- Target:
- Minister for Transport and Main Roads Queensland
- Region:
- Australia
- Website:
- railbotforum.org
The 2012 Queensland State Budget has highlighted how urgently a review of TransLink's SEQ public transport fare system is needed.
Stalled patronage levels is costly in terms of congestion costs, road trauma costs and environmental impacts.
The present fares for the go card has an excessive base fare cost with considerable fare box leakage due to easily manipulated fares.
Let us examine how fare box leakage occurs with the present fare system.
An example:
A person who commutes between Varsity Lakes (zone 16) and Central station daily for work.
Adult peak go card fare is $12.84. The cost for the normal 5 day week is therefore $12.84 x 9 = $115.56, with the 9 journey cap their journey home on Friday is free.
If the person does a lunch time one zone journey on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (off peak $2.44 one zone fare) they have then completed 9 paid journeys when they return to Varsity Lakes on Wednesday.
Their cost of travel for the week is ($12.84 x 6) + ($2.44 x 3) = $84.36 (compared to $115.56 without 'optimisation').
The person can then travel free for Thursday, Friday and the weekend, unlimited.
Over a 48 week working year the savings equate to $1497.60, this is fare box leakage.
As users become more adept at 'optimising' this fare system the leakage will be massive. It in turn forces up the base fares making public transport very inaccessible for many who are not able to 'optimise', that is don't achieve 9 paid journeys.
Is this a fair fare system? No, it is not. The present fare system needs review.
A fare system that is equitable and balanced will drive patronage increases around the clock, and will increase the fare box and reduce the public subsidy. Something that has not occurred with the present failing fare system.
Queensland is the only state that does not extend concession fares to all health care card holders. Queensland does not have family/group tickets as in many other states.
Seniors in states and territories other than Queensland have simple public transport entitlements. See
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9122.msg109944#msg109944
TransLink fares have increased 65 per cent over the past 4 years. Further fare increases of 7.5% for 2013 and 2014 will just exacerbate the unaffordability for many.
The Queensland Government claims to be passenger focussed. Let's see some real action rather than rhetoric.
An urgent review of the fare system is needed.
We, the undersigned call on the Hon. Scott Emerson MP, Minister for Transport and Main Roads to direct TransLink to conduct an immediate review of the fare system for go card in south-east Queensland, with a view to implementing a fare system that will benefit our community, by driving patronage increases and establishing an equitable fare cost for all.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Fare Review for TransLink South-East Queensland now! petition to Minister for Transport and Main Roads Queensland was written by RAIL Back On Track and is in the category Roads & Transport at GoPetition.