By JAMAL BEN HADDOU

A spike in accidents on board trams is putting increasing pressure on the State Government to deal with overcrowding.

The Greens’ policy to fast-track a new order of 50 trams is gaining momentum after new statistics revealed a sharp rise in serious injuries to passengers – 47 in 2015 – and a tripling in reports of trips, falls and slips at the platform interface.

These come on top of the most recent Yarra Trams Load Standards Report, which shows trams operate at 99 per cent capacity on average during morning peak hours, and breach load capacity at times.

Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber said the strain on the tram network was paralysing Melbourne’s public transport system and affecting the well-being and safety of commuters.

“Before this huge surge in patronage most people were sitting down on trams and a few were standing up. All the extra growth has led to a huge increase in the number of passengers standing up and a dramatic increase in trips and falls. Things aren’t getting better, they’re just getting worse,” he said.

“Ordering more of these low floor [E-class] trams will improve safety and make boarding fast. I travel on the No. 55 which goes past The Children’s and Women’s Hospital and I can see people struggling to get up on the stairs and sometimes they don’t even get a seat," Mr Barber said.

Transport Victoria’s annual tram incident report for 2015 revealed the number of reported slips, trips or falls on trams increased to its highest levels since 2007.

Passengers being caught in doors and falling to and from platforms has been the most common cause of these accidents.

Elderly people are among the most vulnerable as passengers often rush in and out of crowded trams to get to work on time. People with disabilities and mothers carrying prams also find it difficult to access crowded trams, especially the older-model trams which have stairs instead of a low ground floor.

The last of the 50 trams ordered by the previous Labor government in 2010 are due to enter service in May next year, with 33 currently in service. 

The most recent Yarra Trams Load Standards report shows older vehicles are particularly prone to congestion and trams are on average 25 years old.

Seventy-two per cent of overcrowded trams in the study were found to be the older A and Z class models which have no airconditioning and only half the capacity of the newest E- class model. E-class trams also have improved safety features and space dedicated for disabled passengers.

The ongoing free tram zone has also been attributed to the 22 per cent spike in tram boarding in the CBD, which suffers the worst overcrowding. Statistics show some city routes run at almost 150 per cent capacity during morning peak hour. 

From 2010, the former Liberal government of Victoria did not buy any trams in its four years in office.

Public Transport Users Association spokesman Paul Westcott criticised Labor for pursuing impractical transport plans.

“The Andrews Government has, like many before it, become enamoured of promoting massive projects with long lead times at the expense of much simpler and more effective smaller schemes,” he said.

“The Greens probably have better public transport policies than the other parties, but they are very unlikely to ever have the opportunity to put them into practice, so they will remain statements of principle,” he said.

Mr Barber said both the Labor and Liberal governments had been incompetent in making effective policies to ease overcrowding.

“Labor ordered some trams just before they lost office in 2010. They’re bringing those on now but it’s not keeping up with growth … let alone reducing the overcrowding,” he said.

“The contract has an option which can be exercised by the Government to get more trams sooner. If the Government is not moving on this in the May Budget then we could be waiting a bit longer,” he added.

Mr Barber stressed that ordering more trams now would have a significant improvement in the safety, efficiency and enjoyability of the public transport system.

“Using public transport is healthy, particularly because most users have walking journey at either end. So if you’re tram user you’ll be getting more exercise than a motorist,” he said.

Senior lecturer in transport planning at Melbourne University Dr John Stone said overcrowding on trams also had a direct link with car-dependence and air quality.

“The unpleasant experience of over-crowding leads people to seek alternatives. If this choice is the car, then we are exacerbating the many documented health and environment at risks of car-dependence,” Mr Stone said.

The Greens say 50 trams would cost $350 million on top of "additional costs" for planning, infrastructure and ongoing maintenance. The Department of Treasury and Finance estimates these additional costs at $530 million.

The plan would incur large costs before the new trams even arrive on Melbourne’s tracks. These include advance payments, project management fees and payments for supporting infrastructure.

Uncertain expenses in maintenance would also be expected to endure for years, well after the project was completed.

Despite this, Mr Barber defended the initiative on the grounds that it could create 500 jobs and boost productivity.

“I’ve visited the factory and they’re very happy to receive the work. A lot of their suppliers are also companies that work with the automotive industry which is shutting itself down very quickly. We can make a big difference to those who are losing their jobs in the automotive industry,” Mr Barber said.