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2008/19: Should conductors be returned to Melbourne trams?<BR>

2008/19: Should conductors be returned to Melbourne trams?

What they said ...
'We've got to get back to staffing the system full time [with conductors], to make people feel safe, to stop graffiti and to collect revenue'
Green MP, Greg Barber

'All around the world now, systems of ticketing are automatic. You know, I think that's the most efficient way of operating the network'
Victorian premier, John Brumby

The issue at a glance
On July 13, 2008, The Sunday Age published excerpts from a report it had commissioned from RMIT transport economist, John Odgers.
The report claims that it would be relatively inexpensive to reinstate conductors on Melbourne's trams as they would reduce fare evasion and lead to an increase in commuter patronage of trams. The report also claims that there would be a large number of further, incidental benefits that would be gained from putting conductors back on the trams.
Several transport users groups, worker associations and others have supported the call to reinstate conductors. The Victorian Government, however, has discounted the proposal, placing faith in its new myki smartcard ticketing system.
There is no agreement likely between the opposing groups.

Background
Trams and conductors around the world
(The following is an edited version of the Wikipedia entry for 'Conductor (transportation)'. The full entry can be read at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conductor_(transportation)

Many tramways which operated through the earlier part of the 20th Century were designed for operation by a crew of two or more. The conductor primarily collected fares and signalled the driver when safe to depart from stopping places. The conductor also assisted with shunting when necessary, changing the trolley pole and attended to passengers' needs.
Modern vehicle design and ticketing arrangements have largely done away with the need for conductors on light rail systems. However in recent years a number of modern tram or light rail systems have introduced (or re-introduced) conductors to minimise fare evasion and to provide customer care, supervision and security functions, even in situations where a second crew member is not strictly needed on account of the vehicle design or operation.
In Britain, Birmingham-Wolverhampton and Sheffield modern tram system have both started using conductors due to problems with ticket machine reliability.

Modern mass transit systems which operate with conductors on trams include:-
Glenelg Tram - Adelaide, Australia.
Metro Light Rail - Sydney, Australia.
GVB Amsterdam - Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Midland Metro - Birmingham / Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.
Blackpool tramway - Blackpool, United Kingdom, on pre-World War II vehicles.
Nottingham Express - Transit Nottingham, United Kingdom.
RET Rotterdam - The Netherlands.
Sheffield Supertram - Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Melbourne trams and conductors
Conductors worked on Melbourne trams for over 100 years. They sold tickets, helped elderly or disabled passengers and also parents with prams and young children. They gave directions to tourists or others unfamiliar with the city and made sure the trams were safe and clean.
The jobs of tram conductors were threatened under the Cain Labor Government as it sought to cut the increasing cost of maintaining Victoria's public transport system. The role of tram conductor was then abolished under the Kennett Liberal Government, which privatised public transport and introduced Metcard, an electronic ticketing system. No tram conductors were employed after 1998. Fares have since been purchased from a variety of ticketing machines as part of a system which relies on commuter honesty and employs some 250 ticket inspectors.

Internet information
Wikipedia's entry covering the current operation and some of the history of 'Trams in Melbourne' can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne

On February 10, 1993, The green Weekly published a news item which outlined the terms of an agreement the Kennett Government reached with the Australian Tramway and Motor Omnibus Employees Association to allow the Government to remove all tram conductors from trams. The text of the article can be read at http://www.greenleft.org.au/1993/87/4657

In April 2007, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) released a report titled, 'Victoria's public transport: Assessing the results of privatisation', written by Richard Allsop, Richard Allsop, a Research Fellow of the Institute of Public Affairs. He also is a consultant with Melbourne-based consulting firm Globe Communications and from 1992 to 1999, was Senior Adviser and then Chief of Staff to the Ministers for Transport in the Kennett Government.
The report judges privatisation of Victoria's public transport system a 'reasonable success'. The full text of the report can be read at http://www.ipa.org.au/library/ALLSOP_Transport.pdf

