City passengers rail against delays

By SCOTT MacLEOD

When Pat Shaw arranged to have lunch with her daughter in central Auckland yesterday, she thought it would be nice to catch a train for the first time.

At 12.20pm, the retired 70-year-old was still waiting at the Glen Eden station for a train that was meant to have left for the city 51 minutes earlier.

"I'm getting a little impatient, to put it mildly," she said.

Other commuters opted yesterday for outright angry revolt after Tranz Metro trains failed to show up.

Commuters on the western line refused to pay their fares from Glen Eden after the 7.29am train did not appear and the 7.59 arrived late.

One witness said up to 150 people were waiting by the time the train eventually arrived. He said one woman who loudly demanded a free ticket, jumped off after travelling just one station.

Among other commuters to have demanded free tickets this week are a crown prosecutor yesterday and a group of Waitakere College students on Monday.

The latest revolts are part of ongoing problems for Tranz Metro. Last month, passengers and staff on the western line ended up in a Mexican stand-off after commuters refused to pay for a late train and conductors would not allow it to move.

The Consumers' Institute suggested yesterday that passengers may have a good legal basis for refusing to pay.

Spokesman Simon Wilson said that, under the Consumer Guarantees Act, services had to be provided with reasonable care and skill, and the Fair Trading Act required a service to meet its description.

Mr Wilson said people who got on a late train would probably have to pay because they were accepting the service, but there were stronger arguments for people who pre-paid their tickets.

The Guarantees Act allowed action for "consequential losses", and it could be argued that losing pay for being late to work was a consequential loss.

Tranz Metro spokeswoman Sue Foley said the morning Glen Eden train was cancelled because of a mechanical problem.

It was unfair for passengers to place train staff in the difficult position of refusing to pay.

"We can well understand people being frustrated, but all we can do is apologise," she said.

Tranz Metro had set a goal of having no more than 22.5 per cent of its trains running more than five minutes late by next month.

The figure was 30 per cent at present, and had been as bad as 50 per cent.

"I was at the airport the other day and Qantas cancelled a flight and nobody bothered," Ms Foley said. "But with the trains, everybody seems to go overboard."

Commuters have complained about the train services since the downtown Britomart station opened on July 25. Services have struggled because passenger numbers are up 32 per cent on last year, the old engines break down, and the tracks are giving problems.

Tranz Metro said 35 to 40 per cent of the delays are caused by passengers being too slow to board their trains.

The Herald understands the Auckland Regional Council is poised to buy extra trains to ease the problems. It understood they will be ready for use in April.

Transit New Zealand said yesterday that getting people out of their cars and on to public transport was critical for tackling traffic jams, despite plans for a third harbour crossing.

Meanwhile, Mrs Shaw did manage to catch a train into Auckland yesterday - 63 minutes late.

"This is the first time I've taken the train," she said. "And probably the last."

Keeping track

* Tranz Metro provides train services to West and South Auckland. Tranz Metro is operated by Tranz Rail but most of the diesel units are owned by Auckland Regional Transport Network. The Auckland Regional Council is responsible for all passenger travel in the region.

* 2.24 million Aucklanders travel by train each year.

* The average train delay is 8 to 12 minutes.

* The main causes of delay are passengers slow to get on and off trains (35-40 per cent), track-related problems (25 per cent) and engine reliability (20 per cent).

* Complaints about the trains can be made to Rideline on (09) 366-6400.