Personalised public transport (PPT) services

[ozbob]

BCC:  Personalised Public Transport

>> https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/public-transport/personalised-public-transport

Routes

Council works with Black & White Cabs to provide nine PPT routes across Brisbane:

Aspley
Bald Hills
Calamvale
Carindale Hills
Centenary - Sumner Park Industrial Estate and Westlake (12 month-trial from 19 August 2019)
Hemmant Hills
Karana Downs
Upper Brookfield
Wynnum Manly.

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


Couriermail Quest --> Brisbane City Council launches hail and ride taxi service for centenary suburbs



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

Shoppers and workers in Brisbane's centenary suburbs can now catch a taxi to the shopping centre or major employment hub for just a buck.

SHOPPERS can now catch a maxi taxi to a major suburban shopping centre for just one dollar.

Brisbane City Council will trial two personalised public transport (PPT) services, one between Westlake and Mt Ommaney Centre and another connecting the Wacol Train Station to Sumner Park Industrial Estate.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the services would fill in gaps in the Centenary Suburbs' public transport services, identified in a council survey last year.

Despite the State Government bearing the major responsibility for public transport, ratepayers will pay the full $145,000 cost of the trial after TransLink declined to pitch in any funding.

"They (the State Government) generally pay for 75 per cent of the cost of running public transport in Brisbane and council puts in the other 25 per cent," Cr Schrinner said.

"These services, they're 100 per cent funded by council.

"But look, we're responding to the community's demands."

Cr Schrinner said trips on the service cost a dollar and residents could hail the specially signed Black and White taxi from anywhere along the routes.

"This is a unique hail and ride maxi taxi service designed specifically for this local area to fill in the gaps in the public transport network," he said.

"Someone can come out in front of their house, if they're on the route, and hail a service and the service will stop for them at that point."

He said the Mt Ommaney service would connect residents not just to the shopping centre and library, but also to the bus station at the retail hub.

Cr Matt Bourke (Jamboree) said a standard bus could not fit on Westlake's narrow streets so the PPT service was a good option.

He hoped the trial of the Sumner Park Industrial Estate route would prove to TransLink it was a "vital service" and convince them to put it on the bus timetable.

"We want get it established, and demonstrate it, and that's why council's fully funding this trial to make that case to TransLink about why that estate should be serviced with better public transport," he said.

The trials will go for 12 months and will be extended if successful, for detailed route and timetable information, visit the Brisbane City Council website.

There are other PPT services in Aspley, Bald Hills, Calamvale, Carindale Hills, Hemmant Hills, Karana Downs, Upper Brookfield and Wynnum Manly.

TransLink has been contacted for comment.

[#Metro]

This is a MASSIVE FAIL for the ' bus review ' for the Centenary Suburbs.

In fact, if anything, the trial will fail to attract significant patronage (an average of 7 passengers per trip), which will no doubt be held up by TL as "proof" that no demand exists there.

As you can see BCC and QLD Govt. cannot seem so much as pick up a phone and talk to each other to work out a rational plan and shared allocation of costs, so BCC has used that as a boasting exercise that it is funding the whole thing.

People generally do not like to travel in loops.

They don't like services that travel one way.

They don't like services that are infrequent - why is the frequency of service omitted from the BT article? Was it in the media release that BCC supplied or was it omitted?

PPT
https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/public-transport/personalised-public-transport

The service for most PPT ends just after 9 am, and then doesn't pick up again until about 3 pm.

During peak hour the frequency is 30 minutes.

And with no fixed stops, the service is virtually illegible/invisible.

Is PPT discoverable on the TL website? I also input a trip for 6 am from Mt Ommaney Centre for the 19th September - PPT services do not appear.

SHAMBLES!!

[James]

I think this quote really takes the cake:

Despite the State Government bearing the major responsibility for public transport, ratepayers will pay the full $145,000 cost of the trial after TransLink declined to pitch in any funding.

The salary of just two public servants, and the government can't find the money. TransLink has gone as far to not integrate this system with the network at all, as if it could be any worse.

This issue is probably indicative of the larger problem at TransLink & in the government more generally - zero interest in any sort of reform.

[Cleveland Line]

Brisbane Times doesn't miss with this opening line...

"Public transport in a pocket of Brisbane's south-west is so bad the council will now pay for residents' taxi fares to leave."

 

https://amp.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/suburbs-where-public-transport-is-so-bad-council-will-pay-for-your-cab-20190822-p52jsz.html?__twitter_impression=true

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Suburbs where public transport is so bad council will pay for your cab

Public transport in a pocket of Brisbane's south-west is so bad the council will now pay for residents' taxi fares to leave.

Brisbane lord mayor Adrian Schrinner announced on Thursday cabs to and from Brisbane's Centenary Suburbs - including Jindalee, Mount Ommaney and Middle Park - would cost just $1, because TransLink services were "limited".

