8 Nov 2013: SEQ: Separate Brisbane Transport ...

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Media release 8th November 2013



SEQ: Separate Brisbane Transport to pay back Brisbane City Council debts

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers says that Brisbane City Council should separate Brisbane Transport to pay back its public debts.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"After pursing hi-waste projects like the Clem 7 Lemon ($770 million, true market value $618 million) and refusing fundamental bus network reform, it is no surprise that there is little funding left for the bread-and-butter basics that councils are supposed to be providing for their ratepayers."

"We do not have the money available to do all of these projects alone," Cr Adrian Schrinner said.

Robert Dow continued, "The effect of Brisbane City Council keeping its 'taxi style' direct service bus network is that everyone is paying 'taxi style' fares, with more high cost fare increases due in January 2014. The high costs are hurting pensioners, people on welfare, low income earners, but most of all, unemployed job-seekers who do not qualify for concession fares in Queensland. BCC is harming the very people it set out to protect."

"Paper tickets to travel just ONE zone will break the $5 barrier in January. This is unacceptable and we reject it. It is indefensible that the BCC bus network carries 50% air into the CBD during peak hour through Cultural Centre. It is unacceptable that other assorted hi-waste legacy routes continue to exist on the BCC bus network after not one, but two, bus reviews. We think more cuts are coming from the Lord Mayor because there is no way that so much waste can be preserved, and not experience a cost explosion."

"Brisbane City Council and its Councillors should be embarrassed that they were all unable to deliver basic high frequency bus services to Yeronga, Albany Creek, Morningside, Inala, Enoggera, and the entire Centenary Suburbs. They couldn't deliver the promised 2000 daily express buses down Legacy Way despite publicly boasting that they could do a better job than TransLink. They couldn't - the BCC Bus review is actually far worse."

"The ratepayers of Brisbane are being neglected (especially Bulimba). The council is in billions of dollars of debt. Useful infrastructure can't be built because useless infrastructure has taken away the funding. Services like the CityCat and buses have been cut."

"Brisbane City Council may want to run Brisbane Transport but it doesn't need to. It should be separated and the funds used to pay down the interest and principal on BCC's growing pile of public debts. Brisbane is no longer surrounded by market gardens, public transport throughout SEQ is suffering from a lack of proper network integration due to BCC's failures."

"After a decade of games, it's time to dump Brisbane City Council and separate Brisbane Transport."

References:

1. http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-city-council-to-fund-kangaroo-point-to-cbd-bridge-20131106-2x1op.html

2. http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/city/buck-stops-plans-for-new-brisbane-cross-river-bridges/story-fni9r0jy-1226754154260

Contact:

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

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