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Public Transport Victoria

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Public Transport Victoria
Company typeStatutory authority
IndustryPublic transport
Founded2 April 2012
HeadquartersMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
Area served
Victoria
Websitewww.ptv.vic.gov.au

Public Transport Victoria (stylised as PT>) is the statutory authority responsible for promoting, providing and coordinating public transport in the State of Victoria, Australia. The agency was created by legislation passed by the Victorian Parliament in November 2011. PTV formally commenced its activities on 2 April 2012 taking over from the Director of Public Transport and the Department of Transport and also assumed responsibility for the marketing of public transport in Melbourne from Metlink and responsibility for the myki ticketing system.[1][2]

Governance

The corporate entity which encompasses PTV (a trading name) is the Public Transport Development Authority or PTDA. The PTDA was established by the Transport Legislation Amendment (Public Transport Development Authority) Act 2011[3] which positioned the agency under the State's primary transport statute, the Transport Integration Act. The legislation provides that the "...primary object of the Public Transport Development Authority is to plan, coordinate, provide, operate and maintain a safe, punctual, reliable and clean public transport system....".[4]

Key functions

Government expectations

In introducing the legislation, the Minister for Public Transport, the Hon Terry Mulder MLA, observed that:

"This bill is an essential step to fix the problems in Victoria's public transport system.

The PTDA will focus on the basics of a good public transport system. It will be responsible and accountable for achieving significant improvement in the reliability, efficiency and integration of public transport services across the state. In a key change of focus, the new authority will put passengers first.

It will operate as the face of public transport, providing a single shopfront for passengers and stakeholders.

No longer will Victorians have to endure the confusion, the blame shifting and the frustration that characterised the state's troubled public transport system over the previous decade."[5]

Contracting activities with train, tram and bus operators

The most prominent responsibilities of PTV concern the contracting of transport operators to provide train, tram and bus services in Melbourne and Victoria. Accordingly, the agency procures these services through operators entering into and managing franchise contracts. The key franchise contracts transferred to PTV from the Director of Public Transport relate to:

Train and tram services in Victoria are governed by complex statutory, Government and commercial relationships.

VicTrack is the custodian of all rail infrastructure and assets in Victoria. VicTrack leases the infrastructure and assets to PTV through the Metropolitan Infrastructure Head Lease. PTV then sub-leases the assets to the metropolitan train and tram operators through the Infrastructure Leases. PTV manages the rights and obligations contained in these leases on behalf of the State. PTV also enters into franchise agreements with the metropolitan train and tram operators that govern the provision of public transport services. The franchise agreements specify a range of operational and service requirements administered and managed by PTV.

In relation to regional rail services operated by V/Line Corporation, similar arrangements are entered into with VicTrack and PTV. VicTrack leases the regional rail infrastructure and assets to PTV who then sub-lease these assets to V/Line under the Regional Infrastructure Lease. Similarly, PTV and V/Line have entered into a franchise agreement which governs the operational and service requirements for regional rail services.

PTV's position in transport portfolio in Victoria

PTV is one of the subordinate statutory agencies in the Victorian transport portfolio whose activities are coordinated by the Department of Transport. These agencies can be divided into three main types - statutory offices, statutory authorities and independent transport safety agencies.

Together with DOT, the agencies provide, manage and regulate transport system activities in Victoria including -

Statutory offices

The statutory offices include -

These agencies are part of the Department of Transport but each has a distinct statutory charter and powers.[8]

Statutory authorities

The statutory authorities[9] are -

These agencies are structurally separate from the Department of Transport.[10]

Independent transport safety agencies

The independent transport safety agencies[11] are -

These agencies are part of the Department of Transport but are functionally independent and report to the relevant Ministers.[12]

Key people

The inaugural chairman and chief executive of PTV is Ian Dobbs, who ran the Victorian Public Transport Corporation from 1993 to 1998,[13] and who prior to that had worked for British Rail since 1977. During 1999-2005 Dobbs continued in railway management, engaged by financial institutions to turn around poorly performing railways around the Pacific Rim. From 2005 in the UK, until his return to Australia on 5 September 2011, he became Chief Executive of Stagecoach Group rail and light rail services divisions, although later relieved of that position, and Director of ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) and a member of the National Task Force for Rail in the UK[14] and member of and advisor to the British Transport Police Authority, Deputy Chairman Rail Value for Money study, a Department for Transport/Office of Rail Regulation jointly-sponsored project, and Director of RC&M Services (UK) Ltd consultancy[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Ashley Gardiner (22 March 2012). "Transport bureaucrats told to hit the road". Herald Sun. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ "Public Transport Victoria now operating". 1 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  3. ^ See section 3, Transport Legislation Amendment (Public Transport Development Authority) Act 2011.
  4. ^ New section 79AD added to the Transport Integration Act by section 3 of the Transport Legislation Amendment (Public Transport Development Authority) Act 2011
  5. ^ Hon Terry Mulder MLA, Hansard, Legislative Assembly, 14 September 2011, page 3210.
  6. ^ Note, some shipping matters are controlled by the Commonwealth government under legislation such as the Navigation Act 1912. Other matters are within the jurisdiction of states such as Victoria through Acts such as the Transport Integration Act and other statutes such as the Marine Act 1988.
  7. ^ Note, many air transport regulation matters are controlled by the Commonwealth Government. The Transport Integration Act would apply, for example, to planning controls at some airports and in respect of transport connections to other airports by road and rail.
  8. ^ For information relating to the Director of Public Transport, see Division 1 of Part 5 of the Transport Integration Act 2010. The charter and powers of the Transport Infrastructure Development Agent are set out in Division 4 of Part 3 of the Transport Integration Act 2010.
  9. ^ See Parts 5 and 6, Transport Integration Act 2010.
  10. ^ The Act establishes these agencies as structurally separate bodies with their own legal personality. For example, section 81(4) of the Transport Integration Act 2010 establishes VicRoads as a "body corporate" which "may do and suffer all acts and things that a body corporate may by law do and suffer".
  11. ^ Part 7, Transport Integration Act 2010.
  12. ^ Section 194, Transport Integration Act 2010.
  13. ^ Clay Lucas (24 August 2011). "Comeback for Kennett-era transport chief". The Age. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Ian Dobbs biography on British Transport Police website". Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  15. ^ "British Transport Police Fund Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2011 © British Transport Police Authority (2011)" (PDF). Retrieved 18 May 2012.

External links

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