TransLink - reorganisation?

[Gazza]

D-D-D-Dorothy Dixer!!!!!

[SurfRail]

^ Start with the metropolitan road budget...

[somebody]

I'm not nearly as sanguine about this as ozbob and SurfRail.  This is a definite retrograde step, with a couple of positives falling out (QConnect integration).

[#Metro]

At an average employment cost of $150kpa each, thats $300mpa.

$300 million = 50 BUZ ROUTES!!!

More BUZ please!!

[Fares_Fair]

NO MERGER!!

Merger will mean that more layers of middle-management bureaucracy will be shoved between the TL CEO and the minister, and the focus will be lost because the portfolio / department will have a bazillion other things to deal with like capital projects etc.

1970 roles from middle and senior management, probably means less layers now. At an average employment cost of $150kpa each, thats $300mpa.

Me suspects Newman is going to hand downa  budget with around $1.5-2B less spending than last year, which I think may come close if not equal to balancing the budget, but not do much for debt reduction. They will probably need to find a further $2Bpa to enable reasonable debt reduction over time.

Enough to pay for some duplication of the North Coast Line to iron out the bendy bits.

[Mr X]

Enough to pay for some duplication of the North Coast Line to iron out the bendy bits.

It's also enough to fund a new high speed rail station for Brisbane when the rest of the HSR network is delivered in neverneverland, or to fully replace all our old sh*t train stations, or to fix up the horrible Melbourne/Grey St busway portal with Adelaide St tunnel (which would save a typical commute from the city to my house by 5-10mins per trip, more so in peak hour), or to build some nice pedestrian bridges such as across KP - the city, KP - New Farm, Milton to West End.. also enough to pay for a new flood proof riverwalk, new ferries and terminals etc.... I could go on and on about other uses for these funds but that is completely beside the point. This is money which we cannot afford to spend and is a cut which has to be made.

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport on 612 ABC Radio Drive.

Explaining the changes. Pointing out the duplication between TMR passenger services and TransLink.  TransLink assumes Passenger Services - statewide.

[Passenger Services + TransLink mark 2] - minus some staff = TransLink mark 3

[Gazza]

$300 million

Enough to pay for changing the logos from qconnect to TransLink at bus stops across the state 

[Golliwog]

So far, I think I'm ok with this. I'd like some more information on exactly how the new Translink is going to work, how much input their transport planners will have vs how much input the operators (not necessarily a bad thing) and politicians (almost certainly a bad thing) will have in terms of service delivery.

I think statewide control of transport in terms of integration is definitely a good thing, and we can later push for steps to make it more free from ministerial meddling.

I think having go card useable statewide would be great.

[WTN]

With so many ups and downs, I think it's worthwhile to wait and see what happens. Along with the bus network review, I feel as if we'll get some efficiency improvements at the cost of useful services.

[somebody]

I think statewide control of transport in terms of integration is definitely a good thing, and we can later push for steps to make it more free from ministerial meddling.

I think if it is brought into a department, it won't go back out for a very long time.

[Golliwog]

I think statewide control of transport in terms of integration is definitely a good thing, and we can later push for steps to make it more free from ministerial meddling.

I think if it is brought into a department, it won't go back out for a very long time.

Possibly. But in the world of politics, anything is possible.

[somebody]

Possible, yes.  Likely, no.

If we don't make a noise now, it will be too late.  But looking at the poll, most RAILBoT members are happy with this.  I think that's a shame.

[SteelPan]

It's simply too early to say if the new structure is a positive or a negative, what it IS, is less than 24hrs old.  Most people seem to have mixed views about the "old" Translink and I suspect, like many state govt activities, it was bloated regards management.

My concern with the "new" Translink structure, is that it could get lost in the bigger world of TMR, which is basically what (non road) public transit has always been in Qld - and remember, that's TMR(oads) not rail!

We still seem to throw everything in this state into a traditional "state" structure.  What Brisbane/SE Qld, REALLY needs, is a focused, lean and progressive Urban Transit Corporation - that BOTH operates public transit services AND plans and contracts for major infrastructure growth and upgrades.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Transport and Main Roads to cut 2000 full-time jobs and Translink to be abolished as stand alone authority in major departmental restructure

[longboi]

This can be the best thing to happen to PT in Qld or the worst.

However I'm not overly optimistic considering projects and staff within TL who were in the process of delivering great things have been canned (think of a certain Busway portal...).

[ozbob]

From the Queensland Times 2 Aug 2012 page 4

Fears for future of 120 Ipswich transport jobs



Online --> here!

[somebody]

(think of a certain Busway portal...).

No need for something gold plated there.  I think they should learn to make more of the funding they have.

[longboi]

(think of a certain Busway portal...).

No need for something gold plated there.  I think they should learn to make more of the funding they have.

When did I say there were 'gold plated' solutions being considered?

The point is all capital infrastructure in PT will be essentially non-existent for some time now.

And on that note, so will customer service, safety and security. Mark my words.

[somebody]

It was inferred by "great things".

[longboi]

It was inferred by "great things".

You take things too literally.

Simply not having buses backed up to KGS during peak is a 'great thing'.

[somebody]

Surely the argument could be made about how many bus & driver hours per year could be saved by fixing the portal?