7 Sep 2011: SEQ: BNE Airtrain - returns a profit but service can be improved

[ozbob]

Media release 7 September 2011

SEQ: BNE Airtrain - returns a profit but service can be improved

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers has noted that the Brisbane Airtrain has returned an increased profit for the last financial year (1). The great shame is that Airtrain still is an underutilised service due to the restricted hours of operation, poor service frequency and relatively high fares.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"South-east Queensland blunders on with worsening road congestion and public transport poor utilisation and development. Brisbane's Airtrain service needs urgent improvements. Hours of operation need to be extended from the present 8pm to at least 11pm.  This improvement alone would drive a significant patronage increase during the present service period as well as during the proposed extended hours of operation. Overwhelming feedback confirms this."

"Fare costs are also too high.  Sydney recently reduced fares for rail travel to and from Sydney Airport and patronage increased by 50%! (2) It is time Airtrain Management got out of their 'comfort zone' and made some bold moves."

"The Brisbane Airtrain is just Queensland Rail trains operating on the private line from Eagle Junction to the Airport stations. There is plenty of capacity to extend the hours of operation and increase frequency. Worsening road congestion with increasing costs for parking, petrol and taxis means the time is right for maximising rail options."

"Brisbane likes to think of itself as a world class tourist destination. A rail service that finishes at 8pm is not world class and does little to promote the City, in fact it is a national and international joke.  Time to bite the bullet Airtrain!"

References:

1. http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/record-125-million-profit-for-airtrain-put-down-to-bad-traffic-rising-taxi-fares/story-e6freqmx-1226130404253

2. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/airport-rail-fare-review/story-e6freuzi-1226123951962

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Discussion --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=6467.0

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Late-night Airtrains flagged

Late-night Airtrains flagged
Bridie Jabour
September 7, 2011 - 3:00AM

Airtrain commuters could be able to catch the train after 8pm on the back of the company's record profit of $12.5 million.

In a year when most other Queensland companies have been battered by natural disasters and a poor global economy, Airtrain has managed to post an increase in profit of 34 per cent.

Much to some travellers' chagrin, the rail link between the Brisbane Airport and the city stops running at 8pm, but chairman Mike Pelly yesterday flagged extended hours for the service.

"We are looking closely at expanding our services," he said. "We are currently in discussions and will make the announcement later."

Mr Pelly said the company had benefited from a trend of people dropping off their family or friends at train stations instead of the airport.

"The trend that is happening is that the train is the only reliable way to get to the airport and is also inexpensive," he said.

"Kingsford Smith Drive is so congested and there is a lot of traffic around so the train is the way you can guarantee to get to the airport on time.

"Also it saves people fuel and saves on emissions.''

Currently, 7 per cent of all passengers who fly in and out of Brisbane Airport use the Airtrain.

Mr Pelly put the year's financial success down to three things – the reliability of the service, the cost of taxis and the cost of airport parking.

He said the company had also been lucky not to have been affected too adversely by the floods.

However, he predicted the next year could be "tough".

"The Airport Link [tunnel] will open and that will obviously have an effect on us," said Mr Pelly.

"But their tolls are going to be quite high, I think around $5, so we will have to wait and see how it goes."

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/travel/travel-news/latenight-airtrains-flagged-20110906-1jvp8.html

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail 7th September 2011 page 7

Flyers hitch lift to save on travel

[ozbob]

Chairman of the BNE Airtrain board was just interviewed on 612 ABC Brisbane Breakfast with Spencer Howson, hopefully will be up on blog later today ...

but summary:

"Confident", services extended to 10pm.  Early next year start date, some other extra services as well.

===============================

Excellent news, still prefer to see it extended to 11pm, but it is a start.

[ozbob]

Couriermail article now online ...  hot hot topic ... 

From the Couriermail click here!

Getting to Brisbane airport almost as expensive as the cost of airfare

Getting to Brisbane airport almost as expensive as the cost of airfare

    Robyn Ironside and James McCullough
    From: The Courier-Mail
    September 07, 2011 12:00AM

GETTING to Brisbane Airport has become almost as expensive as the airfare thanks to exorbitant carparking charges, taxi and train fares and a lack of bus services.

With the average cab fare from the city to airport costing $47 and the Airtrain charging passengers $15 a seat, 58 per cent of airport travellers are now hitching a lift with friends and family, according to a draft Productivity Commission report.

Another 16 per cent pay for parking on site at a cost of $40 a day, and just 5 per cent arrive in private coaches, usually chartered by tourism groups or hotels.

