Call for free off peak travel

[ozbob]

Just heard a sound bite on the radio (ABC News) some experts in Sydney suggesting free off peak travel would be the go.  Nice hook.  My own view is that a significant discount for off peak will still protect the fare box and drive uptake anyway.  We have called for a 30% off peak discount, presently 10% on go card to rise to 15% in January according to the present fare table. 

No doubt more to follow on this. Cannot pick up any media on it at the moment.

[somebody]

One of the major problems with this is that the level of discount which would be appropriate for rail is different to the one which is appropriate for bus.

But yes, 10% is too low for either mode.

[ozbob]

From ABC News click here!

Make drivers pay for peak-hour travel: report

Make drivers pay for peak-hour travel: report

The report recommends free off-peak travel on public transport. (Reuters: David Gray, file photo)

A new report on Australian cities has recommended free off-peak travel on public transport and charging drivers for how much they use their cars.

The ADC Cities Report contains ideas on how to develop better, rather than bigger, cities.

It will be used to help the Federal Government form a national urban policy for Australia.

Ways to improve public transport are high on the agenda, including free off-peak travel.

Professor John Stanley from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies says cities need to be designed so that the need for travel is reduced.

He says introducing road pricing and charging drivers for how much they use their cars is a better solution than building more roads.

"If you're travelling for example at peak hour in a congested city, you'd pay a lot more because of those congestion costs imposed on other people than you would if you were travelling at off-peak times during the day," he said.

"There's now plenty of international evidence that the most effective way to deal with congestion quickly is to put a price on it.

"This is the only way we are going to do anything seriously and long-term to reduce congestion."

Professor Stanley says road pricing should be debated in the community over the next three years so that people are not financially disadvantaged.

First posted 25 minutes ago

[#Metro]

I would like to see the evidence for lower fares vs more frequent services.
I think pricing is a bit weak, its such a low cost thing that I don't even think about the price.

Even if PT was free in the off peak, how useful is it if it only comes every 30 minutes? For an infrequent service like that, even a price of zero is probably too expensive, the price would have to be negative (i.e. TransLink pays you to catch the bus)

The evidence from BUZ shows that when you put services on in the off peak with legible branding, people will use them. Most of the growth in BUZ routes did not happen at peak times- they happened in the off peak, in the evenings and on the weekends. Sunday patronage is now bigger than weekday pre-BUZification on many routes.

Public Transport is a derived demand- people consume it because they want to go somewhere or do something.
What is suppressing these trips isn't price IMHO, its the lack of off peak services.

[somebody]

I would add to TT's comment, that the sensitivity in peak hour is likely to be far lower than the sensitivity off peak.  I don't mind the notion of the fare rises, actually, but the off peak discount is far too low.

Sydney has no off peak discount for buses, and rail only has a discount for return journeys commenced after 9am, although the discount is fairly substantial there, about 30%.

Professor John Stanley from the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies says cities need to be designed so that the need for travel is reduced.

One additional thing about this, if price is a (small) factor in these choices, and this is a goal, then it is inappropriate to set the flagfall as high as it is set in Brisbane.

[#Metro]

If the idea is to boost off-peak patronage, the fastest and best way to do that would be to simply increase the frequency.
Alterations to the fares would help, but are not in themselves necessary IMHO. BUZ is proof of this.

The Elephant in the room is frequency. If the service is not there to catch, it matters little what the price for it is.
It would be like having free Airtrain Travel after 8pm (when no service exists!)

(Something interesting: AIUI, in some places, there is a surcharge if you catch a direct, peak-hour express or rocket bus.)

[ozbob]

Yes, it needs both frequency and some off peak discount.  Certainly will be interesting to see how patronage changes at Oxley and Darra post Richlands opening.  Fifteen minute around the clock off peak will be a start for the rest of the network.  Even if they went to 20% (planned 2012) now with frequency would surprise many I think.  It is all about frequency, first and foremost.  Do people calling for free off peak actually travel off peak or peak??

Talking about Darra, I went for a long walk around the station and side streets yesterday mid morning.  Virtually impossible for anyone to find a park within 500 metres or more is some directions, even to visit the shops.  Will be interesting to see how that changes (if it does) after Richlands opens.

[ozbob]

Who are the ADC Forum?

--> http://www.adcforum.org/

ADC is a wholly Australian, non-political, not-for-profit leadership organisation which brings together leaders from business, government, the public sector, academia and the broader community to improve their understanding of key issues affecting Australia.

[ozbob]

http://www.adcforum.org/assets/files/City%20Summit/ADC_Cities_Report_part_1.pdf

http://www.adcforum.org/assets/files/City%20Summit/ADC_Cities_Report_part_2.pdf

[dwb]

I see no reason why offpeak fares on go card shouldn't match the 2004 Translink fares. That would be $2 for a one zone adult, or $2.40 for a 2 zone adult.

The fact is at 2014 even with the discount the offpeak fare will cost substantially more than the peak fare in 2004 or even now, that's a problem!