Article: Why Coast's transport system is going off the rails

[Fares_Fair]

Article: Why Coast's transport system is going off the rails
Maroochy Journal, p3
Friday 7 October, 2011
By Sherine Conyers
conyerss@qst.newsltd.com.au

http://paper.questnews.com.au/QST_MJL/mjl003.pdf

PALMWOODS   commuter
Jeff Addison said it was no
surprise to him that public
transport usage for the Sun-
shine  Coast  had  dropped.
Last   week,   The   Courier-
Mail   reported   3 million
fewer trips taken in the past
financial   year   on   public
transport  despite  increased
frequency and 105,000 extra
seats.
Train trips fell by 2.6 mil-
lion  passengers.
Mr Addison, who has been
travelling return to Brisbane
every  weekday  for  the  past
12  years,  said  it  was  a  no-
brainer as to why people had
stopped  using  public  trans-
port.
''High fares, loss of weekly
and six-month and 12-month
tickets,  promised  to  be  re-
viewed but stalled by govern-
m e n t   i n a c t i o n ,   l o n g e r
journey times, touted as im-
provements, poor reliability,
and   single-line   track   de-
lays,''  he  said.
''Landsborough station and
Palmwoods station car parks
used to be full at the end of
last year, now Palmwoods is
only   half   full   and   Lands-
borough  is  now  just  three-
quarters   full.   People   are
staying  away  in  droves.''
Mr Addison said the total
time he had lost due to train
delays in August equated to
4½ hours.

ENDS.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.