On July 15, 2008, the ABC's Radio Australia broadcast a report detailing the Victorian Government's statement that it would not reinstate tram conductors. The transcript of this report can be found at http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200807/s2304658.htm

On July 20, 2008, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA) posted an opinion piece (also published in The Age) from one of the Institute's Research Fellows and the Editor of the IPA Review, Chris Berg. The piece is titled, 'Connies a nostalgic symbol of lost community spirit' and it outlines a range of depersonalising social and commercial developments which have made Melbournians nostalgic for the days of the return of the tram conductor.
The full text of the piece can be found at http://www.ipa.org.au/news/1644/connies-a-nostalgic-symbol-of-lost-community-spirit-

The pro conductor site 'Melbourne Tram Conductors: 10th anniversary of Melbourne's last tram conductor' has a detailed list of the services tram conductors used to perform and additional services they could now provide for commuters.
This site can be found at http://www.tramconductors.net/reintroducing_conductors.php

The Public Transport Users' Association has a section of its Internet site on which it challenges the claim that reinstating conductors on trams would cause a dramatic rise in fares. The Associations arguments can be found at http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/staff.shtml

On July 28, 2008, The Age Education 'Issues in the news' section provided a treatment of the question 'Time to backtrack on connies.' This can be found at http://www.education.theage.com.au/pagedetail.asp?intsectionid=0

A detailed history of trams in Melbourne can be found at http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Trams_in_Melbourne_-_History/id/5540281

Vicsig aims to be the most comprehensive resource for information about all aspects of trams and trains in Victoria. Chris Gordon, the creator of Vicsig, has been publishing railway information on the internet since 1997.
On July 21, 2008, Vicsig published an article originally published in The Sunday Age on July 13, 2008, and titled, 'Connie comeback may solve city's transport woes"
The article details John Odgers' findings and may be read at http://www.vicsig.net/?page=news&id=1752

Arguments in favour of reinstating conductors
1. Conductors reduce fare evasion
A recent study by RMIT University has found reinstating tram conductors would save millions of dollars lost through fare evasion. An Age editorial of July 15, 2008, stated, 'There is a strong economic case for restoring conductors to a tram system that is beset by fare evasion and a history of faulty ticket systems.'
Referring to claims that automatic ticketing systems are efficient, the editorial stated, '"Efficient" is an odd word to use in describing a system in which more than 10% of tram travellers are fare evaders, if the official estimate of the public transport marketing agency, Metlink, is to be believed. Twelve years ago, when conductors were still a familiar part of tram travel, only 1.7% of passengers were evaders. The actual number now may be much higher than Metlink's figure, and has been as high as 25%. According to RMIT transport economist John Odgers, an estimate of 13.5% is close to the mark.'
In research commissioned for the Sunday The Age:  Mr Odgers has argued that restoring conductors to the system would recoup $250 million over the next ten years that otherwise would be lost to fare evasion.
It has further been claimed that the proposed new ticketing system, the myki smartcard, is also shaping up to be financially problematic. These smartcards are now expected to cost $850 million to introduce and $550 million to operate over 10 years.
Critics claim that predictions such as these make the reintroduction of conductors appear a far more cost effective means of preventing fare evasion.
In January 2008 it was estimated that fare evasion across trains, trams and buses in Victoria is now about 10 per cent, meaning 41 million of the 418 million trips taken by passengers in 2007 were free or on discounted tickets.
Enforcement figures show only 159,288 infringement notices were issued to fare evaders, meaning people taking free rides had only a 1 in 258 chance of getting caught.
Greens MP Greg Barber has said that fare evasion rates would not drop until commuters expected to have to show their tickets. 'We've got to get back to staffing the system full time, to make people feel safe, to stop graffiti and to collect revenue,' Mr Barber argued.