"The hail-and-ride trips are operated by specially marked, wheelchair-accessible and airconditioned maxi cabs provided by Black & White Cabs and will cost just $1 each way," he said.

Cr Schrinner said the council would shoulder the $145,000 cost, noting that TransLink, part of the state Department of Transport and Main Roads, would not fund any of the project.

TransLink was contacted for comment.

The personalised public transport (PPT) will run on two fixed-loop routes and available to all residents of the Centenary Suburbs.

One service will run from Westlake to Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre and the other from Wacol Station to Sumner Park Industrial Estate.

"The cabs can carry up to 10 people per trip and can pick up and drop off passengers where safe to do so along the fixed route," Cr Schrinner said.

The routes will be trialled for 12 months, from Monday to Friday, excluding public and school holidays.

PPT services already run in Aspley, Bald Hills, Calamvale, Carindale Hills, Hemmant Hills, Karana Downs, Upper Brookfield, Wynnum and Manly.

[Golliwog]

Would these services be able to run with a bus the size of that midi bus Translink has been using (trialling?) down at Holmview?

Has anyone seen how that service is going now?

[timh]

Would these services be able to run with a bus the size of that midi bus Translink has been using (trialling?) down at Holmview?

Has anyone seen how that service is going now?

I've seen a little baby bus in the green Translink livery driving round Sandgate doing some route up there (I'm not familiar with the area or the routes). That's another possible candidate.

[City Designer]

Running smaller buses is a bad idea because it limits the usefulness of that vehicle. A full size rigid bus can be used on any service.

For example the Helensvale local services (714, 715, 716, and 717) operate interchangeably with the higher order services (704, 710, 725, TX7).

Another example is the Browns Plains local services (541, 542, 543) operate interchangably with the cross town services (534, 545).

The 567 often operates with older full size rigid buses. I have seen bus 74 on the 567 frequently.

If a smaller bus was used on the local services the run print would be limited to those local services.

If you follow buses around using anytrip.com.au you can get a feel for how run prints operate.

[Arnz]

The same on the Sunshine Coast.  Whilst trunk routes such as 600, 616, 620 and to some extent 610 may warrant full-size buses at certain times of the day (whilst 'subsidising' the quieter times), the same 12m rigids are used interchangeably on the hourly "coverage routes". 

The SC network for the most part only has a handful of 'trunk' routes (600, 610, 616, 620), a feeder network (605, 615, 630, 631) and the remainder  of the SC bus network basically being a "coverage network" where the majority of the remaining routes are hourly.

The 626/627 in the Noosa Shire could be considered in the middle between "trunk" and "coverage", as the frequency on both are half-hourly, but the span of coverage is rubbish with the last service leaving around the 6:30pm mark.  607/611 may also meet this mark as the "hospital" routes.

[techblitz]

https://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/6355385/40-a-seat-the-high-price-of-the-illawarras-on-demand-bus-trial/

The government's on demand bus service trial in the Illawarra is costing taxpayers around $40 a trip.

The service works similar to an Uber, with passengers booking a ride in a Toyota HiAce from their door via an app.

Unlike an Uber, passengers can only book a ride to a transport hub - such as a bus interchange or train station.

The fare charged is between $2.90 and $6, depending on the distance the passenger travels.

The Illawarra trial started in three locations - Thirroul, Shellharbour and Figtree - in January 2018.

"It's an innovative way to use public transport resources and public funds," then Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra Gareth Ward said.

A year later the Figtree service was scrapped due to low use and the vehicle relocated to the Shellharbour area, where on demand buses are the most popular.

The on demand service is provided by Premier Illawarra under a government contract.
As of June 30 this year, the bus company had been paid $1.3 million to operate the service - a figure which included the cancelled Figtree run.

A Transport for NSW spokeswoman said the buses had carried 32,102 passengers since the trial began - around 58 trips a day.

Given the $1.3 million contract to date, that's a $40 cost for each trip.

The most a passenger is asked to pay is $6, which means the taxpayer subsidises each on demand trip to the tune of at least $34.

The Transport for NSW trial will continue until January 1 next year but a decision on whether the service becomes permanent is expected to be made later this year.

"The overarching objective of the on demand pilots is to improve our understanding of how different models could improve customer outcomes," a Transport for NSW spokeswoman said.

"Data from each pilot will be used to inform improvements across the entire network."

[City Designer]

I am always dubious about articles saying taxpayers were charged X for something. State and local governments are revenue constrained just like the non-government sector.

Public transport is a service, just like roads, emergency services, and education. Essential services are not profitable.

The Australian Government needs to be providing more direct funding to state governments to construct infrastructure and operate services.

The Australian Government is not revenue constrained because they are the monopolistic issuer of the Australian Dollar.

