{"id":46933,"date":"2026-09-11T00:37:30","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T22:37:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.systra.com\/australia\/?page_id=46933"},"modified":"2026-09-16T08:32:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T06:32:10","slug":"public-transport-productivity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.systra.com\/australia\/newsroom\/public-transport-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"The Productivity of Public Transport"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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14 Actionable Insights Australia & New Zealand Transit Networks Need<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Alongside PTAANZ, SYSTRA has developed a benchmark publication exploring the future of public transport productivity. Moving beyond calls for less red tape, we deliver 14 practical, high-return initiatives designed to extract maximum performance from existing transport assets today.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Access the Productivity Report<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Network<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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What’s influencing Productivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Understanding a networked service where people, process and system must align<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Checklist<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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What is and isn’t working<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Assess four trends improving outcomes but also impeding productivity<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Target<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Target opportunities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Where investment is most likely to deliver lasting returns for passengers<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Challenge<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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As Australia and New Zealand navigate tight fiscal environments, rising urban populations, and labor constraints, defaulting to multi-billion-dollar builds is no longer the sole solution to network demand. Real productivity requires maximising the value, capacity, and performance of existing assets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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$21 Billion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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lost every year across Australia and New Zealand to infrastructure project delays and cancellations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Infrastructure Australia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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$242B+<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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national infrastructure pipeline colliding with tighter budgets and a 300,000-person labour shortfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Infrastructure Australia, 2025 Market Capacity Report<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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90%<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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of infrastructure megaprojects experience cost overruns, averaging 20%+ schedule extensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Flyvbjerg; McKinsey & Company<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Lauren<\/figure>
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Cities and regions need public transport to keep their communities connected. Improving the productivity of those networks is a key consideration for all. Not just to ‘do more with less’ with our existing assets, but to become more efficient in making communities better connected, and better places to be.<\/p>\nLauren Streifer, Chief Executive, PTAANZ<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Productivity is becoming an increasingly important focus, and rightly so. In a complex environment with competing demands for resources, we all share a responsibility to make the best possible use of what we have. When done well, even the slightest uplift in productivity can improve the daily lives of communities.<\/p>\nChris Hurst, Executive General Manager, Growth & Development, SYSTRA<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Where the high-return opportunities exist<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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To improve productivity, Australia and New Zealand must get more from existing networks. Doing so requires government and industry to collaborate around one principle: every dollar invested should deliver the greatest possible benefit for passengers, communities, and the broader transport network.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our framework focuses on three core pillars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Train<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Move People Safer and More Frequently<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Driving people-powered change, eliminating journey friction, and elevating the frontline user experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Programme<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Deliver projects more efficiently<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Embedding constructability, pipeline certainty, and repeatable frameworks into early planning and design.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Performance<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Operate infrastructure more effectively<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Standardising data and digitising core assets to achieve peak-performing transit infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Brisbane<\/figure>
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Can the Biggest Productivity Gains Come from Low-Cost Initiatives?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Beyond the headlines.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research revealed that public transport productivity is as much a behavioral and human challenge as an infrastructure one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Safety, trust, comfort, and accessibility are consistent factors undermining network patronage. Properly addressed, they represent low-cost, high-return opportunities to drive immediate, system-wide improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Download to Explore All 14 Initiatives<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Benchmark projects providing productive returns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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