10 Mar 2012: SEQ: 15% Fare rises can't go on forever - find efficiencies please!

[ozbob]

Media release 10 March 2012

Core Frequent Network



SEQ: 15% Fare rises can't go on forever - find efficiencies please!

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 calls for a simplification and consolidation of the public transport network.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"There is an upper limit to what can be charged for on public transport, both in value for money terms and in terms of what people will put up with. 15% increases year on year is not a long term, financially or politically sustainable solution. SEQ residents pay some of the highest fares in the world (1). Comparisons against geographically similar cities in Canada for example, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton shows that Brisbane has high fares, high taxpayer subsidy and generally poor service, especially on rail (2,3)."

"Fares can't continue to be increased ad infinitum. With fares going up 15% annually, passengers rightly expect efficiencies to be found in the network; that means reviewing legacy routes and more emphasis on connections, which reduces waiting time and overall journey times for all. Using connections rather than direct services gives high frequency to more people for the same fixed budget (4)."

"RAIL Back On Track urges TransLink to focus its efforts on completing the Core Frequent Network, which is the minimum basic network required to properly link the CBD with the suburbs and suburbs with each other using orbital bus routes. This creates a basic anywhere-to-anywhere-at-anytime network for Brisbane and sets the scene for high frequency feeder services which do not require large increases in funding to have high frequency."

"Plans for Maroon CityGliders which would do more to assist mayoral re-election campaigns rather than extend high frequency services to areas which currently do not have access to decent, frequent transport should also be cancelled outright, and the funds used to fund the Core Frequent Network."

Suggested Core Frequent rail and bus services can be found here (http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5173.0) and we believe that these should be a priority before any other service improvements in the Brisbane region.

References:

1. Brizcommuter World Fare comparison  http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/2012-world-fare-comparison.html

2. TTC Farebox Ratio  http://stevemunro.ca/?p=4819

3. Canadian Cost Recoveries  http://stevemunro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/CanadianCostRecoveries.pdf

4. Building a Core Frequent Network  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5173.0

Contact:

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

[ozbob]

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