Year 2013 in public transport

[ozbob]

What are your highlights and lowlights for 2013?  Be nice ...    A couple or so to start.

Highlight: Opening of Springfield rail, confirmation of sector 2 timetables

Lowlight:  Bungling of the TransLink bus review, failure to sort the fares.

[SurfRail]

Deathknell of CRR is another lowlight.

Seeing operating trams in Southport is another highlight.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

Savagely cutting back the 470 and 475 is a lowlight.

Running the 600 every 12 minutes weekdays is a highlight.

[James]

I'll look at greater Brisbane only in this case.

Highlights:
- Opening of the rail line to Springfield
- The feeding of buses from outer suburban areas to key rail and bus nodes
- UBAT/BUM replacing CRR, even despite Tony Abbott's refusal to fund urban rail projects

Lowlights:
- Brisbane City Council's non-cooperation in the SEQ bus review, which eventually led to its complete collapse
- BCC's bus cost explosion engulfing Toowong, Yeronga, Jindalee, Mt Ommaney, 17 Mile Rocks, Oxley, Inala, Kangaroo Point, Bardon, Rainworth, Paddington, Milton Road, Old Northern Road corridor, Bulimba, Hawthorne, Cannon Hill, and huge sections of Brisbane
- Routes being cut to effectively "bus gerrymander" the Maroon IdiotGlider
- BCC's failure to act on its disastrous infrequent network engulfing entire suburbs with low-frequency services and the world's highest fares
- BUM not having a Park Road station
- No introduction of P410 - James' house in St Lucia to QSBS Stop A5, running via the M5 and stopping only at Indro Maccas.

[ozbob]

Highlight:  Some early moves to get more bulk freight back onto rail.

Miracle:  The Westlander and Inlander have made it through the year ... 

[bcasey]

Highlight:

(from the perspective of a developer and researcher)
The release of open data (GTFS, etc) from Translink (and most recently, integration into Google Maps). There is definitely more data that would be useful from them, but it is a good start.

Most of the lowlights have already been mentioned.

[ozbob]

Highlight:  There has been an improvement in peak OnTimePerformance for rail.

Lowlight:  Full 24 hour OT performance profiles for all lines not available.  As in other states ...

[ozbob]

Highlight:  Some moves to improve bridge strike prevention on certain key rail over road bridges.

Lowlight:  The fact that bridge strikes are still occurring constantly ...

[ozbob]

Lowlight:  Changes for all bus regions outside Brisbane being dressed up as ' improvements ' when in fact, there are many cuts in frequency, span and routes.  A consequence of the SEQ TransLink bus review failure.  TransLink is being starved of funds which is a consequence of the bus review failures.  The patronage boost is not there, high cost unbalanced fares continue to drive pax away. 

[Derwan]

Lowlight: Another fare increase with no sign of a change in fare structure.  (Wasn't there a promise on that?)

[ozbob]

Highlight: Sandgate station upgrade, overall well done including full height platforms!

[techblitz]

Highlight: ditching of the translink review, changing to altandi for GC express services

Lowlights: Still no gocard topup machines @ grand plaza,indro,inala plaza
               Of all the surveys I completed 2013 they ALL lacked the fundamental multiple choice question >
              Would you rather a further walk to the nearest bus stop in place of a higher frequency route? or would you rather a closer bus stop for a lesser frequency route?    <<<<<<< come on..why was this not included in any surveys.......including translinks one which was at least 100 questions!!

I think some need to be educated on how to write proper surveys if they ever actually want to find out what Brisbane bus commuters want 

[HappyTrainGuy]

Highlight: Springfield line.

Lowlight: Ditching of the Translink review especially for the Northside network. Long live the wasted resources!

[#Metro]

Lowlight: Waste - very frustrating to see the Mt Everest of waste everywhere

Highlight: Waste - ultimately this will shut down the entire system by pricing it out of existence and then we'll have a major crisis and then change can be pushed through.

[HappyTrainGuy]

ultimately this will shut down the entire system by pricing it out of existence and then we'll have a major crisis and then change can be pushed through.

BIKE LANES.... no no. SEGWAY LANES!

[Mr X]

Lowlight: SEQ bus network review, fare increases
Highlight: it's now more justifiable to drive everywhere in Brisbane 

[Mozz]

Highlight
Light Rail on the Gold Coast

Western Freeway Bicycle Bridge over Moggill Road announced

Fare structure is working well to suppress public transport utilisation

Low Light
While everyone seems to be in agreement that the Heavy Rail should be joined to the Light Rail on the Gold Coast.... we don't have a solution .... Yet....

Reduction in Citycat ferry services to fund BCC public transport black hole ... we are heading rapidly towards the event horizon

Deletion of the much supported Centenary Highway to Springfield bicycle extension... replaced by ... an additional lane of black tarmac for vehicles

Fare structure is not working well, those of us in SEQ know it and almost every visitor to Brisbane I encounter comments on the high cost of public transport compared with interstate and .... the world.....

Announcement of the CCR replacement, which is substandard to the original and even revised concept.... which includes underground bus purely based on the current paradigm that most buses have to travel from suburbs into the CBD when this could be resolved by 1. Not running most buses into the CBD 2. Don't have buses competing with rail on routes 3. Have buses feeding heavy rail 4. As has been proven successful in cities around the world that have successful public transport frameworks, not like Brisbane where every day we have a bus versus rail state of origin like tussle, in which we the public wear the cost of the inefficiency

[ozbob]

Yo reminds me  .. thanks Mozz .. (by the way, excellent post .. )

Lowlight:  Segways ...

There is no highlight wrt Segways ... IMHO ...

[achiruel]

Lowlight: bus network review non-implementation, still only one track between Beerburrum & Nambour.

Highlights: Sector 2 timetables announced (although not starting til next year so maybe they should be a 2014 highlight?), GCLR project commenced.

[Fares_Fair]

Sunshine Coast line

Highlights:

Dramatic / significant improvement in on-time performance during peak.
Toilets on trains, this saw a dramatic improvement since the Sunshine Coast Daily highlighted the situation in 2 stories in January 2013.
Figures since February 2013 are 97.5% of my peak period trains had working amenities !
QR station staff always helpful, courteous and efficient.

Lowlights:

Predominantly single line track from Beerburrum to Nambour and beyond with passing loops too short to be of any use for 1500m long freight trains.
7.5% fare increase in January, with another to come in January 2014. Election promise kept but still 3-4X inflation rate. This will hurt.
No news on when rail duplication may occur. Premier's letter received in October lays blame on former Labor Gov't and the Feds as responsible for funding.
52.5 km/h average speed on 122 year old rail line. (arrived Palmwoods and Nambour in 1891)
Lack of Government priority to upgrade the line despite 6 petitions (over 19 months) calling for the upgrade as a matter of high priority.

[ozbob]

Thanks FF, and all ..

There is no doubt, apart from fares, the critical issue is the Sunny Coast Line ..

I have a plan ... 

[Arnz]

Highlights (local perspective)

12 min frequency (TUAG) on the Route 600
The vast majority of weekday bus-rail connections for the 605/615 now met. 
Improved train OTP reliability across the board including improved toilet reliability.

Lowlights
7.5% Fare Increase
Continual delay of duplication beyond Beerburrum (government still playing politics with the opposition).

[ozbob]

^ excellent feedback Arnz ..  thank you ...