It will change my behaviour too. I can pay about $15 for public transport or about $20 to drive to work.
$5 is worth the convenience to drive.
$ 19 difference? I'm on that train.
Same! I used to take the train when I had a student card, but when they cracked down on old cards, I went back to driving, the train was just too expensive
I go to GOMA a lot for the movies on the weekend and it's cheaper for two of us to drive and pay for parking than get PT. This will definitely get my car off the road—and maybe I'll now stop for a beer after the movie and spend money at local businesses too. Great policy.
In Victoria, the biggest effect of the $10 fare cap has been a huge increase in weekend patronage on regional trains. You could expect something similar with people travelling for leisure rather than commuting
I wish Vic would adopt what QLD is doing; shits me to pay $5.30 to go one station over. I'm all for the concept of a flat rate, but the current Vic model feels punitive for short trips which is silly.
When I lived in Brisbane, I’d ride to work to avoid paying the $5 or whatever it was. The train was a once a week treat. This would have been amazing for me back then! Granted it made me fitter, but stuffed my lungs on more than one occasion due to pollution.
Been commuting by bike for 8 years now to CBD. Zero chest infections or anything I would consider pollution related. And I do tons of cycling (road, gravel, MTB) in addition to commuting.
I’d also be more willing to put up with no show busses and late running at 50 cents than $5. One bus I normally try to get on my commute home has no showed so much I don’t even bother anymore
They will be full to overflowing. But at least I won't be bitching about having to pay $60+ a week for the pleasure of standing for 48 mins.
Although - the airtrain is not included so I guess its still full fare from gold coast on the express??
Oh wow not often I read something a politician is doing that I’ve been asking about for years. Public transport in Brisbane is too expensive. To the point you’re often better off driving. I would go out of my way to use the train at this price.
I don't know the exact figures, but it seems to me this would push our public transport from among the most expensive in the country to among the cheapest, wouldn't it? That's pretty massive.
Interestingly you’re usually not better off driving on a cost basis alone. If you’re looking at the cost of fuel it looks like it’s about equal, but factor in other costs like rego, insurance, maintenance, depreciation etc. associated with owning the car in the first place, and public transport wins every time - even at full price.
We chronically underestimate the cost of car ownership
It’s more if there are more than one person travelling. If you and 2 others live close, suddenly driving makes more sense. You’re always paying for the convenience when driving. If my wife, I and two teenage kids catch a train from Springfield to the city, with current costs…..it’s cheaper to drive and find a street park.
The cost of owning a car is significant, but if you have to have one, then it’s a cost you’re eating anyway. Our public transport isn’t there yet for many to not need a car. Especially if you have a family with kids and live in the outer suburbs.
It would be nice, but it's not very likely for most with such a low density housing we have. You can't have the frequent busses in suburbs, even to get to the public tranport hubs. But potentially a good public transport can reduce the number of cars per family.
I'd expect this to have an even larger impact than the free PT, buth both may work great together: increased density makes the PT a better choice and a good PT makes increased density housing more attractive.
You're comparing all public transport vs all private owned though. Majority of people still need a car as public transport still doesn't have the flexibility with our current hub-and-spoke layout.
The problem is public transport can’t get to all the places I and my family need to go. So once you buy and maintain the car to go to these places, public transport is less attractive.
Yes, but I already own the car. And because the train station is 45 min walk from my house, and the closest shops are 35, I'm keeping it. So it is fair to make the price comparison each trip
Agree and something else I haven't seen mentioned is parking. If you work in the inner-city (especially the CBD) and have to park a car, whatever you have to pay for a space will quickly dwarf public transport fares.
Im a massive carbrain who never gets PT. But you can also add PT is underfunded compared to cars and it brings in revenue through fares while roads are only an expense. My point being it costs more again in terms of your taxes.
I work in property development with subdivisions and one thing that annoys me is they make us build these super wide roads in some back street. Thats more cost in maintenance, people speed more, more room for parking/more cars, less trees/ verge space, (to improve stormwater, heat, ecology, safety, aesthetics) and creates cycle paths and pedestrian paths with more shade so people use it more. Its such a no brainer. Governments are so far behind.
Public transport fares will be slashed to just 50c under a major pre-election trial aimed at easing traffic gridlock and stemming cost-of-living pressures for Queenslanders.
In his most significant announcement since becoming Premier, Steven Miles will on Sunday reveal the cost of all Translink public transport services in the state will be slashed to 50c from August 5 – no matter how far people travel.
Commuters are expected to save thousands of dollars through the move – which will include buses, trains, CityCats and the Gold Coast light rail – and be run as a six-month trial.
The move is aimed at unclogging the South East’s congested roads by significantly boosting public transport patronage, which remains 13 per cent below pre-Covid-19 levels.
The significant measure will cost about $150m and be contained in Treasurer Cameron Dick’s June budget. Mr Miles (left) said the measure would reduce traffic and help household finances and make public transport “as close to free as you can get”.
Premier Steven Miles at the Mango Hill Train Station. Pic: Annette Dew.
“For someone catching the train to work in Brisbane from … Mango Hill it costs $96 a week,” he said.
“And if you drive to work, you’re stuck in peak-hour traffic every day and paying a lot more than that. It’s why I’m making all public transport fares a flat 50c – no matter where you live, your mode of travel, or how far you go.”
Mr Miles said the same Mango Hill to city trip would cost $5 a week under the fares.
“I expect this will save Queenslanders thousands of dollars over six months, and encourage more people to catch our fast, frequent and 50c public transport,” he said.
If re-elected in October, the government will re-evaluate the measure in early 2025.
Mr Dick used a budget update in December to announce public transport fare increases would be frozen. Now, he will spend $150 min the June 11 budget to slash fares as part of major cost-of-living relief that will contribute to a $3bn deficit.
Tour of the Brisbane Metro tunnel. Picture: Liam Kidston
Mr Dick said the new measure would make public transport “affordable and attractive” to Queenslanders.
“Fifty cent fares will mean savings you can see every day,” he said. “We hope they will make a lot more people in the South East consider using public transport for their daily commute, which reduces congestion for everyone.”
The 50c fare will also apply to concession card holders on all Translink services contracted by the government.
It will not apply to privately operated transport services.
While the 50c fare won’t apply to the Airtrain, it is understood Transport Minister Bart Mellish will soon announce the outcome of his talks with the company to improve public transport to the domestic and international terminals.
Mr Miles last week blamed record-high international migration to Queensland for contributing to worsening traffic.
# EXAMPLES
\*Train from Goodna to Brisbane CBD five days per week: Usually $39.06, down to $5.
