Competitive tendering - bus

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

6th August 2014

Bus cuts or an improved integrated network?

Good Morning,

Interesting yarn this morning at Brisbanetimes:  Brisbane bus routes could face more cuts

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-bus-routes-could-face-more-cuts-20140805-100r5u.html

It is not really a matter of bus cuts, it is a matter of deploying the bus asset to best effect for an integrated network.  Avoid direct competition and duplication, properly support all modes, service areas with high frequency services that are presently missing out.  Improved efficiency, reduce costs, provide room for a more rational and equitable fare structure

This was what TransLink was attempting to do in 2013.  Non cooperation by BCC with that process is now coming home to roost.

Brisbane Transport can be competitive I have no doubt, but there will need to be route improvements and redesign as TransLink outlined in 2013, for them to be successful.

Best wishes
Robert

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

[ozbob]

Interesting petition has popped up related to the tendering and planning of services:

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/scott-emerson-mp-minister-for-transport-and-main-roads-acquire-the-assets-of-brisbane-transport-and-initiate-a-tender-process-for-the-operation-of-the-brisbane-city-bus-network

^ signed!   

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

6th August 2014

Greetings,

BCC Councillors: Go And Ride Your Own Privatised CityCats

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 challenged Brisbane City Councillors to ride their own privatised CityCats on the Brisbane River.

Cr. Milton Dick claimed in a recent article:

"I'm concerned the contestability process is an excuse and we will see privatisation for the first time in the city's history of public transport."

This claim is false in our opinion. Brisbane City Council's own minutes show that BCC's bus service had bought existing private bus operators (see below). In these minutes our research uncovered the embarrassing fact that BCC already engages private bus operators through contracts to run special event services. BCC had contracted a private bus company, Park Ridge Transit, to operate selected BUZ 140 services, and there is a video of this.

BCC also privatised the CityCat to TransDevTSL (Veolia) through contract. May we suggest that objecting BCC councillors go and ride their own privatised CityCats?

In our opinion, Brisbane City Council and its councillors aren't trying to solve the problems, they are the problem. This is what is blocking rational network planning, rational bus network reform and the low fares and additional mobility that flows from that. BCC's so called 'bus review' failed to put on just ONE new BUZ route and effectively cancelled high frequency services to Yeronga, The Centenary Suburbs, Albany Creek and improvements in Bulimba.

They objected to bus network reform, and ultimately ended up objecting to everyday low fares and more frequent turn up and go services for their own Brisbane residents. Yeronga is the worst example of this.

We think Brisbane City Council will have an extremely difficult time reorganising the bus network due to political inefficiency imposed on the network design. This is a problem that private operators do not face. In fact, BCC are not even supposed to be altering the bus network as that is TransLink's job.

There is already elected government oversight at the state level and through public transport agency TransLink.

RAIL Back on Track seeks bipartisan commitment to full scale bus network and rail reform from all parties contesting the 2015 Queensland Election. Queensland Rail must be put on a path to driver only operations and the BCC bus network must be rationalised. This way, low cost and abundant public transport for SEQ can be guaranteed.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

Brisbane bus routes could face more cuts http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-bus-routes-could-face-more-cuts-20140805-100r5u.html

Exhibit A - Brisbane Transport BUZ route 140 being operated by private bus operator Park Ridge Transit.


Exhibit B Extract from Brisbane City Council Minutes 4403 Ordinary Minutes 14 May 2013 (also contains much discussion about bus review as well) http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/governance-strategy/committees-meetings-minutes/councils-meeting-minutes

BCC Council Minutes [4406 (Ordinary) Meeting – 4 June 2013]
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/governance-strategy/committees-meetings-minutes/councils-meeting-minutes

Brisbane CityCat
http://www.brisbaneferries.com.au/

Private Bus Operators in Brisbane

1951 –   first electric trolley bus service introduced and Council also purchased two
private bus operators in Cannon Hill, Morningside and Bulimba areas

1952 –   Council took over private bus services in Ashgrove, Clayfield, Wavell Heights,
Northgate and Banyo and acquired its first underfloor-engine diesel buses (Leyland Royal
Tiger and AEC Regal IV)

1956 –   Council took over private bus services in Mitchelton, West Stafford, Newmarket
and Alderley.

[ozbob]

^
4BC Breakfast with Ian and Loretta just completed an interview with me on this topic.  Explained that it is not necessarily 'cuts' more an opportunity to better design the network with better coverage overall.  Stressed that my own view is that Brisbane Transport can be very competitive but there will be some network redesign, incorporating elements of what TransLink proposed in 2013.

[ozbob]

4BC --> Bus routes could be redesigned

4BC Breakfast: On Tuesday's Brisbane City Council meeting, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk confirmed under-utilised bus services are being carefully monitored and may be cut.

Public transport advocate Robert Dow says Brisbane Transport may not necessarily axe under-used bus routes.

"We don't think they'll necessarily be cut, but certainly [we] think there's a strong case for redesign of the basic bus network in Brisbane," he said.

"[The] Translink bus review proposed to change the brisbane bus network, make it more integrated and remove some of the duplication and competition that was happening between bus and rail."

The 2013 Brisbane City Council bus network review concluded a number of bus routes were to be scrapped or merged and the number of routes fell from 245 in 2011 to 225 last year.

Operations of the bus network will be put under a contestability process by the Queensland Government next year and will mean the current bus network will compete against private operators.

Mr Dow thinks the tender process will improve the design of the public transport networks.

"It doesn't necessarily mean cuts, it means actually improving routes and getting more high frequency bus services particular in the suburbs where they're lacking," he said.

