RAIL - Back On Track Forum

https://twitter.com/Pineapplerebel/status/1668787128812322817

BCC Budget

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/council-information-and-rates/news-and-publications/council-annual-plan-and-budget

The Gold Glider has been funded.

Council Annual Plan and Budget 2023-24

> https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/council-information-and-rates/news-and-publications/council-annual-plan-and-budget/council-annual-plan-and-budget-2023-24

Brisbanetimes --> New Gold CityGlider bus route and battery-powered ferry for Brisbane

QuoteA new high-frequency bus service – the Gold CityGlider – will roll out in Brisbane as part of the council's $4.3 billion budget.

The Gold CityGlider, co-funded with the Queensland government, will travel from Northshore Hamilton to Woolloongabba via Bowen Hills and the new Waterfront Brisbane and Queen's Wharf developments. ...

The budget will also include feasibility work for Brisbane's first electric ferry, to be called the EVCat.

The study, with $435,000 allocated over the next year, will assess the viability of a new battery-powered vessel, in partnership with operator River City Ferries and local ship builder Aus Ships. ...

Gold CityGlider thread > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=272061

Brisbane just keeps on getting better with better transport

BrisBetter! 🙂😃

Quote from: verbatim9 on June 14, 2023, 12:04:39 PMThe Gold Glider has been funded.

Brisbane bus network. Route upon route upon route upon route!

 

According to the Courier Mail today, when handing down the latest BCC Budget, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner "teased" at the possibility of a REAL Brisbane rail subway.....and he hoped the Qld Govt, who surprise...surprise....are conducting a "study/report" into it....for their World Class Great Bookcase of Rail Studies & Reports....which can be seen from space!!!! 

The Rumour is, within 90secs of reading todays comment from the Lord Mayor, Transport Minister Bailey was on the phone, furious at Schrinner for actually suggesting the QldGovt DO something to actually advance a REAL underground subway for Brisbane!!!  Minister Bailey could be heard saying "cross river rail...cross river rail....cross river rail...." as he hung up the phone, to again spend his day talking about, who said what to whom in which faction as they went, they said to him, that she said that they said, they all said as they walked from Room A to Room B that he said, she said, they all said...."

The Adventures of WORLD CLASS Cinderella City Brissy continue....but VERY ssslloowwwlllyyyyyy..... 

Quote from: SteelPan on June 15, 2023, 15:32:49 PMAccording to the Courier Mail today, when handing down the latest BCC Budget, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner "teased" at the possibility of a REAL Brisbane rail subway.....and he hoped the Qld Govt, who surprise...surprise....are conducting a "study/report" into it....for their World Class Great Bookcase of Rail Studies & Reports....which can be seen from space!!!! 

The Rumour is, within 90secs of reading todays comment from the Lord Mayor, Transport Minister Bailey was on the phone, furious at Schrinner for actually suggesting the QldGovt DO something to actually advance a REAL underground subway for Brisbane!!!  Minister Bailey could be heard saying "cross river rail...cross river rail....cross river rail...." as he hung up the phone, to again spend his day talking about, who said what to whom in which faction as they went, they said to him, that she said that they said, they all said as they walked from Room A to Room B that he said, she said, they all said...."

The Adventures of WORLD CLASS Cinderella City Brissy continue....but VERY ssslloowwwlllyyyyyy..... 

           

Couriermail --> Council to cut services, projects amid forecast budget blowout $

QuoteBrisbane City Council will axe projects and slash services as part of a major $400m spending cut in the face of a budget blowout.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has ordered the equivalent of $1.6m in spending be cut each day from the city's behemoth $4.2bn budget in an effort to keep a lid on future rate increases heading into an election year.

Residents will pay the same amount for fewer services, but Cr Schrinner insists the emergency budget cut until June 30 is critical as the council attempts to wrestle a forecast budget blowout next year – fuelled by the soaring cost of construction labour and materials, goods and services.

Cr Schrinner confirmed council-run projects and services would be on the hit list as the administration eyes a 10 per cent reduction in expenditure until the end of the financial year.

Brisbane Metro and the green bridge building program as well as advertising, consultants, travel and councillor ward budgets will be affected by the cut.

The already delayed Toowong to West End Green Bridge and the shading of Victoria Bridge -estimated at $5m – as part of the Brisbane Metro project will be paused indefinitely. ...

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane City Council to slash spending by 10 per cent as cost hikes bite $

QuoteThe promises over future green bridge are in doubt as escalating increases in construction costs force Brisbane City Council to cut spending immediately by 10 per cent.