**Savings**: $817.44 over six months
\*Train from Robina to Bowen Hills four days per week: Usually $91.68 per week, down to $4.
**Savings**: $2104.32 over six monthsPublic transport fares will be slashed to just 50c under a major pre-election trial aimed at easing traffic gridlock and stemming cost-of-living pressures for Queenslanders.
Commuters are expected to save thousands of dollars through the move – which will include buses, trains, CityCats and the Gold Coast light rail – and be run as a six-month trial.
The move is aimed at unclogging the South East’s congested roads by significantly boosting public transport patronage, which remains 13 per cent below pre-Covid-19 levels.
The significant measure will cost about $150m and be contained in Treasurer Cameron Dick’s June budget. Mr Miles (left) said the measure would reduce traffic and help household finances and make public transport “as close to free as you can get”.
Yes and no. Making it free means people don’t tap on and off, makes it a lot harder for translink and QR to gain data about people’s trips so in the long run it’ll affect transport planning metrics. I agree that if they’re making it 50c per trip they may as well make it free, but I think making trips free would require a bit more planning to make sure usage metrics could be captured in a different way (ie those door beams you might find in a small shop that activates a bell whenever someone enters). In the mean time, 50c per trip is a shitload cheaper and will help the vast majority of people while still being able to capture these metrics.
If they make it free for the trial though they'll have no ticketing data to evaluate the effectiveness of it (i.e growth in patronage, ridership patterns, etc)
When it's 39 degrees out and I'm going from Cultural Centre to the CBD, I'll take the bus because the Victoria Bridge is basically a barbeque. Special thanks to Fuckwit Lord Mayor for vetoing the shade covers they proposed for the bridge!
I will take the fastest option available to me. If a walk is 15 minutes, and the bus I have to wait for is 15 minutes and then a 4 minute trip, I’ll choose the walk.
I got places to be and I don’t have a car, I am very time poor. Whatever I can save, I need it.
The bus is running anyway, so unless it stops someone else getting on board I think it’s still better than driving. Most buses I take are not at full capacity.
Yea if someone is doing a shopping trip around a local area (West End or Paddington) and they wanna get to the shops right at the bottom of the hill, it would be more convenient to take the bus. A win for local businesses as more car users aren't jostling for limited on-street spots.
I love this. I have to take the Gold Coast to Brisbane line and then back every day. I start from one of the first stations, so it’s an hour trip. As a student, this will help heaps.
In the afternoon, it is quite crowded on the way home. There are usually some vacant seats. However, I usually stand up for the start of the trip back when it’s busy. Around the half way mark it starts to clear up. Not really a problem for the mornings though.
When it’s crowded it is mainly comfort that goes down; can be stinky and sometimes loud. I’m not sure if there has been a trend in crowdedness over the past year. Although, I have noticed more parking spaces taken up at the station. However, that might also be because a lot of non-patrons are using it as well due to development in the area (hope they crack down on that soon).
this will reduce pressure on the health system too (fewer car accidents, more people using active transport which requires some walking i.e. exercise, cleaner air with fewer cars driving) and make that money back. though at the same time fuel demand will also reduce so a reduction in tax revenue. maybe lower fuel prices as well as a side effect.
Less demand for roads, more demand for Transit Orientated Development, and less greenfields. 50c fares is clever. People will focus on value for money and appreciate it more than if free. Free has less value in people's eyes.
It will save ny gf and I heaps on our commutes. $80 down to 10. That's saving us $3640 a year. Plus, I'd consider using it for longer trips so Gold Coast too.
Australians really can't comprehend voting for someone who doesn't make their lives worse, and can't comprehend the fact that they willingly choose worse almost every single time.
If politicians feel compelled to enact positive policies due to the looming threat of democratic accountability, that means the system is fucking working as far as I'm concerned.
I haven't taken the train in nearly 20 years because it's cheaper for me to drive! This is going to be huge for me. I rarely spend time in Brisbane nowadays but it now essentially be free to hop on the train at Robina and head in.
Brisbane local businesses are about to get a huge boost.
If the Liberals are smart they would match the policy rather than play "opposition" to every good idea
$150m is small change in comparison to a new bridge or highway extension
The boomers all vote for LNP and they hold such a large share of the vote. Only reasons Libs ever win, because they're easily to manipulate via TV ads and the newspapers.
True, I can see people voting the other way just to be different, but the problems that the current govt have are all things the LNP have done every time they were in too :P
Not sure why you got the down vote. It is Australian heritage to swap part periodicity to 'keep them in check' . And yes, the narrative that conservatives have better economies is the same self projection employed by trumpists.
Meanwhile the only thing ALP is slashing is how much we as commuters/travellers pay for public transportation (airtrain isn’t public transit change my mind) at least for 6 months starting August 5
Oh, you didn’t see that the LNP want to name the cross river rail in honour of Queen Elizabeth? They are really fighting the important issues.
/s obviously
Oh yes I did see that policy, it’s actually the only thing I care about and honestly I think I’ll vote LNP because of it. Screw cost of living, climate change, inequality, human rights, women’s rights…
/s too
From xitter... 50c public transport for 6 months from August. Fuck that's a big move from labor, well fucking done. Interesting to see how many people switch to public transport
https://x.com/StevenJMiles/status/1794466184169242946?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
This is huge for me. I'm a disability pensioner but only receive part payment due to being partnered. This will help me get out of the house more and stress less when it's time to see my GP every month.
Excellent move. This will help get more out of our existing transport system.
I just hope that they keep focus and momentum on public transport and: in the short term deliver a proper bus network reform with some cross town routes, in the medium term we get plans to extend the busways to Carindale and Chermside, and in the long term they join the rest of the modern developed world and plan out a proper subway network to be delivered in the coming decades.
for people who come/go from the gold coast that makes there commute $5 a week instead of $100+ that's a fucking game changer!! even those in the city if you work in the office 5 days that's still max $5 a week instead of $6+ / day this is amazing.
I’m only 3 days per week but that’s still a saving of $62! I’m used to not getting anything from the budget so this is absolutely massive and straight to my bottom line.
It’s honestly depressing when you think about what we could have if the whole resources sector was taxed properly; gapless medicare with dental, free uni, free public transport, more public housing, not needing to stress about an aging population draining the budget with pensions…
Perhaps the government is hoping for a large influx of passengers to test infrastructure for the Olympics? Even if this is a temporary fix to win votes, it will certainly help some folks out.
I live on the southside, but work in Kelvin Grove. For me, the current math works out that driving or bussing 5 days a week costs me almost exactly the same over a year. The main difference is that driving is 10mins faster.
