Article: $1 cab rides for growing suburbs

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$1 cab rides for growing suburbs

$1 cab rides for growing suburbs
Tony Moore | August 13, 2008 - 10:12AM

Brisbane City Council will provide $1 taxi rides for residents of three Brisbane suburbs where public transport is deemed not financially viable.

New maxi-taxi services - with a $1 flat fare - will run in the suburbs of Drewvale, Aspley and Hemmant in September to link people without bus services to the nearest train or bus connection.

Drewvale is a landlocked suburb, south of the Logan Motorway, with no bus service and strong demand from residents to connect them to shops and facilities in nearby Browns Plains.

The council already provides the maxi taxi services during morning and afternoon peak hour in Karana Downs, Carindale Hills and Bald Hills, however existing routes will be slightly modified.

The Karana Downs service - where two maxi taxis are the most popular peak hour transport - ferries more than 300 people, mostly shoppers and students, each week.

The council will also make changes to existing maxi taxi services in Calamvale and Wynnum Manly.

It yesterday released the findings of a review of the existing Personalised Public Transport service, which received requests for 16 maxi taxi services.

About $400,000 has been allocated in the 2008-09 budget to run the service, dropping to $350,000 over the next three years.

The council provides the cut-price taxis until it becomes economically viable to run a bus service.

The new maxi taxi routes will be trialled for three months and will be reviewed over the Christmas period when demand for the service drops back.

In Aspley the maxi cabs will take residents to and from the Aspley Hypermarket and Bus Interchange.