The Public Transport Corporation (PTC) was a
Victoria State Government owned
statutory authority
A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being Primary and secondary legislation, empowered or deleg ...
formed under the
Transport Act 1983 which operated passenger and freight trains, trams and bus services.
The PTC was also responsible for directly operating some bus services and procuring bus services from private operators. It was established on 1 July 1989 as a result of the passage and commencement of the Transport (Amendment) Act 1989 to manage the responsibilities of the
State Transport Authority and the
Metropolitan Transit Authority. In suburban
Melbourne it continued to be referred to by the MTA's nickname of ''The Met,'' while in regional Victoria it operated as
V/Line.
The operational rail and tram activities of the PTC were
franchised
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
in 1999 by the
Kennett Government through the intermediary of a new agency, the
Director of Public Transport, a statutory office within the
Department of Transport. The director was required to enter into franchise agreements with private rail and tram companies for the on-the-ground delivery of public transport services. The land and infrastructure assets of the Public Transport Corporation were transferred to another new agency,
VicTrack, who then leased those assets to the Director of Public Transport, which in turn sub-leased the assets to the private operators.
Formation
The Public Transport Corporation was initially established under changes made to the
Transport Act 1983 by the Transport (Amendment) Act 1989. The statutory changes abolished the former
State Transport Authority and
Metropolitan Transit Authority thereby creating the Public Transport Corporation in its place. The functions of the PTC were an
amalgamation of those of its two predecessors. The green and gold livery on vehicles was retained, though with a new double arrow logo.
The PTC was subject to the control and general direction of the former Director-General of Transport initially and then later to the Secretary to the Department of Transport and, ultimately, the Minister for Transport. A 14-member Public Transport Corporation Board was appointed by the Minister to provide advice to the Chief Executive of the PTC.
Demise
Franchising of the PTC commenced under the Kennett Government of the 1990s. Privatisation began with some of the bus operations in December 1993.
V/Line was split into Passenger and Freight divisions, with the latter sold outright. ''The Met'' was divided into
Bayside Trains,
Hillside Trains,
Swanston Trams and
Yarra Trams from October 1997 and these along with V/Line's passenger operations passed to the private sector in August 1999.
These separate bodies were all franchised separately as follows:
*
Doncaster East
Doncaster East is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Doncaster East recorded a population of 30,926 at the 2021 ...
&
Fitzroy North bus depots → 1993
National Bus Company → 2013
Transdev Melbourne → 2022
Kinetic Melbourne
*
Footscray &
Sandringham bus depots → 1998
Melbourne Bus Link → 2013
Transdev Melbourne → 2022
Kinetic Melbourne
* V/Line Freight → 1999
Freight Victoria
Freight Australia was an Australian railway company that purchased the V/Line Freight business from the Government of Victoria in 1999. Initially known as Freight Victoria, it operated rail freight services and controlled non-urban rail track in ...
→ 2004
Pacific National
*
V/Line Passenger → 1999
National Express → 2002 State Government, receivers appointed → 2003 State Government
* Bayside Trains → 1999
National Express (
M>Train) → 2002 State Government, receivers appointed → 2004
Connex Melbourne → 2009
Metro Trains Melbourne
* Hillside Trains → 1999
Connex Melbourne → 2009
Metro Trains Melbourne
* Swanston Trams → 1999
National Express (
M>Tram) → 2002 State Government, receivers appointed → 2004
TransdevTSL → 2009
Keolis Downer
*
Yarra Trams → 1999
TransdevTSL → 2009
Keolis Downer
The remaining functions of the corporation were transferred to
Metlink
Metlink was the marketing body and umbrella brand for public train, tram and bus transport operators in Melbourne, Australia. On 2 April 2012, the operations of Metlink were transferred to the newly created public transport planning and manage ...
, later
Public Transport Victoria
Public Transport Victoria (PTV) is the brand name for public transport in the Australian state of Victoria, Australia, Victoria. It was the trading name of the Go Public Transport Development Authority (PTDA), a now-defunct statutory authorit ...
.
References
See also
Public Record Office Victoria – Metropolitan Transit AuthorityPublic Record Office Victoria – State Transport AuthorityPublic Record Office Victoria – Public Transport Corporation
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Defunct railway companies of Australia
Former government agencies of Victoria (Australia)
Trams in Melbourne
1989 establishments in Australia
1999 disestablishments in Australia
Government agencies established in 1989
Government agencies disestablished in 1999