY TRAM (1300 69 8726).
For more information on tramTRACKER™, referto the Services section of this document.
Factors Influencing Performance
Yarra Trams is subject to many outside influences that can have an impact on operational performance. Obviously traffic congestion and road accidents can have a detrimental impact on keeping a tram to a timetable. This is why the Think Tram program (refer next page) is so important in achieving operational improvement.
It is important for passengers to be waiting at the stop when the tram arrives. If a tram has to wait for passengers at even a few stops along the route, it will not be able to keep to the timetable. This inconveniences passengers already on board and those waiting down the line.
Please remember to hail the approaching tram to ensure that the driver knows you want to board. It is the driver’s responsibility to open doors to allow intending passengers waiting at the stop to board, and then depart. Once the tram is ready for departure, the driver is under no obligation to re-open the doors for passengers who were not waiting at the tram stop. Re-opening doors once a tram is ready to depart impacts on the overall punctuality of the service. Remember the driver is also watching other motorists and traffic signals and is not on the lookout for latecomers approaching trams which are ready to depart.