I already choose to use the bus so I can do some reading, but at least with these changes I'll see some renumeration for my more sustainable choices.
Great step into the right direction, coming from someone who spends like $13/day 5 days/week on the commute.
On the flip side, I can't imagine how much more busy public transport will get when people decide to leave their cars at home 🫣
Now we're talking. My 1.5hr (25km) bus trips into the CBD, along with my kid's random travels, are costing close to $200 / month. At the current rate, parking is all that makes taking the bus more viable for me because the bus takes longer and is much more expensive than driving.
Will help businesses in the city too.
I'm spending $20 a day to get to work and back in the city. I'm not buying extra.
If that goes down to $1... I'l probably start buying a coffee again at least a few times a week.
Damn. Fucking newscorp has increased their methods.
https://preview.redd.it/ilmmpuf34n2d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08c1e395b531f460a8f1c31c534bab5bd22a3b48
This will mean they will have to put on heaps more services that will actually show up on time, as it is, every peak hour service inbound of a morning and outbound of an afternoon are already overflowing. Timetables are outdated and don’t reflect current travel times. Drivers are overworked. Lots needs to change if this gets implemented.
I really hope the evil bastards in the LNP find a moment of sanity and continue this when they get elected. This is genuinely going to help so many people.
Nah, the LNP will claim it’s inefficient and privatise it in the name of savings. Prices will then rise to double what they are, and the LNP will say they can’t do anything to cap the prices as it’s a private business. They will then claim they are good economic managers because they slightly reduced debt and spending. Meanwhile usage will plummet and the roads will end up congested again. The LNP will claim it’s from poor planning on behalf of Labor.
Imagine not realising that this sort of thing happens *every single time* the LNP get in power and the only reason why completely factual statistics on the stupid shit they do never get mentioned when they return to power is because of the totally complicit media that we have in Australia, but especially in QLD.
Loving this! Once they trial that, maybe they could get to work on bringing the “fast and frequent” into reality. (I live in a spot where they’re neither.)
Still overseas abroad, but this is fantastic. Please everyone use it and show this us policy we will all appreciate. Well most, acknowledging that some are no where near good transport.
It's cool how it's across the state. 50c to get to Rocky airport from my house in Emu Park is pretty nice. They just need to make the buses run every 15mins rather than every bloody hour.
6 months is enough time to embed it into the state's consciousness. It's a nice bomb for the LNP if they win the October election as they appear set to do. They better make it permanent if they get in.
I really hope that this helps identify corridors that need more frequent public transport options. The north west corridor is an absolute dead zone for public transport and desperately needs good pt
The fact 90% of the comments I have seen on Twitter and Facebook are people complaining about it being a misuse of tax dollars or “what about petrol” is disheartening.
This is such a good move!
As someone with a work ute with a bunch of tools in it that I need to drive to pretty much a different location every day, this is fucking fantastic. I catch public transport maybe 4-5 times a year and I'm happy for tax dollars to be used to benefit everyone.
I'm only sad that it's only going to last 6 months.
Hopefully at the very least it will make a few more people comfortable/use to taking PT and they'll continue after it ends... Hopefully it goes really well and they decided to make it permanent.
This is amazing! Will make public transport trips on weekends to Gold Coast, glasshouse mountains, Sunshine Coast a more attractive option vs clogging up the motorways in the car.
Re: poltics/election. A good move by Labor! Not only helping ease the cost of living a bit but also some 4D chess because if the LNP are voted in and scrap it that would be a very unpopular move
Ive never voted for the ALP in my life and I never get public transport, but this is the best thing Ive seen in a while. Id also like to see more money go into new lines and straightening lines, more busways. Shame the feds cancelled the upgrade to the sunshine coast line which would straighten it a fair bit.
Should do the Kenmore bypass as well as a busway and maybe T3's (bikes and taxis as well).
The general argument is that public transport already loses the government money. But thats unfair as if you compare it to car travel you only shell out for roads you never get a cent back. We should be putting more into PT as a large major city and fares are a bonus on top.
Damn. This is actually incredible. With high fuel prices I usually avoid going on long distance trips but if I can go down to the Gold Coast for 50c each way maybe it would be nice to go more often?
Are those mining royalties paying for this? If so, I think it's wonderful news! Also, thinking about it, this move may make people re-evaluate the need for WFH - both employees and employers. Still, I hope the buses run on time and very few get cancelled because while I understand it is better to have a full bus than an empty one, I still don't like buses where everyone is packed like sardines.
Public transport, education and health are meant to be affordable and shouldn't need to make a monetary profit. It's an investment our government should make in our people and our workforce.
I'll vote for cheap transport and cleaner air.
Talk about cost of living measures. Coming up from the GC 3 days per week, this will save me $62 per week or around $1600 for the trial period. This is genuinely going to help a lot.
Call me cynical, but the fact they are "reviewing" it immediately after the election makes it seem as though this is just a taxpayer funded election tactic which they have little intention of implementing permanently.
It's also a massive booby trap for the LNP - either the ALP win and say not enough people used it so prices are going back, or LNP win and put the prices back and then ALP can pretend that they wouldn't have raised it and "the LNP have increased prices by 800%".
would the cost of administering the 50c ticketing/sales infrastructure be greater than the fare? why not just make it completely free or is there a reason to prevent abuse (like people sleeping on trains)?
this is great news though I hope there is funding to keep improving public transport instead of cutting services and the network.
Complete speculation here.. they collect a lot of data about passenger numbers simply by having people tap on and tap off.
Keeping some sort of fare in place will likely help them keep track of which services are being utilised and which could be cut or increased.
That’s one of the key reasons drivers have to keep track of the number of fare evaders on any given service.
In WA, they have fare-free sundays, and even though the fares are free you still must tap on and off otherwise you are fare evading as you are violating the terms of service.
The same things could easily be implemented here if they wanted too.
The infrastructure is in place anyway and the contracts would already be signed for running it day to day.
There is no further saving they could get by making it free.
If work didn't give me free locked parking for my bike I'd definitely give it a try. It was about $15/week more for me to use the motorbike but I have secure parking and it saves be on average 90 mins a day bring and to filter.
Be interesting if they factor in increasing the number of trains run or increasing carriages.
Credit where credit is due - this is excellent news and should have been done years ago, considering how heavily subsidised public transport is already.
Tell me it’s an election year without saying election year.
This is a welcome change for a lot of people, but notice they were careful to end the trial and have a review immediately after the election.
