Public Transport Ombudsman (Victoria)
The Public Transport Ombudsman deals with complaints about Victorian public transport that members of the community have been unable to resolve directly with the public transport operators.
The Public Transport Ombudsman provides a free and fair service, independent of both public transport operators and the government.
You must first give the relevant transport operator the opportunity to respond to your complaint. You do this by making a complaint to Metlink or directly to the operator.
If you are dissatisfied with Metlink's or the operator's response you can then make a complaint to the Public Transport Ombudsman.
See: Making a complaint.
It covers:
- How to make a complaint
- What happens after you've made a complaint
- Ways a complaint may be resolved
- What complaints are covered
- What complaints are not covered
What's New?
Public Transport Ombudsman 2008 Annual Report
31 October 2008
Increase in complaints to Public Transport Ombudsman
Cases received by the Victorian Public Transport Ombudsman (PTO) have increased 14% in 2007-08 according to the PTO Annual Report released today. The PTO dealt with 1137 cases in 2007-08. Complaint issues included:
- 34% were about ticketing (malfunctioning ticketing machines and validators, faulty tickets, refunds, travel passes and infringement notices)
- 17% were about service delivery (punctuality, reliability, cancellations)
- 16% were about infrastructure and rolling stock (access, conditions of vehicles)
- 13% were about Authorised officers
- 11% were related to staff of the operators – mostly about customer service related issues.
1342 complaints were finalised - including 249 complaints investigated by the PTO.
Public Transport Ombudsman Simon Cohen said the increase in cases reflected the increased use of public transport across Victoria. With more commuters, the value of an independent ombudsman’s office to review complaints has also increased.
“I encourage people to take up issues with public transport operators, and to come to us if they are not satisfied with the response they receive. It’s important for people to make their concerns known, to improve the public transport system for the community’s and commuters’ needs.
“Many people who come to us with a complaint say they don’t complain just for themselves – but because they want to improve things for others as well. Our report includes cases which resulted in better training for public transport staff, and better information or services for commuters. People who complain can make a difference”, Mr Cohen explained.
The report includes complaints which were resolved through apologies and agreements by public transport operators to provide refunds and Metcards. “We are very pleased that satisfaction with the way we work at the PTO has increased. 77% of people who responded to our survey reported they were satisfied with the service they received – up 10% on the previous year,” Mr Cohen stated.
There have been a range of changes in 2008 to the way the PTO operates. Most recently its jurisdiction expanded to include the ability to deal with complaints about ticketing inspectors and authorised officers – although people can still make complaints to the Victorian Ombudsman as previously.
Download a copy of the full press release here:
Public Transport Ombudsman 2008 Annual Report media release
Download a full copy of the 2008 Annual Report here:
Download a copy of a special edition of Overview, the Public Transport Ombudsman's newsletter, here:
Overview: Special Edition, Annual Report 2008