[SurfRail]

It doesn't matter, currency is still not infinite even if the issuer is contributing some out of thin air.  Resources still have to be used efficiently.

[#Metro]

Electricity and banking are essential services, and both are highly profitable.

The value of a currency is backed by the legal system and both public and private assets.

Although the Reserve Bank is public, it is separated and operated independently of the government precisely to prevent politicians printing money willy-nilly or fiddling with interest rates.

Printing cash / monopoly money generally results in a currency devaluation, meaning it buys less.

[City Designer]

There is no such thing as printing money. It is a myth.

The value of currency comes from the authority of the entity that issues it.

The authority of the Reserve Bank of Australia comes from the Australian Government.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is a body corporate wholly owned by the Commonwealth of Australia.


"The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is Australia's central bank and derives its functions and powers from the Reserve Bank Act 1959. Its duty is to contribute to the stability of the currency, full employment, and the economic prosperity and welfare of the Australian people."
https://www.rba.gov.au/about-rba/

"The Reserve Bank of Australia is Australia's central bank. Its role is set out in the Reserve Bank Act 1959. The Bank conducts the nation's monetary policy and issues its currency. It seeks to foster financial system stability and promotes the safety and efficiency of the payments system. It also offers banking services to government. The Bank is a body corporate wholly owned by the Commonwealth of Australia."
https://www.rba.gov.au/qa/

"Expenditure and payments by the (Australian) Government adds ES (exchange settlement) funds to the account of the recipient (or their financial institution), while receipts have the opposite effect."
https://www.rba.gov.au/mkt-operations/dom-mkt-oper.html

"...banks are financial institutions that create deposits as ledger entries to fund their loans..."
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/working-paper/2018/banks-are-not-intermediaries-of-loanable-funds-facts-theory-and-evidence

The limit is the real resources.

If you do not understand macroeconomics you will never get anything progressive done. Period.

Taking care of people and keeping them well is not profitable. That is why we have government monopolies, to provide essential services that are not driven by a profit motive.

[SurfRail]

Again - if a service performs no useful function or if funds would be better spent elsewhere to achieve the same end, the service should not be funded, no matter which level of government is paying for it.  Money is NOT infinite, neither actually nor practically, and the Commonwealth is certainly not going to pay to run buses carrying nobody.

[City Designer]

Again you are missing the point. The question is not how are you going to pay for something. That question is off the table.

The criteria should be is the service useful? does it have benefit? Is it a good use of resources? Do we have the people?

Those are the real constraints.

Framing things through the lens of taxpayer or ratepayer dollars is artificial scarcity and deflects for meaningful conversations about the merits of a project or service.

It is a nonsense argument with no validity.

If you do not understand macroeconomics you will never get anything progressive done.

Government projects fail by design because they are artificially held to a profit motive or are not appropriately funded or resourced including not having people with the necessary skills.

[SurfRail]

Again you are missing the point. The question is not how are you going to pay for something. That question is off the table.

The criteria should be is the service useful? does it have benefit? Is it a good use of resources? Do we have the people?

Those are the real constraints.[/quote]

No, it is you who is missing the point.

1.  The service in question is funded by a state government, which does not issue its own currency, so your interpretation of fiscal policy is about as relevant to this discussion as debating petroleum chemistry, the energy density of batteries or the right to freedom of movement - notionally related to the provision of public tranport but so totally tangential to the topic at hand as to be irrelevant.

Money is important, no matter how much you would like it not to be.

2. The on-demand service I was referring to in the Illawarra appears to fail every metric you have set out above - dollars are a measure of its economic efficiency, not a reflection on whether the state can "afford it" or not (self-evidently it can because it is being run).  Similarly I have repeatedly held the view that running trains like the Westlander at a cost of $4,000 per passenger is a hideous waste of resources which could be better used in running more buses and flights to the west, and improving metropolitan services. 

[Golliwog]

Running smaller buses is a bad idea because it limits the usefulness of that vehicle. A full size rigid bus can be used on any service.

Yes, I get that and do tend to agree. But to some extent, that's why I was asking if anyone knew how the trial was going.

I also know that a number of new suburbs have been built with narrower and more winding streets compared to an older suburb, and a standard bus would likely have issues navigating those streets with parked cars etc.

[City Designer]

SurfRail: State and local governments are constrained by the Australian Government not spending enough for the public purpose. That is extremely relevant to the delivery of public services, which are mostly performed by state and local governments. I made that clear. I have not come here to debate macroeconomic reality, I have come here to educate people.  If you do not want to engage in reality that is your prerogative.

Golliwog: Queensland Streets 1993 and Complete Streets 2010 have a hierarchy of streets. Not every street is designed to take buses. The Department of Transport and Main Roads specifies a minimum carriageway width of 7.5m to accommodate full sized buses. In practice on street parking demand and the frequency of service has an impact on reliability and passenger comfort.