Transport Minister evades Question on Notice in Qld Parliament

[Fares_Fair]

Queensland Parliament
Question on Notice : Answer due Monday 14th April, 2008.

On the 13th March, 2008 the following Question on Notice was put to the Hon. John Mickel MP,
Member for Logan and Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations
by the Hon. Peter Wellington MP, Member for Nicklin, in the Queensland Parliament.

This question was put to the Minister on behalf of the 'Say No to GoCard' committee.

With respect to the price paid for weekly and monthly railway paper tickets -
Will he support these railway paper tickets
(a) not increasing in price above the consumer price index during the next 12 months and
(b) continuing to be available for purchase at current railway stations.

The Hon. Member for Logan's response will be published,
Tuesday 15 April, 2008 in Queensland's Hansard.
We look forward to his response on this issue. 

Regards,
Fares_Fair


This is the Minister's response published today.

ANSWER:

The price of all TransLink tickets, including weekly and monthly tickets, will be considered
by the Queensland Government as part of the normal process for fare increases.

The Queensland Government's investment in public transport in South East Queensland for
the 2007/08 financial year is over $959 million. Expected fare revenue is approximately
$239 million. This covers less than a third of the cost, representing a massive investment to
deliver frequent, reliable and affordable services to the travelling public. In addition, the
Queensland Government is spending $1.1 billion on public transport related infrastructure in
South East Queensland in 2007/08.

I am advised that since 2004 when TransLink commenced, the Queensland Government
has been able to maintain fare increases to the level of the Consumer Price Index for
Brisbane. At the same time, key public transport cost drivers have been increasing at a
significantly greater rate. Automotive fuel, for instance, has increased by just over 48
percent from March 2004 to December 2007.

Regards,
Fares_Fair

[ozbob]

It would seem that paper is in for the high jump!

After the time meltdown with the Go card this past week and a bit, might be some unhappy punters around come 1st July.

Expect some sweetners for the Go card ...

[Fares_Fair]

I fear it will be more like a pole vault ..

[Derwan]

I think you're right!

The "answer" is basically an attempt to justify upcoming price increases.

The smart ones (us) are one step ahead.  Expect a significant increase across the board coinciding with the introduction of "better" options for the Go Card.

In the end, the only way to avoid the significant increase will be to start using a Go Card - essentially forcing people to use it. 

Some might argue that this is a good thing.  I personally think it'd be great if every single (regular) public transport user had a go card.  It would make reporting on patronage a simple task - rather than having to conduct surveys that could happen on busy or quiet days.  If everyone used the Go Card, you would basically know how many people were on each train, bus and ferry for any given trip.  You would know when peak times begin and end for each service.  It would be the perfect planning tool for the new TTA.

But this should not come as a result of blackmailing commuters.