7 March 2008: Australia: Free rail travel before 7am all lines in Melbourne ...

[ozbob]

Media Release 7 March 2008

Australia:  Free rail travel before 7am all lines in Melbourne, well done Victoria!

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org)  a web based community support group for rail and advocate for public transport commuters has congratulated  the Victorian Government for extending the free travel before 7am on suburban rail Mondays to Fridays in Melbourne, to all lines.

Robert Dow spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

?The further expansion of the early riser trial to include all of Melbourne's trains for free travel before 7am is great news for Melbourne commuters (1). This will further help ease congestion.

?Other states are being left standing still with the community focussed public transport initiatives by the Victorian Government.

?The Queensland Government should now consider introducing free travel for Go Card users that touch on by 6.30am Monday to Friday.  This would help ease some peak congestion.

?We are already experiencing significant congestion on some services before 7am (2). Some more early peak services are also needed.

?It is important that service frequency of all public transport modes actually matches the changing demographics, and work and life style changes.

?To help ease peak congestion free early bird travel is smart!?

Reference:

1. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,23334436-661,00.html

2. http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=585.0

Contact:

Robert Dow

admin@backontrack.org
Administration RAIL Back On Track

[ozbob]

Great move!  Queensland could easily do a similar initiative via the Go Card.  Would also act as further incentive for uptake of the card.

[ozbob]

From News.com.au click here!

Free train rides for early birds

Free train rides for early birds

March 07, 2008 12:30pm
Article from: AAP

    * Early Bird program to be expanded to all metro lines
    * Quarter or users changed plans to take advantage
    * Passengers can save 'up to $47-per-fortnight'

ALL of Melbourne's trains will be free before 7am in a bid to ease crowding on the network.

After a trial of the free Early Bird travel on two lines, which began in October, the State Government today said it would expand the program for all 15 metropolitan lines, starting on March 31.
Feedback Do you think the plan should be trialled in other capitals? Have your say below

Passengers must arrive at their destination by 7am, between Monday to Friday, for their travel to be free.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said the trial on the Frankston and Sydenham lines showed more than a quarter of passengers who travel before 7am altered their travel times to take advantage of the initiative.

"Roll-out of the Early Bird is the next step in our commitment to find new and innovative ways to address the unprecedented patronage growth we are experiencing across the network,'' Mr Brumby said.

"During each morning peak period, about 150,000 passengers use the train system.

"By extending the Early Bird to all metropolitan train lines, we hope to encourage more people to take up the opportunity to travel for free.''

Passengers travelling in zones one and two can save up to $47 a fortnight on the normal cost of 10x2-hourly ticket, Mr Brumby said.

But rail commuters outside of Melbourne should not hold their breath for the free early fares.

In WA, a Transperth spokesman said there were no plans to implement a program like the Melbourne scheme.

NSW?s Railcorp and Qld?s Translink did not immediately return calls from NEWS.com.au.

But commuter groups in both those states, the NSW Commuter Council and Qld?s Rail - Back on Track, believed free early bird travel was a great idea that should be examined by public transport authorities.

Robert Dow from Rail- Back on Track said his State Government should take note of what was happening in Melbourne.

?We would congratulate the Victorian Government for that program,? Mr Dow said.

?This is really big news for us? we think the Queensland Government needs to have a look at these options.?

But Mr Dow also said more early services were needed if the Government were to offer free travel before the morning peak.

NSW Commuter Council?s Kevin Parrish said the scheme would drive discussions at the next group meeting.

?It?s certainly very interesting,? Mr Parrish said.

?This (scheme) seems to have some merit.?

[ozbob]

Letter to Editor published  Courier Mail March 10

The further expansion of the early riser trial to include all of Melbourne's trains for free travel before 7am CBD arrival is great news for Melbourne commuters  This will further help ease congestion.

Other states are being left standing still with the community focussed public transport initiatives by the Victorian Government.
The Queensland Government should now consider introducing free travel for Go Card users that touch on by 6.30am Monday to Friday on all modes, rail bus and ferry. This would be easy to implement as there would be no change to present ticketing practices and is equivalent in many respects to arrival at the CBD by 7am. This would help ease some peak congestion.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Note comment from Premier re Free before 7am  travel trial in Melbourne!

I think Premier it is very clear cut that the trial is over.  It is has just been rolled out across the entire Melbourne suburban rail network! 

Lutwyche Rd narrows for $198m Northern Busway

Lutwyche Rd narrows for $198m Northern Busway
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Margaret Wenham

March 09, 2008 11:00pm

THERE will be more traffic-congestion pain for northside commuters before the gains from a $198 million, state-of-the-art, elevated busway kick in next year.

Premier Anna Bligh yesterday turned the first sod on the new northern busway at Herston, which will link up with the existing inner northern busway to the city.

She said the combination of the busways would ultimately cut 20 minutes off a city-northside bus trip.

The new 1.2km elevated section, costing $198 million, will run from the Royal Children's Hospital at Herston to Bowen Bridge Rd, near Northey St, Windsor, and will feature a new bus station at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.