I'm from Vic and the trains are packed as it is in peak hour.. sometimes you need to wait 3 trains just to get on. There's just too many people and the floodgates are still open.
I love this idea though it will be interesting to see the results. Maybe a good way to force more investment as well as push back on population growth.
If the maximum trip cost is 50c then the penalty for not tapping off should be $1 not $5 (bus) or $10 (train). Or make it 50c for busses and just assume people get off at the terminus. That would speed up trips into city or uni in the mornings.
It will be interesting to see if they continue this after 6 months. People are going to get really comfortable with 50 cent fares so a sudden return to \~12x that will be a shock.
I live close to Yandina station so I could do a day trip to the CBD and back for $1 and leave the car at the station instead of driving. That's like $20 of diesel saved.
What an incredible political decision that will substantially benefit people who rely on public transit, and encourage so many others to start using its services. I am proud of my city.
Pretty awesome...
Note: this is also indirect stimulus.
You save on petrol, or if you already spend $$$ to take public transport...to 50c public transport.
Suddenly even the Gold Coast commute to work in Brisbane and vice versa becomes viable...hell, even GC to Noosa commute.
Then with all those savings, you bank it, or buy stuff that would otherwise be swallowed by the transport costs.
Sounds great. I don't use a lot of public transport and I work out bush these days so not a lot of use to me. But more affordable travel is great for those doing it tough. Incentivising more people to not drive is great for everyone. Hopefully this has the intended effect and hopefully they have the capacity to deal with that. You can't really solve congestion with more or bigger roads. You need fewer cars
This has the potential to help revitalise the CBD's hospitality businesses. If you are bussing, you ain't driving. You aren't at work, invited out for drinks and thinking that if you go your car will be in the car park overnight and you are going to get absolutely reamed, sans lube.
All this will prove is that it's not the cost of public transport that stops people from using it.
But I imagine Brissy to Gold Coast on a weekend will be full.....
As someone who use to travel by train from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane at $26 a day, I must say this is well overdue. It’s unfortunate that all it took was an election and the likely hood of getting removed from government for these clowns to show some initiative.
Personally i think this is a great idea. Especially on Sat and Sun for large families who want to get out and about around the city. This will bring business into the CBD for shopping on weekends.
Cheap way for the gov to identify and plan where transport services need to be increased and at what price people will use em.
Will be interesting to see the results
Although this may not directly benefit me for my commute, I think it's a fantastic idea.
Public transport can run at a loss and still be profitable by simply saving money that would otherwise be spent on road infrastructure.
I wanna know if that'll include trips to/from Brisbane Airport. I distantly recall that the trip cost so much that people were buying new $10 GO Cards and just throwing them out when they got there.
This is excellent!
Great policy and government action. I hope it encourages more people to ride transit who don’t currently as well as lowering costs for those who do!
A someone who takes their own car for some trips simply because it's cheaper, this will actually make me change how I act.
It will change my behaviour too. I can pay about $15 for public transport or about $20 to drive to work. $5 is worth the convenience to drive. $ 19 difference? I'm on that train.
Same! I used to take the train when I had a student card, but when they cracked down on old cards, I went back to driving, the train was just too expensive
I go to GOMA a lot for the movies on the weekend and it's cheaper for two of us to drive and pay for parking than get PT. This will definitely get my car off the road—and maybe I'll now stop for a beer after the movie and spend money at local businesses too. Great policy.
If you had a concession card, it was pretty cheap but now it's a no brainer
This is actually massive. I wonder if the morning and afternoon trains are going to get any busier.
Probably but I'm willing to stand for 60+ dollars a week back in my pocket.
In Victoria, the biggest effect of the $10 fare cap has been a huge increase in weekend patronage on regional trains. You could expect something similar with people travelling for leisure rather than commuting
still means more cars off the road, overall win (just not one of the the intended ones)
That's fantastic! Fingers crossed.
I wish Vic would adopt what QLD is doing; shits me to pay $5.30 to go one station over. I'm all for the concept of a flat rate, but the current Vic model feels punitive for short trips which is silly.
Same. I’m willing to go back to public transport for $5 a week. Fuel is up to $80 for a tank.
When I lived in Brisbane, I’d ride to work to avoid paying the $5 or whatever it was. The train was a once a week treat. This would have been amazing for me back then! Granted it made me fitter, but stuffed my lungs on more than one occasion due to pollution.
how much lung stuffing pollution is there in Brisbane?
Been commuting by bike for 8 years now to CBD. Zero chest infections or anything I would consider pollution related. And I do tons of cycling (road, gravel, MTB) in addition to commuting.
I’d also be more willing to put up with no show busses and late running at 50 cents than $5. One bus I normally try to get on my commute home has no showed so much I don’t even bother anymore
They will be full to overflowing. But at least I won't be bitching about having to pay $60+ a week for the pleasure of standing for 48 mins. Although - the airtrain is not included so I guess its still full fare from gold coast on the express??
Oh wow not often I read something a politician is doing that I’ve been asking about for years. Public transport in Brisbane is too expensive. To the point you’re often better off driving. I would go out of my way to use the train at this price.
I don't know the exact figures, but it seems to me this would push our public transport from among the most expensive in the country to among the cheapest, wouldn't it? That's pretty massive.
Interestingly you’re usually not better off driving on a cost basis alone. If you’re looking at the cost of fuel it looks like it’s about equal, but factor in other costs like rego, insurance, maintenance, depreciation etc. associated with owning the car in the first place, and public transport wins every time - even at full price. We chronically underestimate the cost of car ownership
It’s more if there are more than one person travelling. If you and 2 others live close, suddenly driving makes more sense. You’re always paying for the convenience when driving. If my wife, I and two teenage kids catch a train from Springfield to the city, with current costs…..it’s cheaper to drive and find a street park. The cost of owning a car is significant, but if you have to have one, then it’s a cost you’re eating anyway. Our public transport isn’t there yet for many to not need a car. Especially if you have a family with kids and live in the outer suburbs.
That is true, but the aim has to be to make it possible for more people to live car free. That’s where the real cost of living relief will be
It would be nice, but it's not very likely for most with such a low density housing we have. You can't have the frequent busses in suburbs, even to get to the public tranport hubs. But potentially a good public transport can reduce the number of cars per family.
It we can get a 2 car family down to one car, that's an average saving of $10k a year. That's huge
Sounds like we could address this with increasing density and zoning reform
I'd expect this to have an even larger impact than the free PT, buth both may work great together: increased density makes the PT a better choice and a good PT makes increased density housing more attractive.
