Melbourne’s transport system has been in chaos this week with extended peak time delays experienced on the roads and trains.

On June 7, Metro implemented new timetables to help reduce overcrowding and improve on time running during peak travel times. However as the Herald Sun reports transition to the new timetables was met with commuter confusion, cancellations and delays of more than 15 minutes on a number of passenger lines throughout the week.

The introduction of new timetables was an important measure to prove that Metro could deliver on promises that saw it win operation of Melbourne’s train system from Connex late last year.

Under the new timetable The Age reports that whilst the overall number of trains on the lines has been increased, the timing of the extra services will do little to address overcrowding. This combined with the delays experienced during the first week of implementation does not look positive for Metro’s performance.

Meanwhile on the roads, the introduction of “Copenhagen-style” cycle lanes have caused confusion and congestion on Albert St in Melbourne’s CBD. Outside of peak hour traffic, the road will be converted to a single lane of traffic each way with cars permitted to park on the inside lane, creating a “buffer” for the new cycle lane. Melbourne councillors indicate they expect the congestion to be short lived while motorists adjust to new parking conditions.

Sydney parkers have long suspected that parking rangers are driven by targets and parking fine quotas. A recently leaked council document confirms these suspicions that until now, have been difficult to prove.

 The document, originating from Ku-ring-gai Council in Sydney, details a “Parking Ranger Work Plan” in which officers’ performance is measured by a “budget income expectation $50,000 per quarter per officer”.

 The Daily Telegraph reports that a spokesperson for the council confirmed that the document was legitimate and such measurements are common practice across local government in NSW.

The belief of parking rangers working to quotas is not just limited to Sydney councils. In late 2009, the Herald Sun reported of Melbourne parking officers claiming they had been bullied into issuing additional parking fines. Parking rangers were each pressured to issue as many as five parking fines per hour. One Melbourne council reported a record $43 million in revenue raised from the issue of parking fines.

Many parkers are finding the risk of a parking fine too great and are heading to parking facilities managed by private operators.

A Sunday Age survey has found that Wilson Parking operates eight of Melbourne’s most expensive CBD parking sites.

The survey conducted by the Age singled out a Wilson car park, located at 200 Queen St as the most expensive site in Melbourne CBD, charging $69 for six hours.

According to the article, about 150,000 people drive into Melbourne CBD each day. The purpose of their visit to the city can be work, study, appointments or leisure activities such as shopping or eating out. Parking rates vary according to the time of day and length of stay at the car park.

Early Bird parking remains the most cost effective parking option for all day parking in Melbourne CBD. Secure Parking offers some of the cheapest early bird parking at a number of sites right in the heart of the city.

Melbourne City Council’s plans to introduce late night parking fees in Melbourne CBD has been met with frustration from business owners, residents and visitors.

As reported by the Herald Sun, the council intends to abolish free parking in the CBD by introducing a $4 flat rate for parking after 7:30pm.

Melbourne’s Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle says the extra money is required to keep the city clean at night. Mr Doyle claims that metered parking is necessary to fund these new safety initiatives “Otherwise the burden would fall unfairly on ratepayers.”

On Twitter, feedback from Melbourne residents show the public is less than convinced by the justification for these new costs. Twitter user, Backpage posts: “Late night parking fees in Melbourne streets, one word “gouging” nothing to do with that hoary old chestnut “safety”.

A number of other users highlight Melbourne’s long standing public transport issues and the absence of additional train and tram services offered as an alternative to paying for parking in the CBD.

Restaurateurs and other Melbourne CBD business owners are unimpressed with the decision and concerned that diners will choose to go out in suburbs that continue to offer free evening parking.

The Herald Sun reports that the introduction of metered on-street parking will raise $1.9 million of revenue for the City of Melbourne.

From March 22, Wollongong parkers will be required to pay for on street parking under a new “pay and display” parking scheme introduced by Wollongong City Council. 850 parking spaces will become paid on-street spots with the installation of 141 ticket machines.

According to enquires made by the Illawarra Mercury, Wollongong will become one of the most expensive NSW councils for short-term on-street parking, in some instances, more expensive than Sydney CBD.

Privately managed car parks have now become a more affordable alternative to parking on street. Under the new parking scheme, a 1/2 hour stay on-street in Wollongong CBD will cost $2 compared to only $1.80 for 1 hour of parking at one of Secure Parking’s nearby locations.

Secure Parking’s NSW General Manager, Chris Wade, recently interviewed by the Mercury said that Secure Parking offers customers an alternative to feeding the meters and possibly having to move their vehicles to avoid a fine.

Whilst a Wollongong Council spokesperson says that the meters are designed to increase parking turnover in the city centre and encourage more people to do business in the area, their introduction has been met with much disagreement among Wollongong shoppers, residents and business owners. Business owners have offered little support to the new initiative voicing concerns that shoppers will be discouraged by the imposed time restrictions and choose to shop elsewhere.

Greater Sydney commuters are to expect cheaper public transport fares, but can our train network cope with the increased load?

From April 18, NSW Government has announced the introduction of a new transport ticketing system. As reported by Sydney Morning Herald the new MyZone & MyMulti tickets are designed to make commuting from greater Sydney easier and more affordable.

For example, as part of the new ticketing system weekly travel from Penrith to Central will cost commuters $57 compared to the current weekly fare of $80.40.

Although the NSW government stands to lose $33 million in revenue by introducing the new initiative, Transport Minister David Campbell is banking on increased patronage to minimise the lost income.

However, there are serious concerns whether the already overcrowded transport system can cope with the influx of new public transport users expected to be attracted by the newly reduced rates. For many commuters, it seems the long standing issue of reliability is about to get much worse. Despite the reduction in travel costs, the overloading of the public transport system means that train travel still may not be a feasible alternative to driving and parking in the CBD.

Mr Campbell has indicated that 700 train carriages are on order however delivery is not expected to commence until the end of the year. So what measures are in place to ease the congestion on public transport network for the 8 months after introduction of the new system?

Unfortunately for those that expect on time running and uncongested train travel, a reduction in ticket fares will not ease the demand for parking in Sydney CBD.