2. Conductors provide a variety of services
It has been claimed that conductors traditionally provided a range of services beyond merely selling tickets. The pro conductor site 'Melbourne Tram Conductors: 10th anniversary of Melbourne's last tram conductor' lists the following as some of the functions that trams conductors would perform: carry change to assist people in purchasing tickets from machines onboard trams; provide passengers, including visitors and tourists, with information about the public transport system. Provide passengers with information about Melbourne, such as history, what to see and do, how to get to hospitals, sporting stadiums, the beach etcetera; keep the trams clean and free of graffiti; help people feel safer, by providing a friendly good humoured presence, and calling in security staff where necessary; and provide other assistance as necessary, including helping the elderly and parents with prams.
An Age editorial of July 15, 2008, stated, 'The conductors were dispensed with because the narrowest of definitions of their role made it seem plausible to argue that there was no point in paying people to do what machines could do just as well. But conductors were never just ticket sellers, and the other aspects of their role all had economic consequences, too ... Conductors were also guides to Melbourne, offering free advice to tourists and anyone else who needed help. And, the tram system provided socially useful work for people who may have had no other professional skills, and who thereby became taxpayers and contributors to the local economy themselves.'

3. Conductors may increase the number of passengers
It has been claimed that returning conductors to trams would increase passengers' satisfaction with trams as it would give them a point of human contact which they want. This point has been made in an article written by Chris Berg and titled 'Connies a nostalgic symbol of lost community spirit' which states, 'The apparently widespread desire to return to the days of the connies seems to come ... from a feeling that individuals are being left adrift in an ocean of overly complicated superannuation options, phone plans and credit-card loyalty schemes. Unfriendly businesses are common. On many customer service hotlines, the only way callers can escape the automated system and speak to a live human being is by becoming aggressive and abusive. If anything is damaging our collective psyche, it is probably unresponsive telephone hotlines.' It is argued that a desire for human contact and support in the provision of services is becoming increasingly common and is one of the reasons many want tram conductors reinstated.
An Age editorial of July 15, 2008, stated, 'When people feel safe travelling on public transport they are more likely to use it, and it is difficult to argue that anyone feels safer on trams without conductors than on trams with them.'
Conductors, it is argued, are of particular benefit to tourists unfamiliar with Melbourne's ticketing system. In an online comment published on The Age's Internet site, it was claimed, 'I visited Melbourne for the first time ever last May. I got onto the tram but found I didn't have the right change. I just sat down, had to go where I was going. Next thing I had inspectors handing me a fine, even though I offered to pay them for the ride. Then back in Perth, I received demands for a $150 fine. I wrote in to contest it, but was overruled. I won't be back.'
Stories such as the above have led the supporters of conductors to claim that they would result in larger numbers of satisfied commuters who would be happy to travel by tram again.

4. Other Australian and overseas cities still employ conductors
It has been noted that other Australian tram systems employ conductors.
In South Australia, the 12-kilometre route from Victoria Square, just south of Adelaide, to Glenelg was for fifty years the only part of a former steam railway transit system to survive mass closures in the 1950s.
However increased pressure on public transport, and a growing respect for the convenience of trams when moving through clogged city traffic, has led to an expansion of the trams through the heart of the city and along North Terrace to the University of South Australia's city campus. More expansions are planned.
A $60 million fleet of Flexity trams from Germany has replaced the old H class trams. Conductors have been retained throughout the network and are believed to offer a valuable service and security to tourists and those unfamiliar with the ticketing system and the route.
Sydney's only tram service, MetroRail, is a seven-kilometre light rail from Central to Lilyfield with only seven trams. The network was launched in 1997 with ticket machines.
However, in the lead-up to the 2000 Olympic Games, the 24-hour light-rail system replaced the machines with conductors. 'There were issues with the machines,' Michelle Silberman, a marketing director for the tram network, noted. Ms Silberman claimed, 'Fare evasion with no conductors is always going to be an issue; we are a private company, so to be commercially viable, we needed conductors.'
One of Europe's biggest tram networks has recently revealed it will keep its conductors, despite the imminent introduction of a myki-style ticketing system.
GVB, operators of Amsterdam's 16-line tram network has indicated that conductors would remain after an electronic system replaces paper tickets at the end of 2008. All but three of the system's lines have conductors.
The new Amsterdam ticketing system, a myki-like network in which passengers load chip cards with credit, removes the need for the city's 630 conductors to sell tickets. But a spokeswoman for GVB, Marjolijn van Bilderbeek, has stated that conductors would be kept to maintain the service quality.