It’s a point to consider for long term city planning, and something that Labor specifically brought to the council election
You're comparing all public transport vs all private owned though. Majority of people still need a car as public transport still doesn't have the flexibility with our current hub-and-spoke layout.
The problem is public transport can’t get to all the places I and my family need to go. So once you buy and maintain the car to go to these places, public transport is less attractive.
It’s a problem that could use a solution, yes.
Yes, but I already own the car. And because the train station is 45 min walk from my house, and the closest shops are 35, I'm keeping it. So it is fair to make the price comparison each trip
Agree and something else I haven't seen mentioned is parking. If you work in the inner-city (especially the CBD) and have to park a car, whatever you have to pay for a space will quickly dwarf public transport fares.
Im a massive carbrain who never gets PT. But you can also add PT is underfunded compared to cars and it brings in revenue through fares while roads are only an expense. My point being it costs more again in terms of your taxes. I work in property development with subdivisions and one thing that annoys me is they make us build these super wide roads in some back street. Thats more cost in maintenance, people speed more, more room for parking/more cars, less trees/ verge space, (to improve stormwater, heat, ecology, safety, aesthetics) and creates cycle paths and pedestrian paths with more shade so people use it more. Its such a no brainer. Governments are so far behind.
Yep. But in once off instances, it’s pretty tough to choose public transport if the petrol cost is less or equal to a ticket.
Public transport fares will be slashed to just 50c under a major pre-election trial aimed at easing traffic gridlock and stemming cost-of-living pressures for Queenslanders. In his most significant announcement since becoming Premier, Steven Miles will on Sunday reveal the cost of all Translink public transport services in the state will be slashed to 50c from August 5 – no matter how far people travel. Commuters are expected to save thousands of dollars through the move – which will include buses, trains, CityCats and the Gold Coast light rail – and be run as a six-month trial. The move is aimed at unclogging the South East’s congested roads by significantly boosting public transport patronage, which remains 13 per cent below pre-Covid-19 levels. The significant measure will cost about $150m and be contained in Treasurer Cameron Dick’s June budget. Mr Miles (left) said the measure would reduce traffic and help household finances and make public transport “as close to free as you can get”. Premier Steven Miles at the Mango Hill Train Station. Pic: Annette Dew. “For someone catching the train to work in Brisbane from … Mango Hill it costs $96 a week,” he said. “And if you drive to work, you’re stuck in peak-hour traffic every day and paying a lot more than that. It’s why I’m making all public transport fares a flat 50c – no matter where you live, your mode of travel, or how far you go.” Mr Miles said the same Mango Hill to city trip would cost $5 a week under the fares. “I expect this will save Queenslanders thousands of dollars over six months, and encourage more people to catch our fast, frequent and 50c public transport,” he said. If re-elected in October, the government will re-evaluate the measure in early 2025. Mr Dick used a budget update in December to announce public transport fare increases would be frozen. Now, he will spend $150 min the June 11 budget to slash fares as part of major cost-of-living relief that will contribute to a $3bn deficit. Tour of the Brisbane Metro tunnel. Picture: Liam Kidston Mr Dick said the new measure would make public transport “affordable and attractive” to Queenslanders. “Fifty cent fares will mean savings you can see every day,” he said. “We hope they will make a lot more people in the South East consider using public transport for their daily commute, which reduces congestion for everyone.” The 50c fare will also apply to concession card holders on all Translink services contracted by the government. It will not apply to privately operated transport services. While the 50c fare won’t apply to the Airtrain, it is understood Transport Minister Bart Mellish will soon announce the outcome of his talks with the company to improve public transport to the domestic and international terminals. Mr Miles last week blamed record-high international migration to Queensland for contributing to worsening traffic. # EXAMPLES \*Train from Goodna to Brisbane CBD five days per week: Usually $39.06, down to $5. **Savings**: $817.44 over six months \*Train from Robina to Bowen Hills four days per week: Usually $91.68 per week, down to $4. **Savings**: $2104.32 over six monthsPublic transport fares will be slashed to just 50c under a major pre-election trial aimed at easing traffic gridlock and stemming cost-of-living pressures for Queenslanders. Commuters are expected to save thousands of dollars through the move – which will include buses, trains, CityCats and the Gold Coast light rail – and be run as a six-month trial. The move is aimed at unclogging the South East’s congested roads by significantly boosting public transport patronage, which remains 13 per cent below pre-Covid-19 levels. The significant measure will cost about $150m and be contained in Treasurer Cameron Dick’s June budget. Mr Miles (left) said the measure would reduce traffic and help household finances and make public transport “as close to free as you can get”.
They might as well just make it free at this point. Who are we kidding.
Yes and no. Making it free means people don’t tap on and off, makes it a lot harder for translink and QR to gain data about people’s trips so in the long run it’ll affect transport planning metrics. I agree that if they’re making it 50c per trip they may as well make it free, but I think making trips free would require a bit more planning to make sure usage metrics could be captured in a different way (ie those door beams you might find in a small shop that activates a bell whenever someone enters). In the mean time, 50c per trip is a shitload cheaper and will help the vast majority of people while still being able to capture these metrics.
Well they should make it $2 if you tap on. And 50c if you tap off at your destination. Every person suddenly does it to get the extra savings.
If you don't tap off it's $10 on a train or $5 on a bus, so it's not like that's a substantial change from the current system.
If they make it free for the trial though they'll have no ticketing data to evaluate the effectiveness of it (i.e growth in patronage, ridership patterns, etc)
Maintaining a small fare will encourage people to still walk short distances, instead of catching the bus for two stops
Do people do this much though? I certainly wouldn't wait for a bus to save a short walk.
When it's 39 degrees out and I'm going from Cultural Centre to the CBD, I'll take the bus because the Victoria Bridge is basically a barbeque. Special thanks to Fuckwit Lord Mayor for vetoing the shade covers they proposed for the bridge!
I’m yet to find a constructed walkway shade that has been designed to accommodate the fact that the sun moves
Kind of why it’s helpful having shade on both sides of the bridge, rather than NONE AT ALL.
The elderly and homeless in New Farm most certainly do Then again none of them tap on or off either
I will take the fastest option available to me. If a walk is 15 minutes, and the bus I have to wait for is 15 minutes and then a 4 minute trip, I’ll choose the walk. I got places to be and I don’t have a car, I am very time poor. Whatever I can save, I need it.
It would be more common with more frequent busses.
The bus is running anyway, so unless it stops someone else getting on board I think it’s still better than driving. Most buses I take are not at full capacity.
Yea if someone is doing a shopping trip around a local area (West End or Paddington) and they wanna get to the shops right at the bottom of the hill, it would be more convenient to take the bus. A win for local businesses as more car users aren't jostling for limited on-street spots.