This development comes only three months after the council's 2023 Budget and in the lead-up to the March 2024 council elections.

While there will be no forced staff redundancies or impact on rubbish collection, BCC has axed the shade cover over the Victoria Bridge, cancelled Brisbane Metro's 1 per cent public art component and indefinitely delayed its two Toowong to West End green bridges.

BCC in 2019 allocated $550 million for five green bridges - with additional federal funds - but has stopped at two as costs jump on the Kangaroo Point and Breakfast Creek bridges. ...

Sent to all outlets:

RAIL Back On Track's response to Brisbane City Council's Infrastructure Cost Explosion

17th October 2023

RAIL Back On Track has said that all levels of government must pivot to using existing infrastructure smarter (1).

For too long politicians at all levels of government have been selling expensive heavy infrastructure upgrades to voters with promises to fix or bust congestion. Not only do these projects consistently make large budget overruns, they also take an excessively long time to deliver as governments chop and change plans, or different levels battle with each other over funding contributions. This approach is not well suited to dealing with the projected 1.1 million new car trips that are expected to flood the Brisbane LGA (2).

It is time to ask ourselves, what could we be doing differently?

We need a different approach. One that focuses on using our existing infrastructure like roads, busways, and railways a lot smarter. One that is less expensive and less reliant on expensive and risky 'mega-projects'.

Here we introduce our 'Public Transport Priority Pyramid' that extends the popular 'Mobility Pyramid' concept (3). We think political parties and political candidates intending to run in either the Brisbane City Council LGA or Queensland State Elections in 2024 will be well advised to adopt our concept into their thinking.



From our Public Transport Priority Pyramid diagram, it is easy to see that bus reform, more BUZ routes, and increased train frequency every 15 minutes all day present low-cost and effective policies. A focused government could deliver one, or all of these, in a single electoral cycle. These low-cost policies will become increasingly attractive when compared against high-cost, high-risk, low-capacity road projects for motorists.

RAIL Back On Track calls on all political parties and political candidates intending to run in either the Brisbane City Council LGA or Queensland State Elections in 2024 to adopt our concept into their thinking.

References:

1, Brisbane City Council to slash spending by 10 per cent as cost hikes bite
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/brisbane-city-council-to-slash-spending-by-10-per-cent-as-cost-hikes-bite-20231016-p5ecp6.html

2. RBOT: Are 1 million new car trips per day set to flood the Brisbane LGA?
https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15276.0

3. The Public Transport Priority Pyramid
https://backontrack.org/docs/metro/ptpp_s.jpg

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

Facebook ...

BCC Budget Cost Explosion!


https://media.giphy.com/media/13d2jHlSlxklVe/giphy.gif

https://x.com/bne_lordmayor/status/1714002749132873842?s=20

https://x.com/railbotforum/status/1714016315353317849?s=20

https://x.com/CrJaredCassidy/status/1714011980208762893?s=20

These Governments especially at Federal level have their priorities confused with expensive referendums outside election cycles as well as other expensive policy amendments. All these changes put pressure on Local Government initiatives. The Australian Dollar is also sliding against other major currencies due to the RBA not raising interest rates further alongside our peer countries. This puts pressure on imports resulting infrastructure projects being more expensive.

In terms of a full time 15 min frequency across the network, I doubt this will happen due to a infrastructure deficit that could allow it, as well as costs. It's better to aim for a full time 20 min or better frequency network wide across 7 days from 7 am - 9pm. TMR/QR should also start planning and proceeding with a Driver Only model for commuter trains to help reduce costs. This can result in the introduction of better frequency of 20 mins or better for trains as well as buses due to cost reduction running the trains.

There is no real infrastructure restriction on more buses in the off peak, which is what BUZ is.

Not aware of infrastructure restrictions on 15 min trains for Redcliffe and Shorncliffe trains in the off-peak (up to Sandgate). Even the track duplication required between Sandgate and Shorncliffe would be incremental.

In the meantime, trains could run 15 min to Sandgate as a stop gap measure.

DOO conversion would require ECTS rollout, which would classify it as a megaproject.

A resource deficit extends not just to track extensions and amplifications, but to human resources and purchasing of extra buses and trains to meet such a target of 15 mins or better. That's why 20 mins or better is more achievable and realistic. Yes, we need a few more bus lines migrated over to HF standard in the future, but for now they should focus on a network wide solution of 20 mins or better.

20 min frequency isn't government policy, 15 min frequency is.