There is a downside though, in that peak-hour north-bound commuters can expect three minutes to be added to their trips while the current bus lane is out of commission during construction.

Ms Bligh said Brisbane's southeast busway ? which carries about 160,000 passengers a day ? had far exceeded all predicted forecasts of use.

Transport Minister John Mickel said the cost of extending the busway to Aspley by 2017 was not known.

"Obviously that would depend on the building costs at the time," he said.

Queried on the long, 10-year completion timeframe, he said: "These projects have to be delivered in accordance with the funding that's available.

"These projects are ambitious but they are congestion fighters."

The RACQ's Gary Fites said if the estimated extra travel time during construction of the first section of the busway could be kept to three minutes, then motorists would probably be prepared to wear it.

"If it is more than that then government can expect to feel the wrath of motorists who have had to put up with a lot of extra congestion, firstly from population growth and now from this flurry of construction designed to catch up on the years of neglect of transport infrastructure," he said.

Ms Bligh also said she was awaiting with interest, the outcome of a free, early-morning train travel trial in Melbourne.

"While they have a different transport system I'm very keen to see the outcomes (of the trial)," she said.

"When we've got final advice from the Victorians, we'll certainly be having a look and seeing whether this would be a suitable idea to try on Brisbane's transport network."

[ozbob]

From Perth Now click here!

Free train travel for early commuters

Free train travel for early commuters
Article from: PerthNow

Carmelle Sander

March 08, 2008 05:00pm

FREE train rides could be offered to early-morning commuters in a bid to reduce overcrowding.

Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan said she was considering ways to spread the number of people using trains during peak times.

This week, Melbourne trains offered free rides for all its passengers before 7am.

Ms MacTiernan said she had not ruled out a similar initiative here.

In Victoria, commuters must arrive at their destination by 7am, and the offer is available from Monday to Friday.

After a trial of free early-bird travel on two of its lines, which began in October, the Victorian Government decided to expand the program to all 15 metropolitan lines, starting on March 31.

"We are looking at various ways to spread the peak along our train lines and we are exploring all options,'' Ms MacTiernan said.

"Some of our trains are experiencing overcrowding and the Government has responded by ordering 45 new rail cars to cater for the growth on existing lines.''

Ms MacTiernan said the Midland line was the most overcrowded.

"I am expecting the arrival of the additional rail cars in December,'' she said.

"It has been an absolute pain waiting 2 years to get them, but it seems everyone is buying trains at the moment.''

Public Transport Authority spokesman David Hynes said statistics showed there were close to 35 million trips on WA trains in the 2006-07 financial year.

"Even before the Mandurah line opened this figure was climbing,'' he said.

Mr Hynes also said there were no immediate plans to introduce free train rides in WA.

"We will be watching with great interest what happens in Victoria though,'' he said.

[ozbob]

From http://www.qldcoalition.org.au/news/article.aspx?ID=2192

Coalition calls for early bird commuter discount

Wednesday, 12 March 2008

THE Queensland Coalition today called on the State Labor Government to trial ?early bird? discount incentives for South-East Queensland rail commuters.

In Melbourne the early bird discount for commuters who arrive at their destination before 7am has been rolled-out across the network after a successful trial on its metropolitan rail lines.

Shadow Minister for Transport Tim Nicholls said a similar discount scheme should be able to be easily incorporated into Brisbane?s electronic GoCard ticketing system.

"This is a simple but effective idea to get inner-city commuters off the roads and crowded peak-hour rail services onto earlier less-congested morning services," he said.

"In Melbourne more than a quarter of passengers who traveled before 7am altered their travel times to take advantage of the free service.

"Imagine the effect on Queensland Rail?s congested peak-hour services if commuters were given the incentive to stagger travel times."

The scheme could be implemented across the CityTrain network for GoCard commuters traveling between zones 1-5 before 7am on weekdays.

Commuters would be able to save up to $58 a month under the discount option.
"This is a smart solution to what is becoming a growing problem," Mr Nicholls said.

"The Premier says she?s awaiting the outcome of the trial, but I think Melbourne?s decision to roll-out the system is answer enough.

"If the State Government is serious about easing the pressure on Brisbane?s commuter network they need look at proven transport incentives."

[ozbob]

From Quest City News March 20 page 15 click here!

Early birds buzz with free travel

Early birds buzz with free travel

RAIL passenger advocates and the State Opposition are calling for a trial of free 'early bird' train services, such as those being trialled in Melbourne.

Community rail group Rail Back on Track spokesman Robert Dow said the GoCard ticketing system would make a free early bird system to reduce passenger congestion in peak hour simple. "In Melbourne, where there is no GoCard system, free train travel only applies to trains that are scheduled to reach the CBD by 7am. "However, using the GoCard system in Brisbane the free services could be set according what time the passenger validates their GoCard, instead of relying on timetables:' Mr Dow said.

Transport Minister John Mickel said the government would watch the results of the Melbourne trial closely.

Opposition Transport spokesman Tim Nicholls said a trial should happen immediately. "This is a simple but effective idea to get inner-city commuters off the roads and crowded peak hour rail services onto earlier, less congested morning services," Mr Nicholls said.