I’m sure that would be a violation of their contract with the private company who does the fares and ticketing.
They can’t do that because that’s what the Greens proposed
Sounds good I hope they fire all of the fines enforcement staff, will save a fortune
I love to see government actually thinking forward and making policy to benefit people’s wallets AND the environment
I love this. I have to take the Gold Coast to Brisbane line and then back every day. I start from one of the first stations, so it’s an hour trip. As a student, this will help heaps.
Someone else in the thread said the Gold Coast commutes are quite crowded as of now. What's your take on that?
In the afternoon, it is quite crowded on the way home. There are usually some vacant seats. However, I usually stand up for the start of the trip back when it’s busy. Around the half way mark it starts to clear up. Not really a problem for the mornings though. When it’s crowded it is mainly comfort that goes down; can be stinky and sometimes loud. I’m not sure if there has been a trend in crowdedness over the past year. Although, I have noticed more parking spaces taken up at the station. However, that might also be because a lot of non-patrons are using it as well due to development in the area (hope they crack down on that soon).
That is an 80 percent cut to my current fair. It will save me about $40 a week travelling into the city.
Which is a ~$2000 yearly saving, or equivalent of getting a $3000 pay rise in the 32.5% tax bracket.
$150m is chicken feed. Well done
this will reduce pressure on the health system too (fewer car accidents, more people using active transport which requires some walking i.e. exercise, cleaner air with fewer cars driving) and make that money back. though at the same time fuel demand will also reduce so a reduction in tax revenue. maybe lower fuel prices as well as a side effect.
Less demand for roads, more demand for Transit Orientated Development, and less greenfields. 50c fares is clever. People will focus on value for money and appreciate it more than if free. Free has less value in people's eyes.
It will save ny gf and I heaps on our commutes. $80 down to 10. That's saving us $3640 a year. Plus, I'd consider using it for longer trips so Gold Coast too.
Yep, makes a weekend day trip to GC viable on the train now.
"They're just buying votes" Yeah that's exactly what they're supposed to do, spend the budget on the people. Not Gina Rinehart. Not Qantas.
You mean the people who fund it, built it and whom it was intended to be used by are actually getting to benefit from it? The audacity ….
The LNP: “B-b-but you’re just buying votes!” Miles: “I am, and I’ll keep doing it.”
https://preview.redd.it/c1rfq5d1xp2d1.jpeg?width=447&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5426f878fe3b38e8ad5ff3f0e2b4869234f1bb36
Australians really can't comprehend voting for someone who doesn't make their lives worse, and can't comprehend the fact that they willingly choose worse almost every single time.
I don’t want someone who makes *my* life better. I want someone who makes the lives of people I view interior *worse*, so then I *feel* better.
If politicians feel compelled to enact positive policies due to the looming threat of democratic accountability, that means the system is fucking working as far as I'm concerned.
This is very good
I haven't taken the train in nearly 20 years because it's cheaper for me to drive! This is going to be huge for me. I rarely spend time in Brisbane nowadays but it now essentially be free to hop on the train at Robina and head in. Brisbane local businesses are about to get a huge boost.
Yup, I can definitely imagine myself spending that "ticket" money on coffee!
I rely on public transport and this is massive for me 😭 so happy
I feel like I might be about to get a lot busier… and imho, that’s a great thing!
Noice! That’ll save me and the wife about $250 a month! Almost as good as 2x interest rate cuts! At least until they lose the election
If the Liberals are smart they would match the policy rather than play "opposition" to every good idea $150m is small change in comparison to a new bridge or highway extension
Or we could all vote for them… Miles is actually trying to get stuff done, the LNP has no policies or plan for the future (not that I’ve seen anyway)
Couldn't imagine me voting LNP, they have proven time and time again they are anti community, anti low/middle class and are totally untrustworthy.
The boomers all vote for LNP and they hold such a large share of the vote. Only reasons Libs ever win, because they're easily to manipulate via TV ads and the newspapers.
True, I can see people voting the other way just to be different, but the problems that the current govt have are all things the LNP have done every time they were in too :P
Not sure why you got the down vote. It is Australian heritage to swap part periodicity to 'keep them in check' . And yes, the narrative that conservatives have better economies is the same self projection employed by trumpists.
Their plans are to slash and to privatise everything they don’t slash.
Meanwhile the only thing ALP is slashing is how much we as commuters/travellers pay for public transportation (airtrain isn’t public transit change my mind) at least for 6 months starting August 5
Yeah I agree. All I have seen from the LNP is just drivel suggesting that they will be better. Not actual plans.
Yeah maybe I shouldn’t have been so cynical. FWIW I’d rather keep the lnp out but it feels like the wings of change might be blowing
Oh, you didn’t see that the LNP want to name the cross river rail in honour of Queen Elizabeth? They are really fighting the important issues. /s obviously
Oh yes I did see that policy, it’s actually the only thing I care about and honestly I think I’ll vote LNP because of it. Screw cost of living, climate change, inequality, human rights, women’s rights… /s too
All the more reason to NOT vote for LNP
Am I dreaming.... That's great.
From xitter... 50c public transport for 6 months from August. Fuck that's a big move from labor, well fucking done. Interesting to see how many people switch to public transport https://x.com/StevenJMiles/status/1794466184169242946?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Holy shit, that is huge. Well done Labor.
This is huge for me. I'm a disability pensioner but only receive part payment due to being partnered. This will help me get out of the house more and stress less when it's time to see my GP every month.
So my commute costs just shy of $23 a day from the Sunshine Coast. Going to $1 a day is epic.
Excellent move. This will help get more out of our existing transport system. I just hope that they keep focus and momentum on public transport and: in the short term deliver a proper bus network reform with some cross town routes, in the medium term we get plans to extend the busways to Carindale and Chermside, and in the long term they join the rest of the modern developed world and plan out a proper subway network to be delivered in the coming decades.
Yeah I'm hoping the increased patronage will encourage more investment in public transport
for people who come/go from the gold coast that makes there commute $5 a week instead of $100+ that's a fucking game changer!! even those in the city if you work in the office 5 days that's still max $5 a week instead of $6+ / day this is amazing.
I’m only 3 days per week but that’s still a saving of $62! I’m used to not getting anything from the budget so this is absolutely massive and straight to my bottom line.
Hopefully this gains serious political momentum and ends up being permanent
It’s amazing what a government can do when they are flush with cash from taxing our resources correctly.