ABC News --> Brisbane City Council's budget to be cut by 10pc, affecting Brisbane Metro, Green Bridges projects

QuoteBrisbane City Council will reduce its budget by hundreds of millions of dollars in a cost cutting exercise by Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner to deal with inflation.

The move, which comes just months after the budget was handed down in June, will equate to a 10 per cent reduction in council spending.

Mr Schrinner said about $400 million would be cut from the budget but the decision was necessary to keep rates down.

The savings measure will include putting a pause on the Toowong to West End green bridge, delaying the delivery of $5 million in shade on Victoria Bridge, and cutting the public art component of the Brisbane Metro line. ...

Well, if rate increases are progressing at half inflation, and that is combined with projects that inflate faster than CPI then you have a widening gap between income and outgoings.

Good starting point would be to stop spending money to make congestion  worse requiring even more money to make congestion worse requiring even more money to make congestion worse requiring even more money to make congestion worse requiring even more money to make congestion worse requiring

Interest rates need to go up, as the dollar is too low causing inflation on imported goods. The dollar has actually depreciated  by 10 to 11%. It's having extreme and negative effects.

Brisbanetimes --> 'They should have known': Brisbane council under fire over cost blowouts $

QuoteThe reaction by Labor and the Greens to Brisbane council's 10 per cent spending cuts shows how both parties will tackle the March 2024 election to win City Hall.

Labor will pitch the message that inner-city projects are behind Brisbane's blowout in construction costs and are being favoured over projects in the suburbs.

The Greens will question why developers' infrastructure contributions to council coffers have been reduced while construction costs are rising.

Both will argue that in June 2023, the LNP should have foreseen the need to cut spending as costs increased. ...

Quote from: verbatim9 on October 17, 2023, 21:44:54 PMInterest rates need to go up, as the dollar is too low causing inflation on imported goods. The dollar has actually depreciated  by 10 to 11%. It's having extreme and negative effects.

Rates need to go up as earlier explained. Thus, I am dubious about this meeting with Minister Bailey about PT outcomes and new infrastructure, yet optimistic about planning.

Quote from: verbatim9 on November 02, 2023, 19:01:20 PMRates need to go up as earlier explained. Thus, I am dubious about this meeting with Minister Bailey about PT outcomes and new infrastructure, yet optimistic about planning.

plenty of funding It just being wasted

Couriermail --> Inflation and blowouts: $400m slashed from council budget $

QuoteFunding has been cut from the Brisbane Metro, construction, consultants and a major green bridge as Brisbane City Council tightens its budget to deal with blowouts.

Funding has been slashed from the Brisbane Metro, construction projects, consultants and a major green bridge as Brisbane City Council makes $400m worth of budget cuts to deal with inflation and cost blowouts. ...

1 area that is easy picking for funding cuts is to stop with the useless monthly newsletters posted out to every household! May not save billions, but hell, any saving from such waste can only be a good thing!

Brisbanetimes --> Flood works delayed, contracts scrapped in $430m council savings drive $

QuoteFlood recovery and resilience projects worth more than $50 million will be postponed as part of Brisbane City Council's $430 million savings drive.

After the Queensland Reconstruction Authority refused to contribute funding to the projects, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner revealed on Tuesday that council had decided not to go it alone. ...

ABC News --> Brisbane City Council cuts spending by $400 million as Moggill Road upgrade costs climb by $50 million

QuoteLord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has revealed more details about where his council will cut hundreds of millions of dollars in spending, while simultaneously announcing a multi-million-dollar cost increase for a major road project.

Mr Schrinner confirmed on Tuesday that $24 million would be shaved from the council's Brisbane Metro project, while $7 million in savings had been identified for the Breakfast Creek green bridge. ...

Honestly the whole transport budget/funding cuts public discussion is doing my head in.  They are increasing the funding for projects that make congestion, safety, health, economy, access issues worse whist cancelling those that actually fix these issues.

Quote from: Jonno on November 22, 2023, 09:09:18 AM...whist cancelling those that actually fix these issues.

What PT projects are council cancelling?

Brisbane City Council Annual Budget 2023-24

URL: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2023-06/20230612-Annual-Plan-and-Budget-2023-24_0.pdf

Budget documents show that labour costs are about 50% of the cost of operations. It is not really clear what 'Other Revenue' is, I would imagine it is advertising both on buses and TfB property. Could also be eScooter revenue. Hard to disaggregate without further details.



Notes
Surplus has broadly the same meaning as 'Profit' here. Imputed income tax, similar to company tax, but IIRC paid to the Queensland Government.