Large sums of money are changing hands: Melbourne train network operator Connex has been fined $62 million for poor performance since April 2004 while tram operator Yarra Trams has been slugged just under a million bucks for the first three months of 2007.

However, these hefty fines shouldn’t be a problem for the private companies running Victoria’s public transport infrastructure. The Victorian government paid them $1.2 billion in subsidies between 1999 and 2006, with the subsidy total tipped to hit $2.1 billion by 2010.

Why would these companies make any effort to improve their services if they know any fines paid will be reimbursed many times over in the form of ever-increasing subsidies?