5. It would cost relatively little to reinstate conductors
RMIT transport economist John Odgers has produced a report which found that, assuming Melbourne's conductors were paid $48,000 a year, their return would cost the State Government $369 million over the next decade once other costs like superannuation and payroll tax were factored in.
However, the return of conductors would save $250 million lost to fare evasion, equating to a final cost of $119.5 million, or $11.95 million a year. If 1% of Melbourne commuters stopped driving to work and caught a tram instead, benefits from reduced traffic congestion and more tram fare revenue could see the move turn a profit.
The Public Transport Users' Association has provided a slightly different set of calculations to arrive at a not dissimilar figure. The Association estimates that approximately 1,400 passenger-service staff would be required to staff Victoria's 500 trams and 210 stations. Of these 200 are already in the budget (100 conductors and 100 station staff, currently used as ticket inspectors and security guards). This leaves 1,200 to be funded from additional revenue. Allowing $70,000 per employee for salary and on-costs gives a gross cost of $84 million per year to restaff the system.
For comparison, the revised cost to the public of the 'myki' smartcard system is $113 million a year - plus an extra $43 million a year to keep the Metcard system alive while all the bugs in myki are fixed.
Further the Public Transport Users' Association claims there are a number of factors that would cause the net cost to be much less than $84 million.
The Association expects that the annual cost would be between 15 and 20 million, a greater figure than John Odgers' but one that factors in a larger number of staff.

Arguments against reinstating conductors
1. Conductors are not needed to sell tickets
It has been claimed that a properly implemented automatic ticketing system, including appropriate support staff in the initial stages, would sell tickets effectively without the need to reintroduce conductors.
A spokesman for the Public Transport Minister, Lynne Kosky, has stated that myki would have its own 'ambassador' support staff.
The spokesperson, Stephen Moynihan, indicated, 'Once myki is rolled out, ambassador staff will be stationed across the tram network to help passengers use the new ticketing system.
Mr Moynihan further stated, 'In addition to public transport staff, there will be a detailed and comprehensive education campaign to help the community get ready for myki.'
The myki Internet site promotes the smartcard in this manner. 'When myki arrives, Victorians will be able to enjoy the same technology leading cities around the world have been using for many years. myki is the future of public transport ticketing in Victoria - a plastic card that stores value and makes travelling by train, tram and bus simpler...
myki is the size of a credit card so it will fit into your wallet or purse. Unlike paper tickets, myki is made of durable plastic so that you can use it over and over again for years.
myki is powered by smartcard technology. This means that myki contains an embedded microprocessor which is like a mini computer.
The back office computer and card reader actually "talk" to the microprocessor in myki which is designed to give you the best fare for your travel.'
myki is designed to replace a number of ticket systems in Victoria, primarily the current Metcard (metropolitan Melbourne) and V/Line (regional) ticketing systems. myki will also operate on local bus services in many regional centres, including Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong, Moe, Morwell, Traralgon, and Warrnambool. The Skybus Super Shuttle Melbourne Airport service (with its own, premium fares) will also accept myki. myki gives customers the best fare for the way they travel and fares will continue to be based on the time-zone fares currently used under the Metcard system. myki will store monetary value (myki money) and travel days (myki pass). myki money calculates the best fare for the user's trip as they scan on and scan off throughout the system and caps to the applicable 2 hour, daily or weekly (Monday - Sunday) fare.
myki will be able to be purchased from myki machines at all Connex train stations, various V/Line stations tram super stops and selected bus interchanges; the Internet;
myki info line and network of retail outlets, mainly 7-Eleven. myki will need to be topped up as the stored value diminishes along the way.

