A performance audit into how effectively Transport for NSW (TfNSW) and Sydney Trains are managing crowds at selected metropolitan train stations has found that some are becoming increasingly crowded.
In her report, Train Station Crowding, Auditor-General Margaret Crawford says TfNSW and Sydney Trains do not directly measure or collect data on station crowding.
“Sydney Trains has identified platform crowding as a key strategic risk, but does not have an overarching strategy to manage crowding in the short to medium term,” Ms Crawford said.
“TfNSW and Sydney Trains devolve responsibility for managing crowding at stations to Customer Area Managers but do not have sufficient oversight to know if crowding is being effectively managed,” she said.
She said TfNSW was delivering a program to influence demand for transport in key precincts but the effectiveness of the program and its impact on station crowding was unclear as it had not evaluated the outcomes of the program.
She said that while TfNSW and Sydney Trains considered crowding when planning for major projects or developments they did not have a routine process for identifying when crowding occurred or whether it contributed to minor incidents.
“Sydney Trains does not routinely prompt staff to consider whether crowding is a contributing factor when reporting safety incidents or near misses,” she said.
“As a result, Sydney Trains may not always identify locations where crowd management practices are not sufficiently managing the risk to customers or staff.”
Ms Crawford recommended Sydney Trains systematically collect information on the use of crowd management interventions at stations and assess the impact of these interventions.
She also recommended it enhance existing procedures which require staff to make an assessment on whether crowding was a contributing factor in safety incidents and develop a policy for customer management plans.
The Auditor-General also recommended TfNSW evaluate its management programs, ‘Travel Choices’ and ‘Wayfinding’, to determine the overall impact the programs had on distributing public transport use out of peak periods and on station crowding.
Her 34-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
