The legal requirements for disability and compliance objectives have been a challenge for MR3, and this is expected to continue. The government retains responsibility for the investments required to meet accessibility requirements and franchisees are responsible for operational requirements. Agreements between operators define how franchisees and other operators (z.B V/Line) must cooperate. Between the previous franchise agreement and the current MR3 contract, annual funding for streetcar maintenance and renewal work remained relatively constant. Flexible benchmarks should give PTV the flexibility to focus franchisees on key issues or initiatives. PTV expects the operating environment to be more challenging under the MR4 franchise agreements – the state will implement a comprehensive transportation infrastructure program that could lead to disruptions to rail and tram traffic. PTV also estimates that aid will increase by 3 to 4% per year. In November 2006, Pacific National, which had purchased Freight Australia, entered into an agreement to sell the remainder of the Victorian rail rental service to VicTrack. [21] The sale was completed on May 7, 2007, with V/Line becoming the track manager of the Victorian intracting network. [43] PTV measures the performance of its train and tram operators or franchisees in different ways. It measures and reports publicly on the reliability and punctuality of train and tram services and questions customer satisfaction with these services.
Current railway and tram agreements (MR3) include an operating performance regime (OPR) and a performance system for customer experiences (CEPR). Railway customer satisfaction is measured by a quarterly telephone survey. As shown in Chart 1E, customer satisfaction has improved under the current agreement and has met the performance targets set when negotiating the contract. In 1999, the former Kennett government led V/Line`s operation at the private national Express, but V/Line did not return to public ownership until three years after the company left. In October 2015, PTV completed an internal audit of its contractual management of the tram contract.