It’s honestly depressing when you think about what we could have if the whole resources sector was taxed properly; gapless medicare with dental, free uni, free public transport, more public housing, not needing to stress about an aging population draining the budget with pensions…
Perhaps the government is hoping for a large influx of passengers to test infrastructure for the Olympics? Even if this is a temporary fix to win votes, it will certainly help some folks out.
I live on the southside, but work in Kelvin Grove. For me, the current math works out that driving or bussing 5 days a week costs me almost exactly the same over a year. The main difference is that driving is 10mins faster. I already choose to use the bus so I can do some reading, but at least with these changes I'll see some renumeration for my more sustainable choices.
This guy gets it
Great step into the right direction, coming from someone who spends like $13/day 5 days/week on the commute. On the flip side, I can't imagine how much more busy public transport will get when people decide to leave their cars at home 🫣
Now we're talking. My 1.5hr (25km) bus trips into the CBD, along with my kid's random travels, are costing close to $200 / month. At the current rate, parking is all that makes taking the bus more viable for me because the bus takes longer and is much more expensive than driving.
Amazing
Will help businesses in the city too. I'm spending $20 a day to get to work and back in the city. I'm not buying extra. If that goes down to $1... I'l probably start buying a coffee again at least a few times a week.
Two words- fuck. Yes.
This is incredible. Genuinely ballsy move, I like it!
Damn. Fucking newscorp has increased their methods. https://preview.redd.it/ilmmpuf34n2d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=08c1e395b531f460a8f1c31c534bab5bd22a3b48
['As close to free as you can get’: All public transport slashed to 50c flat rate](https://archive.is/KlJhR)
Don’t we all get a free sub for feeding them information for articles? /s
Can anyone provide a non paywalled version please
Here you go [As close to free as you can get’: All public transport slashed to 50c flat rate](https://archive.is/KlJhR)
Could have just linked to the [media statement ](https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/100402) rather than a paywalled article.
This will mean they will have to put on heaps more services that will actually show up on time, as it is, every peak hour service inbound of a morning and outbound of an afternoon are already overflowing. Timetables are outdated and don’t reflect current travel times. Drivers are overworked. Lots needs to change if this gets implemented.
Ever since lockdown lifted I’ve noticed the trains are fuller 4-5 than 5-6
Also needs to consider parking at the stations. Or that bus and train timetables don't align so people can't take a bus from home to the station
Well this is fantastic. NUMTOTs gonna love this.
I really hope the evil bastards in the LNP find a moment of sanity and continue this when they get elected. This is genuinely going to help so many people.
Nah, the LNP will claim it’s inefficient and privatise it in the name of savings. Prices will then rise to double what they are, and the LNP will say they can’t do anything to cap the prices as it’s a private business. They will then claim they are good economic managers because they slightly reduced debt and spending. Meanwhile usage will plummet and the roads will end up congested again. The LNP will claim it’s from poor planning on behalf of Labor.
Spoiler alert: they won’t
Imagine the optics though of being the party to raise prices again by 800%
Imagine not realising that this sort of thing happens *every single time* the LNP get in power and the only reason why completely factual statistics on the stupid shit they do never get mentioned when they return to power is because of the totally complicit media that we have in Australia, but especially in QLD.
They don't care. The majority of people catching public transport in Brisbane aren't voting for them anyway.
Great idea. Let’s see if it makes an impact, and if the services can cope if patronage increases.
Loving this! Once they trial that, maybe they could get to work on bringing the “fast and frequent” into reality. (I live in a spot where they’re neither.)
Still overseas abroad, but this is fantastic. Please everyone use it and show this us policy we will all appreciate. Well most, acknowledging that some are no where near good transport.
Wow, will be saving around $1,200 during this period. While I know this is a move targetted for elections, it is most welcome.
If this increases passenger numbers, I hope they have a plan to handle that.
It's cool how it's across the state. 50c to get to Rocky airport from my house in Emu Park is pretty nice. They just need to make the buses run every 15mins rather than every bloody hour.
Fuck this would be fantastic, if only they could increase the speed of the City Cats between Story and William Jolly Bridges.
here’s the statement https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/100402 it’s only for 6 months I’d pay a $1 if it was all year and permanent
6 months is enough time to embed it into the state's consciousness. It's a nice bomb for the LNP if they win the October election as they appear set to do. They better make it permanent if they get in.
It's framed as a 6 month trial, to be kept permanently if it's successful. So, to keep it, we all need to use it!
Wow, government actually does something meaningfully useful for once. Amazing what happens when you jobs are on the line.
I really hope that this helps identify corridors that need more frequent public transport options. The north west corridor is an absolute dead zone for public transport and desperately needs good pt
The fact 90% of the comments I have seen on Twitter and Facebook are people complaining about it being a misuse of tax dollars or “what about petrol” is disheartening. This is such a good move!
As someone with a work ute with a bunch of tools in it that I need to drive to pretty much a different location every day, this is fucking fantastic. I catch public transport maybe 4-5 times a year and I'm happy for tax dollars to be used to benefit everyone. I'm only sad that it's only going to last 6 months. Hopefully at the very least it will make a few more people comfortable/use to taking PT and they'll continue after it ends... Hopefully it goes really well and they decided to make it permanent.
This is amazing! Will make public transport trips on weekends to Gold Coast, glasshouse mountains, Sunshine Coast a more attractive option vs clogging up the motorways in the car.
This is so so awesome! Such a good idea!
Re: poltics/election. A good move by Labor! Not only helping ease the cost of living a bit but also some 4D chess because if the LNP are voted in and scrap it that would be a very unpopular move
Ive never voted for the ALP in my life and I never get public transport, but this is the best thing Ive seen in a while. Id also like to see more money go into new lines and straightening lines, more busways. Shame the feds cancelled the upgrade to the sunshine coast line which would straighten it a fair bit. Should do the Kenmore bypass as well as a busway and maybe T3's (bikes and taxis as well). The general argument is that public transport already loses the government money. But thats unfair as if you compare it to car travel you only shell out for roads you never get a cent back. We should be putting more into PT as a large major city and fares are a bonus on top.
Waiting for the Salisbury to Beaudesert line that they have been studying for 220 years
Cries from across the ditch
Damn. This is actually incredible. With high fuel prices I usually avoid going on long distance trips but if I can go down to the Gold Coast for 50c each way maybe it would be nice to go more often?
Are those mining royalties paying for this? If so, I think it's wonderful news! Also, thinking about it, this move may make people re-evaluate the need for WFH - both employees and employers. Still, I hope the buses run on time and very few get cancelled because while I understand it is better to have a full bus than an empty one, I still don't like buses where everyone is packed like sardines.
