17 Mar 2009: ALP, LNP, Greens? Will you fix the Airtrain fare rip-off please?

[ozbob]

Media Release 17 March 2009

SEQ:  ALP, LNP, Greens?  Will you fix the Airtrain fare rip-off please?

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has previously highlighted that single ticket and go card continuous journeys to the Brisbane Airport from suburban and urban railway stations cost more than the sum of the individual fares.  For example, the cost of a single ticket to the Brisbane Airport (Domestic or International) from Oxley is $18.60 according to the TransLink journey planner (1) for paper and the go card. The fare from Oxley to the CBD is $2.72 for a go card, $3.40 for paper, and the Airtrain fare from the CBD to the airport is $14, a total of $16.72 for a go card.  Why the fare of $18.60 for a single journey, paper and go card? This is a farce and smells of profiteering, and makes a mockery of the integrated ticketing concept and seamless travel to the airport.  It is also an example of Go card travel not receiving the promised 20% discount or better, on the TransLink Citytrain leg of the journey.  'Smart State' commuters now break their journey at the CBD stations to stop being ripped off.  People who do a continuous journey should actually receive a discount rather than an added fare cost as it saves operators money.  This is a perverse practice the way commuters are slugged the extra fares.  A detailed analysis of these additional fares can be viewed at this web link  http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1304.msg8741#msg8741

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"People using the Airtrain would be best advised to purchase a single ticket to Central, or use a go card to travel to Central. Touch off if using go card, and then buy another ticket from Central to the Airport. The savings can be substantial."

"This ticket pricing circus is again a good example of what is wrong with public transport in south-east Queensland! It is a further disincentive for people not to use public transport.  It puts railway staff in a no-win situation when challenged by commuters as to the inequity of the fare structure."

"Why is it the Airtrain gets an additional revenue component from travel on the public Translink Citytrain network if a rail user uses a go card in a continuous journey or buys a paper continuous ticket?  This additional fare impost DOES NOT apply to connecting bus or ferry travel.  Why are only rail commuters slugged?"

"We need to encourage people to use public transport.  This fare structure for connecting rail travel to Brisbane airport is anti-public transport, another case of rhetoric not matching reality.  We call on the authorities to fix this fare anomaly as a matter of urgency."

"The sooner the Airtrain line is brought back into public ownership and integrated properly as part of the normal TransLink network in terms of fares and timetables, the sooner the road congestion issues to the airport will be over (2)."

References:

1.   http://www.transinfo.qld.gov.au/ 

2.   http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=720.0

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org