2. Conductors perform no other service of significant value
It has been claimed that those who believe that tram conductors used to provide a wide range of public services to passengers are either nostalgic or delusional. In an online reply to a point of view published in The Age supporting conductors, the writer claimed, 'Louisa Deasey's romanticised article about the tram conductors (The Age 15/7/08), is ridiculously fanciful and bordering on delusional. I think Louisa's experience stems from one or two tram conductors I noticed back in the 80s, when they were becoming so bored with their jobs, they took up acting lessons part time to drum up comic one-liners and even vocal abilities to entertain themselves from committing suicide!
The job was a troll's existence! My father was a tram conductor along the Chapel Street line and he was sick of the drunks, the violence and the aggression.'
It has been claimed that in Adelaide, where the Glenelg tram line still has conductors, commuters are not as enthusiastic about them as some of Melbourne's supporters of conductors claim.
Margaret Dingle, from the lobby group People for Public Transport has said of the Adelaide conductors, 'They do sell tickets but sometimes you wonder why we have them, because they sit around and don't do much.'
There are those who argue that the enthusiasm for conductors is simply a sentimental longing for things past and that conductors rarely if ever behaved in the way people like to remember. This point has been made by the premier of Victoria, John Brumby. Mr Brumby has stated, 'There's a lot of nostalgia about conductors but the system has changed.'
In a letter to the editor published in The Age on July 15, 2008, the letter writer stated, 'The best thing Melbourne ever did was to get rid of conductors on trams. Most were rude, bored and often aggressive and unhelpful to passengers. I saw more passengers assist the frail and elderly than conductors. Fare evasion was rife also, as in peak times (and trams have always been packed at peak times) conductors could not move. At off-peak times many conductors just couldn't be bothered to sell tickets. As for protecting the public - these were conductors, not police. Please remove the rose-coloured glasses.'

3. New trams are not designed to accommodate conductors
It has been claimed that the new trams that operate on Melbourne tram routes in the ten years since conductors were employed are not designed for human ticket collectors.
Critics of any proposal to reinstate conductors on Melbourne trams claim that these new trams are too long and have aisles that are too narrow for it to be feasible for conductors to collect fares.
The head of Metlink, Mr Bernie Carolan, has said the return of tram conductors would not cut fare evasion to its previous levels because around 20% of the fleet's trams are now several metres longer than the older models.
It has also been claimed that the increase in the number of commuters being carried per tram will make conductors even less able to sell all passengers a ticket before they disembark.
The Victorian premier, Mr Brumby, has stated, 'The volume of people using the tram system has changed fundamentally and all around the world now, systems of ticketing are automatic. You know, I think that's the most efficient way of operating the network'

4. No comparable rail service employs conductors
It has been claimed that worldwide trams have largely been abolished and that the majority that still operate do not carry conductors. Those that do, it is argued, are not comparable to those that run in Melbourne's system.
A spokesperson for Yarra Trams, Colin Tyrus, has claimed that Sydney's light rail was not relevant to Melbourne, because it was so small and not part of the public transport network. Mr Tyrus stated, 'The vast majority of tram systems around the world don't have conductors - more than 90% of tram passengers in Europe do not see a tram conductor.'
The Victorian Government, defending its decision not to re-employ conductors, has said that networks around the world had scrapped conductors in favour of electronic ticketing, including in France and on one of Europe's biggest networks, Zurich.
It has been noted that this worldwide trend can be explained in terms of vehicle design as streetcars and light rail vehicles now operate in a way that makes the conductor largely unnecessary. This point is explained in the Wikipedia entry on conductors which states, 'Many antique or heritage trams (streetcars), which operated through the earlier part of the 20th Century, were designed for operation by a crew of two or more. The conductor primarily collected fares and signalled the driver when safe to depart from stopping places. The conductor also assisted with shunting when necessary, changing the trolley pole and attended to passengers' needs.
Modern vehicle design and ticketing arrangements have largely done away with the need for conductors on street railways and light rail systems.'

