Article: Train the answer to bowser blues

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From the Sunshine Coast Daily click here!

Train the answer to bowser blues

Train the answer to bowser blues

12:00a.m. 28 May 2008

By Sam Benger

Sunshine Coast residents driving to and from Brisbane every day for work could be spending about $80 more a week on petrol than those who catch public transport.

Taking a drive down the Nicklin Way, it is hard not to notice the price of petrol is soaring. The cheapest prices yesterday hovered around 142 cents a litre.

For the average Coast commuter travelling to and from Brisbane every week day, that can mean a monthly petrol bill of about $570, compared with $244.40 for the cost of a monthly train ticket from Landsborough to Brisbane Central.

Linda Ryle, of Maleny, catches the train to Brisbane three times a week and saves about $200 a month on petrol.

?The number of people catching the train has more than doubled since I moved up here about two and a half years ago,? Ms Ryle said.

?It?s mental. You?re lucky if you can get a seat.?

Ms Ryle said public transport was more convenient and easier to use.

?If I had to drive to Brisbane every day, with the traffic and the cost of fuel, it would just be horrendous,? she said.

Sue Unicomb, from Minyama, caught the train to Brisbane yesterday as a once-off and agreed it was an easier way to travel.

?If you take into consideration the parking costs and everything, it?s a lot cheaper to catch the train for $18.80 return for the day, especially when I filled up (the car) this morning at $1.61 a litre,? she said.

While both women found public transport easier and more affordable to use, they said there should be more services to the Sunshine Coast, particularly during peak hour.

A Queensland Rail spokesman said the demand for train services had increased across south-east Queensland.

?The combined effects of rising interest rates and petrol prices are expected to continue to drive growth in patronage in the short and longer term,? he said.

?On average between 700 and 750 commuters board trains across the five peak hour services in either direction on the Sunshine Coast line on any given weekday.?

The spokesman said patronage growth was estimated at 5% for the Sunshine Coast line, compared to 9% across all train services.

While few will be surprised at the increase in the number of commuters travelling from the Coast to Brisbane for work each day, a recent analysis of Census figures by KPMG partner Bernard Salt also revealed that the number of Brisbane commuters heading to the Coast each day has grown at roughly the same pace.