Private email to the new transport minister

[RowBro]

Hello! I'm planning on sending an email to the new transport minister regarding the span of hours and frequency of routes servicing Chermside Shopping Centre (in particular the 320 given it is my local route). This is a personal email (no affiliation with RBoT), however I still wanted to get some input before I sent it off so it can have as much punch as possible.

Good morning Brent or relevant staff,

Firstly, congratulations on the appointment to Minister for Transport and Main Roads. I look forward to seeing what you can get done behind the wheel.

I just want to raise some concerns regarding my local route (SEQ 320), particularly in reference to span of hours and headways. The runs with an inbound headway of ~30 minutes on weekdays, however this headway is lost after 5:20pm and drops to ~50 minutes. 5:20pm isn't very late to drop to such a low frequency on a fairly busy route, and I often find myself caught out with this drop in frequency when trying to get home. Furthermore, the last trip inbound is at 7:45pm. Given the route services Chermside Shopping Centre which has restaurants and box stores open 'till late (plus late-night trading on Thursdays), I often find myself at Chermside until after the last bus departs.
      Recommendations: Make the 320 route have a minimum headway of 30 minutes between the hours of 6am and 8pm on weekdays, with additional services at 9pm and 10pm inbound to cater for dining patrons.

The other, more pressing concern, I have is the span of hours and frequency on the weekend. On Saturday, the route runs only 8 times at a headway of 1 hour 30 minutes. This is abysmal for a route servicing the most popular destination on the Northside (Chermside Shopping Centre) which is most popular on the weekend. To further the issue, the last service inbound is at 5:36pm. As discussed in the previous paragraph, dining outlets are open until late at Chermside Shopping Centre and 5:36pm is simply not late enough to cater for this demand. This situation is even worse on Sunday with a total of 6 services (at an admittedly slightly better, but still abysmal, headway of 1 hour and 20 minutes). The last inbound service is also at 4:44pm which is before the majority of shops close.
      Recommendations: Make the 320 route have a minimum headway of 30 minutes between the hours of 7am and 6pm on weekends, with additional services at 7pm and 8pm in both directions and  9pm and 10pm inbound to cater for dining patrons.

I'm only speaking in terms of the 320 bus route since it is my local route and the one I am most accustomed to, however I understand that this is an issue with many other routes servicing Chermside Shopping Centre. The schedule for most routes on the Northside haven't been seriously reviewed in years, and in that time Chermside has become the largest destination for dining and entertainment north of the city. The routes servicing Chermside should all be reviewed to ensure that the span of operation and frequency is appropriate for the new role Chermside has and the new demand there is after conventional retail hours.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I'll also send the email to my local member (Leanne Linnard), however given she is a Labor MP, I doubt she will be of much assistance.

Please leave any constructive feedback you may have. Thanks!

P.S. I also wouldn't be against having this topic be used to form a larger push for a review of the Northside from RBoT itself.

[Fares_Fair]

Hello RowBro,

I would remove any public transport generic terms such as headway, e.g. just to make it easier for a new Minister in the role to understand. I would address it as if it is to a layman, no jargon as such.
He may well have been briefed on the plethora of public transport terminology but if I was new in the role I would appreciate a less technical explanation/description.
We at RBoT know what headway means, but even then, in my experience, it usually only refers to the distances between trains on a single piece of track.
Perhaps refer to it in terms of frequency/timings?

Second I would address it formally to the Minister.

The Hon Brent Mickelberg MP
Minister for Transport and Main Roads
1 William Street
BRISBANE QLD 4000
or
GPO Box 1549
BRISBANE QLD 4001

Email:  transportandmainroads@ministerial.qld.gov.au

This is only a suggestion.
No pressure to adopt.
Cheers