5. Reinstating conductors makes public transport more vulnerable to strikes
It has been claimed that the more dependent a public transport system is on staff the more vulnerable it is to industrial action. That is, with fewer workers there will be fewer strikes.
This position has been put in a report on the effectiveness of privatising Victoria's public transport system. The report is titled, 'Victoria's public transport: assessing the results of privatisation' and was written by Richard Allsop on behalf of the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). It was released in April 2007. One of the reports key findings is 'Commuters no longer experience the huge inconvenience caused by strikes and stoppages that historically plagued Melbourne's public transport.'
Later the same report states, 'Given the history of industrial action on the Melbourne public transport network, there has been remarkable industrial
calm in the past seven years... The lack of industrial disruption is one of the key benefits of the post-privatisation period compared to previous decades.'
It has been claimed that the dominance of the transport by unions had prevented previous attempts to reform Victoria's public transport system.
The IPA report states, 'Victoria's ever-powerful transport unions bitterly opposed the reforms and in one of their more memorable industrial actions 'parked' trams in city streets for several weeks in early 1990. The combination of the power of the unions, factional battles within the ALP and Labor's poor result in Victoria at the 1990 Federal Election killed off any hope of the implementation of transport reform.
As Cain wrote: "The reform program in transport was progressively dismantled
in the months that followed and we moved to a policy of adhockery and perceived populism."
John Cain has commented that "this vital public sector industry was controlled for the perceived benefit of a small part of the workforce' and the unions' position meant that 'the prospects of improving the system's public acceptability and its capacity to deliver services are diminished."'

Further implications
It seems very unlikely that the Victorian Government will reinstate conductors on Melbourne trams. The Government has made a very large investment in its myki smartcard system. Even were this system not to prove effective, it is more likely that the government would employ additional inspectors and myki implementation staff than that they would reinstate the traditional conductor that public transport user groups are calling for.
In part this seems a matter of face saving. Victorian governments of both political persuasions have invested so much money into ticketing systems for so long a time that to reinstate conductors now would seem like the sort of wasteful turnaround that could cost votes.
myki would have to be a spectacular disaster for conductors in any form to be considered in the medium term. It seems likely that only a dramatic increase in attacks on tram travellers might prompt such a mood, and even then the danger faced by taxi drivers might cause some to wonder just how much protection a sole conductor could provide.
In the future, however, carbon emissions trading policies are likely to result in increased emphasis on promoting public transport. If it is believed that the reintroduction of conductors could be part of a suit of initiatives that would increase the use of public transport then governments may begin to see it as desirable to reinstate the connie.

Newspaper items used in the compilation of this issue outline
HERALD-SUN:  May 27, page 5, news item (photo of new Yarra Trams test vehicles) by M Bolling, `City's yellow streaks'.
THE AGE:  May 23, page 8, news item (photo of former conductors) by C Lucas, `Conducting a comeback? Passengers in driver's seat'.
HERALD-SUN:  July 17, page 23, news item by J Ferguson, `Myki a $550m blowout'.
THE AGE:  July 16, page 11, comment by Catherine Deveny, `It would lift the spirits of Melburnians if the connies came back'
THE AGE:  July 16, page 10,  Leunig cartoon.
THE AGE:  July 15, page 11, comment by Louisa Deasey, `Melbourne's trams are a hostile place. They used not to be'.
THE AGE:  July 15, page 10, editorial, `Tram conductors were never merely ticket dispensers'.
THE AGE:  July 15, page 3, news item by C Lucas, `Kosky stands by tickets as Sydney hails connies'.
THE AGE:  July 13, page 1, news item by Sexton and Munro, `It's time to bring back the connies'.
THE AGE:  July 20, page 21, comment by Chris Berg, `Connies a nostalgic symbol of lost community spirit'.
THE AGE:  July 20, page 4, news items (photos of conductors on trams, incl SA and overseas) by R Sexton et al, `Staying on track: why conductors keep profits rolling / Man of many roles is all eyes / Playing it safe with connie confidence / Powering the tram resurgence'.