17 Nov 2011: SEQ: DEEPER CAUSES BEHIND THE BUS DECLINE IN PASSENGER NUMBERS

[ozbob]

Media release 17 November 2011

SEQ: DEEPER CAUSES BEHIND THE BUS DECLINE IN PASSENGER NUMBERS

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 has suggested there is more to the recent falls in bus passenger numbers than just fare impacts.

Brisbane's' Bus Network has seen its worst performance in more than 10 years, with many routes seeing up to a 30% reduction in patronage.

Some of this has been due to the Richlands rail link taking over the role of other bus routes in the area, and this is not a bad thing.

However, the high price of fares is only part of the story of the patronage decline, and RAIL Back On track believes that many ingrained practices and aspects of the network design are limiting the potential of the network and make it less attractive as a transport option.

RAIL Back On Track representative Gavin Seipelt said:

"Brisbane suffers from a situation where it has a large number of bus routes, that in many cases are only a little bit different.

"These routes can cannibalise passengers off each other and makes the network bewildering to understand and ride. What we often see is multiple half empty routes rather than single, well loaded, unified route.  Unfortunately, some newer routes have perpetuated this practice.

"It can be difficult to see what we are building towards, and how our network will look in the future be when additions take place in this manner.

"To complicate matters further, in the CBD, these bundles of bus routes have completely differing stopping points and passengers are left with frustrating choices in terms of where to go . For instance, a passenger wanting to catch the soonest bus to Garden City out of the CBD via the busway, has at least 5 different origin points to choose from. Of course, you can't wait in all 5 locations at once, and because of this, passengers have to wait longer, because they 'miss' buses in the other locations that they wouldn't have, if they were all together.

"Money is also spent on running services that often compete directly with a parallel rail line, when in reality, these buses could be redeployed to funnel passengers into the rail network, allowing them to enjoy a quicker run on the train.

"In an environment where public transport must aim to carry as many passengers as it can within a limited budget, this sort of inefficiency and duplication benefits nobody.

"Unnecessary duplication also means buses are being diverted from servicing areas which are crying out for improvement."

RAIL Back On Track believes that there comes a point where the underlying structure of the bus network needs to be fully reviewed, and redrawn to be more relevant to the urban structure of the Brisbane.

Cities with developed public transport systems arrange high frequency buses, direct down main roads, in a clean grid, using bus lanes and other priority measures, and aim to get as much of the population as possible within walking distance of a high quality route.
This makes the service attractive, maximises the opportunity to change between services, and makes getting from anywhere to anywhere a piece of cake.

Unfortunately, Brisbane's  routes look more like spaghetti than a grid, patronage suffers accordingly, and money is wasted!

Contacts:

Gavin Seipelt
RAIL Back On Track Member

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