4 Dec 2023: Public Transport Queensland - Now is the hour!

[ozbob]

Public Transport Queensland - Now is the hour!

4th December 2023

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has highlighted the need for much better transport in his resignation from the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Intergovernmental Leaders' Forum, saying "We don't need overpriced stadiums, we need better transport."

We sure do need better public and active transport.  We suggest that the Queensland Government move immediately to form a proper public transport authority (Public Transport Queensland) and take over the administration of public and active transport for Queensland, including preparation of the transport plans for the 2032 Olympic Games. Lord Mayor Schrinner is correct when has says " Politicians cannot be trusted ".

Public transport in Queensland continues to blunder on. There is little doubt that Queensland must move forward with a proper stand alone Public Transport Authority. The Translink brand can remain as such, but a proper authority similar to the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia ( https://www.pta.wa.gov.au/ ) is needed. Simply blundering along with the failure structures at present is only making everything worse.

The lack of timely reporting, the fire-wall between the public and Translink (communications outsourced), the silos of blunder and miscommunication are all compounding the failure. A Government that fails to be truly transparent when it comes to public transport matters.  It took years of advocacy for the rail network operational plan for Cross River Rail to be made public for example.

Unless there is radical change, the mess will never be sorted.

The key issue is the present organisation, administration and delivery of public transport in Queensland.  The current fragmented structures have delivered failure, for example - rail fail, Redcliffe Peninsula line fail, botched new trains - NGRs, bus network reform fail, fare fail, greater Brisbane the nation's worst for public transport access, half-hearted DDA compliance, delayed rail improvements on the Sunshine Coast and level crossing removal stagnation. Could hardly be worse.

The structure needs reform.

There needs to be a stand alone public transport authority. A good model could be based on the Public Transport Authority of WA ( https://www.pta.wa.gov.au/ ) with the resources and the will to properly champion public transport and turnaround the constant failures.

The present fragmented structures of Brisbane City Council, Queensland Rail, Transport and Main Roads and Translink will not.  They will just continue to propagate failure.  The Government did task the Citytrain Response Unit to make recommendations with respect to an Integrated Public Transport Model.  They completed the review December 2017 and passed to Government for consideration ( https://www.cru.qld.gov.au/Reports ). Nothing has been heard since

In the Page 6 Citytrain Response Unit Final Report* (publicly available June 2021) was this recommendation:

" Recommendation 36a-c remains open. The
Citytrain Response Unit recommends that a further
review be undertaken, building on the work
completed by the CRU, to consider how greater
integration across the public transport cluster can
be achieved to support the successful delivery
of public transport projects and services into the
future."

And page 3

" However, further work is required to ensure Queensland's
public transport arrangements are suitable for supporting
the successful delivery and operation of forthcoming network
changes including Cross River Rail, the European Train Control
System, the Brisbane Metro and a possible Olympic bid.
Although some improvements have been realised through the
delivery of the Fixing the trains program, greater integration
between public transport agencies would better support
the long-term success of these projects and deliver superior
customer outcomes."

*https://www.cru.qld.gov.au/-/media/CRU/Fixing-the-Trains_Final-report_December_2020.pdf

Nothing had been heard on the recommendation 36a-c.

As we have posted previously ( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=264693 ) we believe the way forward from here is to establish a proper public transport authority.  We suggest 'Public Transport Queensland' which will provide the proper integration and better administration and delivery than the fragmented 'silo' arrangements at present.

This is now even more pressing with the State's commitment to the 2032 Olympic Games.
Doing nothing is not an option, it is time to bite the bullet of structural reform.

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

[ozbob]

Discussion --> https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=277697