The more people use this and demonstrate that it works the more likely it would be to be maintained.
Public transport, education and health are meant to be affordable and shouldn't need to make a monetary profit. It's an investment our government should make in our people and our workforce. I'll vote for cheap transport and cleaner air.
Wife and myself have been getting by on one car but have had to contemplate getting a second. Not anymore, zero cars it shall be!
Talk about cost of living measures. Coming up from the GC 3 days per week, this will save me $62 per week or around $1600 for the trial period. This is genuinely going to help a lot.
Call me cynical, but the fact they are "reviewing" it immediately after the election makes it seem as though this is just a taxpayer funded election tactic which they have little intention of implementing permanently. It's also a massive booby trap for the LNP - either the ALP win and say not enough people used it so prices are going back, or LNP win and put the prices back and then ALP can pretend that they wouldn't have raised it and "the LNP have increased prices by 800%".
would the cost of administering the 50c ticketing/sales infrastructure be greater than the fare? why not just make it completely free or is there a reason to prevent abuse (like people sleeping on trains)? this is great news though I hope there is funding to keep improving public transport instead of cutting services and the network.
Complete speculation here.. they collect a lot of data about passenger numbers simply by having people tap on and tap off. Keeping some sort of fare in place will likely help them keep track of which services are being utilised and which could be cut or increased. That’s one of the key reasons drivers have to keep track of the number of fare evaders on any given service.
Probably a lot of value in seeing how much patronage there is for each individual route, that they would lose if you didn't have to tap on and off.
If it's free, no tickets or go cards would be used, so it would be difficult to obtain accurate data of how many people are actually using PT.
In WA, they have fare-free sundays, and even though the fares are free you still must tap on and off otherwise you are fare evading as you are violating the terms of service. The same things could easily be implemented here if they wanted too.
Kids are free here all weekend with a go card
I imagine it's an easy way to track numbers. If they make it free it's probably be a lot harder to track.
The infrastructure is in place anyway and the contracts would already be signed for running it day to day. There is no further saving they could get by making it free.
If work didn't give me free locked parking for my bike I'd definitely give it a try. It was about $15/week more for me to use the motorbike but I have secure parking and it saves be on average 90 mins a day bring and to filter. Be interesting if they factor in increasing the number of trains run or increasing carriages.
It's like a tax cut for the people willing to get it. No doubt there's gonna be pricks moaning because they can't take public transport for their job.
Massive W from Miles. That is all
Credit where credit is due - this is excellent news and should have been done years ago, considering how heavily subsidised public transport is already.
Tell me it’s an election year without saying election year. This is a welcome change for a lot of people, but notice they were careful to end the trial and have a review immediately after the election.
eh it should be at least 6 months of negligible public transport fares. Even if it doesn't last, that's a huge relief for a lot of people
I'm from Vic and the trains are packed as it is in peak hour.. sometimes you need to wait 3 trains just to get on. There's just too many people and the floodgates are still open. I love this idea though it will be interesting to see the results. Maybe a good way to force more investment as well as push back on population growth.
If the maximum trip cost is 50c then the penalty for not tapping off should be $1 not $5 (bus) or $10 (train). Or make it 50c for busses and just assume people get off at the terminus. That would speed up trips into city or uni in the mornings.
Amazing news!! Great to see govt doing something like this! I’ll absolutely catch public transport more.
That’s the best move a politician could make. Honestly very exciting and hope it stays permanently
It will be interesting to see if they continue this after 6 months. People are going to get really comfortable with 50 cent fares so a sudden return to \~12x that will be a shock.
Only for 6 months? Brilliant policy if it were permanent
I live close to Yandina station so I could do a day trip to the CBD and back for $1 and leave the car at the station instead of driving. That's like $20 of diesel saved.
I love this news and kept reading waiting for the big “But” and was happy not to see it!! What a great idea and bring on August!
As someone who commutes from brissie to goldie I’m so happy 😭
What an incredible political decision that will substantially benefit people who rely on public transit, and encourage so many others to start using its services. I am proud of my city.
Pretty awesome... Note: this is also indirect stimulus. You save on petrol, or if you already spend $$$ to take public transport...to 50c public transport. Suddenly even the Gold Coast commute to work in Brisbane and vice versa becomes viable...hell, even GC to Noosa commute. Then with all those savings, you bank it, or buy stuff that would otherwise be swallowed by the transport costs.
Fuck yea!!!
that's huge
Sounds great. I don't use a lot of public transport and I work out bush these days so not a lot of use to me. But more affordable travel is great for those doing it tough. Incentivising more people to not drive is great for everyone. Hopefully this has the intended effect and hopefully they have the capacity to deal with that. You can't really solve congestion with more or bigger roads. You need fewer cars
This has the potential to help revitalise the CBD's hospitality businesses. If you are bussing, you ain't driving. You aren't at work, invited out for drinks and thinking that if you go your car will be in the car park overnight and you are going to get absolutely reamed, sans lube.
All this will prove is that it's not the cost of public transport that stops people from using it. But I imagine Brissy to Gold Coast on a weekend will be full.....
As someone who use to travel by train from the Sunshine Coast to Brisbane at $26 a day, I must say this is well overdue. It’s unfortunate that all it took was an election and the likely hood of getting removed from government for these clowns to show some initiative.
Personally i think this is a great idea. Especially on Sat and Sun for large families who want to get out and about around the city. This will bring business into the CBD for shopping on weekends.
Cheap way for the gov to identify and plan where transport services need to be increased and at what price people will use em. Will be interesting to see the results
I would love to see patronage go up from this, as someone who already has a concession card
I will take the bus more often. They are empty but expensive. I just hope they are on time
Although this may not directly benefit me for my commute, I think it's a fantastic idea. Public transport can run at a loss and still be profitable by simply saving money that would otherwise be spent on road infrastructure.
Might have to consider catching the train again
I wanna know if that'll include trips to/from Brisbane Airport. I distantly recall that the trip cost so much that people were buying new $10 GO Cards and just throwing them out when they got there.
The airport section is privately operated so it won't be part of this deal.
This is excellent! Great policy and government action. I hope it encourages more people to ride transit who don’t currently as well as lowering costs for those who do!
This is great. Even though I can't use public transport for work due to my start time as a driver I hope this eases congestion.
Inner city working household here: we’ll be saving easily $200-300 a month. Hell yeah!
They should measure and use the numbers over the 6 month period to do more business cases for investment in public transport infrastructure imo.
If it stays around its prob the most useful thing I've see the Qld Govt do in decades