Robert Dow, from commuter advocacy group Back on Track, said the costs of accessing the airport could only be improved by more frequent and cheaper Airtrain services.

"We want to see services extended to 11pm (from 8pm) and run every 20 minutes outside peak periods," Mr Dow said. "If they also reduced fares by a third, they would increase patronage, which in turn would ease traffic congestion.

"It's a win-win."

However, Airtrain chairman Mike Pelly yesterday claimed the private consortium had boosted patronage in the past financial year, resulting in a pre-tax $12.5 million profit.

He said 7 per cent of all airport travellers were now paying $15 for a ride on the Airtrain into the city, and the company was in discussions to increase services beyond 8pm.

"We are in discussions and hope to be able to announce something in the next few weeks," Mr Pelly said. The Productivity Commission's draft report on airport regulation found public-private partnerships, such as those between the Airtrain and State Government, were leading to "inefficient transport outcomes".

The finding was based on a Brisbane City Council submission which criticised the restriction on its buses servicing the airport.

"Under the agreement, BCC is not permitted to operate a bus service within 1km of Airtrain stations until 2014," read the submission.

The council also contended that "low patronage on the rail link was because prices had been kept high to provide a return on investment for the financiers of Airtrain".

A State Government spokesman said the report was a matter for the Federal Government. Mr Dow said a $12.5 million profit was not a "great return on Airtrain's investment of hundreds of millions of dollars".

"They ran at a loss for a long time and they could do quite well," he said.

[ozbob]

612 ABC Brisbane Breakfast Spencer Howson click here!

Airtrain may run till 10pm from next year

07 September 2011 , 8:18 AM by Spencer Howson

Travellers who arrive in Brisbane after 8pm have often expressed their frustration at not being able to use the Airtrain - often it means an expensive cab ride is the only option.

But it seems an extension of the Airtrain hours is being considered. Mike Pelly is Chair of Airtrain:

[somebody]

Perhaps it's a good time to mention the previous plan of 4tph FG-Coopers Plains+2tph Beenleigh-Airport express+2tph VL-Airport express.

I'd wonder if we could also mention the slower services after spending $348 million on amplifications!

Was mostly a 71 minute run from Robina to Central in July 2007, now, 75-76 minutes.  Although the previous timetable did have a couple of counter peak runs taking 80 minutes.

[SurfRail]

Perhaps it's a good time to mention the previous plan of 4tph FG-Coopers Plains+2tph Beenleigh-Airport express+2tph VL-Airport express.

I'd wonder if we could also mention the slower services after spending $348 million on amplifications!

Was mostly a 71 minute run from Robina to Central in July 2007, now, 75-76 minutes.  Although the previous timetable did have a couple of counter peak runs taking 80 minutes.

CityRail sickness.  There is still the anything-up-to-5 minutes (or even longer) South Bank dwell too, which I am not that hopeful the Phase II timetables will fix.

[Jonno]

Chairman of the BNE Airtrain board was just interviewed on 612 ABC Brisbane Breakfast with Spencer Howson, hopefully will be up on blog later today ...

but summary:

"Confident", services extended to 10pm.  Early next year start date, some other extra services as well.

===============================
Excellent news, still prefer to see it extended to 11pm, but it is a start.

Frequency increase as well?

[Arnz]

Chairman of the BNE Airtrain board was just interviewed on 612 ABC Brisbane Breakfast with Spencer Howson, hopefully will be up on blog later today ...

but summary:

"Confident", services extended to 10pm.  Early next year start date, some other extra services as well.

===============================

Excellent news, still prefer to see it extended to 11pm, but it is a start.

Could the start date be tied to the 2nd Stage sectorization timetables? :conf

[Cam]

Airtrain's chairman, Mike Pelly, commented on Airport Link "But their tolls are going to be quite high, I think around $5". I wonder what he really thinks about an Airtrain fare of $15 from Eagle Junction to either airport station - a distance of less than 10km.

I wonder if BCC will run buses from the airport to the city via Airport Link when competition is allowed in 2014. The travel time would be similar & the fare could be under $5 depending on what zone the airport stations were considered to be in.

[O_128]

Cant wait until the Transport minister has to shut her mouth from next year when the airport link is an epic fail.

[somebody]

"Fare costs are also too high.  Sydney recently reduced fares for rail travel to and from Sydney Airport and patronage increased by 50%! (2) It is time Airtrain Management got out of their 'comfort zone' and made some bold moves."

It should be pointed out that this is talking about two stations on the Airport line which do not serve the airport, rather than the airport stations themselves.