Ministerial Statement in Parliament: Go Card

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From Queensland Parliament Hansard 4th December 2008

Go Card

Hon. RJ MICKEL (Logan?ALP) (Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial
Relations) (10.07 am): Last week in this House the opposition yet again ridiculed the performance of the
go card. All year those opposite have been knocking it and calling it a failure. But then on Monday they
backflipped and made it the centrepiece of their transport policy. Let us see why they think it is so
successful. Let us see why they backflipped on Monday.

There have now been more than 13 million journeys undertaken using a go card and more than
$32 million loaded on to the cards. Late last month, the 200,000th go card was put into circulation. That
is more than 200,000 commuters with an easy come, easy go method to use the TransLink network.
South-east Queensland is just the second Australian public transport system to successfully roll out a
smart card technology, but it is by far the largest.

The go card network, at more than 10,000 square kilometres, is 6? times the size of London?s
oyster card network. This is a world-class system we have delivered which puts the TransLink network
at the forefront of public transport ticketing technology. Introduced on 4 August this year, the go card?s
new pricing structure is proving to be a winner with public transport users.

Under the new fare structure, up-front discounts of between 20 per cent and 35 per cent are
provided on every single go card journey. Inevitably, the number of passenger journeys taken using the
go card has soared. On the Friday before the new fare structure was introduced, 52,711 journeys were
made using a go card. About 15 weeks later on 13 November this year, 125,035 journeys were
undertaken. That is an increase of 130 per cent. These are not figures of a struggling system; these are
figures of a system that is growing. It is a much safer product than a paper ticket. Once registered, the
money loaded onto the card is protected so that if a card is stolen or damaged the money loaded on the
system can be reissued. Another major benefit of the card is that it reduces dwell times at bus stops due
to the reduction in the number of people purchasing a ticket on the bus. This allows bus journeys to be
quicker and more convenient. The go card is here, and it is here to stay. It is continuing to grow in
popularity daily.