Passengers' frustrations with public transport disruptions have led to an increase in complaints to the Public Transport Ombudsman.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Data released by ombudsman Treasure Jennings said overall complaints to the Public Transport Ombudsman office had increased by 21 per cent.
Ms Jennings said the rise in complaints was largely about Public Transport Victoria, Metro Trains and V/Line. Yarra Trams and bus operator complaints have stabilized.
She said complaints about disruptions to public transport services had increased by 54 per cent.
"People who are caught up in unplanned public transport disruptions need to be provided with clear and consistent information about what is going on and their alternative travel options," Ms Jennings said.
"Everybody's needs are different. We want to make sure that when things go wrong people are kept up to date and have all the information they need to make decisions that are in their best interest.
"People need consistent information across all channels and well-informed staff on the ground to help them."
Ms Jennings said the increase in disruption complaints was understandable given the amount of work and planned disruptions across the entire public transport network.
In the 2018/19 financial year, the Public Transport Ombudsman received 2201 complaints - an increase of 503 compared to the previous 12 months.
Issues with staff, service delivery and ticketing were the top three issues people contacted the Public Transport Ombudsman about.
Staff issues number 2036 in the last 12 months - an increased from 886 issues the previous year.
Ms Jennings said the increase was largely due to changes in how the Ombudsman's office records staff complaints.
"While improvements to our reporting processes make it difficult to compare this year's figure to last year's, the fact that staff is now the number one issue indicates that public transport operators have room for improvement in how they train and support their staff," she said.
"Complaints about staff include concerns about conduct, customer service failings and a lack of responsiveness to complaints."
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.