Canberra's ACTION buses had 400,000 fewer passenger boardings than expected since the start of the financial year, despite the introduction of paid parking in the Parliamentary Triangle.
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A new report to the ACT Legislative Assembly shows the government owned bus network has fallen behind on key performance measures, and fewer than 75 per cent of buses operate in line with the timetable.
So far in 2014-15, ACTION recorded 8.9 million passenger boardings, well below the 9.3 million target for the halfway point of the financial year.
The total yearly target for boardings in 2014-15 is 18.5 million.
The statement of performance shows operating costs for the network are rising, with the total network operating cost per boarding reaching $7.85, above a target of $7.44.
It costs $5.33 to operate the ACTION network per kilometre, above the $5.10 target.
Ticket revenue contribution to total network operating costs is also below expectations. Fare box revenue accounts for $15.8 per cent of operating costs, below the planned $16.5 per cent target.
Customer satisfaction with bus services is on target at 85 per cent, the report showed, and 99.5 per cent of services operated to completion.
Just 67 per cent of the bus fleet are fully compliant with disability standards and just over half are compliant with strict European environmental standards.
The latest overhaul of the network's timetables and routes, introduced in September last year, was designed in part to boost patronage in the Parliamentary Triangle as federal government plans for paid parking came into force.
Territory and Municipal Services Minister Shane Rattenbury said an expenditure review committee had been established to consider ACTION's ongoing sustainability and costs, and to compare the network with bus systems in other cities.
"Part of that is that benchmarking ACTION. Previous reports have indicated their labour costs are significantly higher than comparable bus services in other jurisdictions," Mr Rattenbury said.
"Now we have an enterprise agreement in place and we will of course stick to that. What it means is we will work hard to find efficiencies within ACTION to make sure we can keep it on a sustainable footing."
Mr Rattenbury said workers compensation premiums had risen rapidly and officials would work with staff to minimise injuries and insurance claims.
He welcomed improvements in on-time running of services.
"The target is 75 per cent (of services) and I would like to get to that and go beyond it but I think we are heading in the right direction. I expect further improvement with a tweaking of the network in the next few months."
Opposition transport spokesman Alistair Coe said the latest report was disappointing.
"We did hear a lot about the expectations for Network 14 and it seems reality is not meeting those expectations.
"The fact is ACTION buses has been deteriorating for some years and we think its time the government focussed their attention on improving ACTION rather than simply writing it off."
Mr Coe said reliability was the biggest issue facing passengers.
"One in four buses arrives earlier than one minute before scheduled time or later than four minutes from the scheduled time. That's simply not good enough."
ACTION records an average of 70,000 boardings around Canberra each weekday and 16,000 per day on weekends.
