Through these initiatives we have seen passenger numbers grow by more than 4%.

Rail

Towards the end of the year, Swanston Trams and Bayside Trains were renamed under the M>Tram and M>Train brands, creating an integrated brand under the marketing banner of “Moving Melbourne”.

Across M>Tram , M>Train and V/Line nearly 1,000 extra services a week have been added to the weekly schedules. We have worked closely with the Victoria State Government on a number of initiatives, including options for fast rail links to regional cities. With Victoria’s population growing at 1% per annum, we a re looking to expand existing rail services into new residential growth areas. We committed over A $1bn of investment to new rolling stock, this will provide 62 new trains for M>Train and 59 new trams for M>Tram for delivery between 2002 and 2005. We have also started to introduce refurbished rolling stock on M>Train services.

Buses

We provided buses and coaches as part of the national effort to support the Sydney Olympics. It was widely agreed that the transport services that supported the event were a major contributor to the Games’ overall success.

Improved timetabling and service delivery resulted in an increase of over 10% in passenger numbers at National Bus Company for the first time in five years. Southern Coast Transit in Perth broadened its core business to include 18 school bus contracts in October and a second Central Area Transit (CAT) service in November.

The future

In December, Craig Wallace, who has more than 15 years’ transport experience in Asia Pacific, was appointed Chief Executive of our Australian operations. He will seek opportunities to increase our presence in the Australasian market and Asia Pacific.

During 2001, Melbourne-based passengers will begin to experience the benefit of our investment with rebranding, an A$40m train station improvement p rogramme and better customer service information.

Bus patronage is forecast to increase as a result of improving the linking of services and redirecting fleet resources towards areas of increasing demand. We will increase our focus on working with local and state Governments to improve access and priority measures for bus services in Melbourne and its inner suburbs.

Service

Twenty-five million people use Westbus services each year.

Efficiency

The efficiency of Melbourne’s M>Tram network has
been enhanced by investment in new tracking systems
which enable us to manage the fleet better.