Lack of parking at and around stations, safety concerns and poor train services are the biggest problems faced by commuters, a survey report released by the RACV last week shows.
Titled On Track, the online survey had 4600 respondents who use Metro and V/Line services. It looked at train services, stations and surrounding infrastructure and commuters’ travelling habits.
Sunbury line Metro travellers are the unhappiest among metropolitan Melbourne’s commuters, with only 3 per cent happy with the trains they catch.
On the South Morang line, 7 per cent of commuters were happy with train services, while 8 per cent were happy on the Craigieburn line.
Sunbury line commuters raised the highest number of safety and security concerns (9 per per cent), while 7 per cent of Craigieburn residents highlighted safety worries.
South Morang line commuters’ main complaints were about the bad behaviour of passengers on trains, train trips being too slow and having difficulty finding parking.
RACV public transport and mobility manager Thanuja Gunatillake said the survey results showed that, overall, people wanted better train services, improved safety and more car parking spots.
Public Transport Users Association president Tony Morton said there was a history of poor reliability of train services and overcrowding issues on the Sunbury line, and there was room to add more trains to the line. He said there were serious issues with feeder bus services and the low levels of pedestrian and bicycle amenity in the outer north, especially on the South Morang line.