Interview --> http://www.4bc.com.au/displayPopUpPlayerAction.action?&url=http://media.mytalk.com.au/4bc/audio/brk_dow_050814.mp3

or --> http://media.mytalk.com.au/4bc/audio/brk_dow_050814.mp3

[techblitz]

Interesting petition has popped up related to the tendering and planning of services:

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/scott-emerson-mp-minister-for-transport-and-main-roads-acquire-the-assets-of-brisbane-transport-and-initiate-a-tender-process-for-the-operation-of-the-brisbane-city-bus-network

^ signed!   

same guy who complained about the maroon glider back doors. He has been officially warned by translink not to spam......perhaps he should start a BTRipoff page

[techblitz]

Down at grand plaza today having chat to BCC cso about the upgrade,new stops,temp stops...coming along nicely...
Eventually we were chatting about reviews,privatisation...he pointed out a petition which was started today by the RTBU. Also listed on thier facebook page...

https://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/campbell-newman-preserve-brisbane-s-public-transport-network-as-a-world-class-service-by-rejecting-contestability-and-privatisation

[ozbob]

BCC has indicated that BT will be an active participant in the competitive tender process in Sept 2015.  All could change though if the present state mob fall over #qldvotes 2015 ...

#qldvotes has to happen by June 2015.

[SurfRail]

They don't care about the private operator drivers leaving the same interchange, so why should anybody give them airtime?

The RTBU is only concerned about it's members, not the public.  They will oppose anything that results in greater efficiency, cost savings or common sense outcomes if one of their members is even the slightest put out by a rostering change.

So tired of these turkeys dictating to the rest of us.  The TWU never carries on like this and they are usually the only ones ever quoted by the press when it actually comes to safety and security.

[James]

I stopped reading the RTBU petition when I saw the sentence "Preserve Brisbane's public transport network as a world class service..."

Meanwhile, in the western suburbs.









Wurld clarse it is everyone, wurld clarse!

[ozbob]

Twitter

Lexy Hamilton-Smith ‏@LexyHS

Hands off our buses says Labors Milton Dick.. Petition launched for commuters to sign. @7newsBrisbane



======================

Twitter

Lexy Hamilton-Smith ‏@LexyHS

Labors Milton Dick accuses City Hall and LNP of secretly trying to sell off buses @7newsBrisbane



=================

Twitter

Cr Milton Dick ‏@CrMiltonDick

Proud to be supporting bus drivers. They do a great job. They're worried privatising our buses will see jobs lost.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Kim Stephens ‏@kimstephens_bt

Hands off our buses anti-privatisation campaign launched by @CrMiltonDick and Brisbane's bus union

[ozbob]

The smart thing to do is support Brisbane Transport in their competitive tender bid IMHO.

LNP are the government, they have indicated competitive tendering is on the horizon for Brisbane. 

Brisbane Transport can be competitive, dig in and just oppose, will probably just mean oblivion.

[STB]

Milton doesn't get it.  I caught up with him the other night and I think in his mind he thinks BT/BCC is the authority, not the operator.

[#Metro]

Milton isn't confused, he's just a politician. No amount of logic is going to make sense when there are votes to be got.

We saw this in action in the bus review. BCC shot it down. Wost case with Cr Nicole Johnston who rejected Hi frequency buses to her own area.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Bus drivers launch anti-privatisation petition

Brisbane's rail and bus union has called on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to "stop dancing like a puppet to Campbell Newman" and publicly rebuff the State Government's transport privatisation agenda.

Cr Quirk revealed two weeks ago Brisbane City Council's transport arm will be forced to compete against private operators in late 2015 to retain control of the 70 per cent of the city's bus routes it presently operates.

The State Government contestability process, which Transport Minister Scott Emerson has denied is privatisation by stealth, has been borne partly from the government's commitment to keep fare rises at just 2.5 per cent per year.

On Friday, the Queensland branch of the rail, tram and bus union joined council's opposition leader Milton Dick to launch a citywide petition on behalf of Brisbane Transport bus drivers to oppose potential privatisation of the city's bus network.

The union's state president Bruce Mackie said the city's commuters would suffer should operational responsibility for the network fall into private hands.

"The fact is contestability is government speak for privatisation," he said.

"Contestability, privatisation, goes hand-in-hand with the Newman Government's agenda.

"The people of Brisbane deserve the best bus service, not the cheapest service, it is those unprofitable areas where we run a service because it is a service."

Cr Quirk, a long time opponent of privatising the city's public transport network, said two weeks ago that Brisbane Transport would "aggressively" fight to retain operational responsibility of the network.

But he conceded the ultimate decision was out of City Hall's hands, with the state government to make the ultimate decision on the matter.

Both Mr Mackie and Cr Dick said on Friday the Lord Mayor needed to publicly oppose the premier's contestability process for the benefit of the city's commuters.

"I think it's time the Lord Mayor of Brisbane stood up to Campbell Newman and said you are not going to privatise the city of Brisbane's bus services. The fact is, people deserve that public transport," he said.

"It's time he started saying, 'you are not going to destroy the public transport services in my city,' and he needs to be in the media saying that."

Cr Dick said the contestability process was the first step in selling off the city's bus infrastructure, a claim Cr Quirk has repeatedly denied.

"This is the first step to selling off the buses in our city, the Lord Mayor needs to stand up to Campbell Newman, he need to fight for the commuters in our city, he needs to tell Campbell Newman and Scott Emmerson that Brisbane Transport is not for sale.

"As yet, he hasn't done that."

The council's public transport chairman Peter Matic said Cr Dick's claims of privatisation were nothing more than a scare campaign.

"These false claims are a cheap political stunt with no truth," Cr Matic said.

"The Lord Mayor has previously said he does not support the privatisation of Brisbane Transport and has made it very clear on several occasions that Council will not be conducting a bus review this year.

"Council will be contesting the tender process once the State Government announces the details of contestability and we will be competing to win," he said.

The current controversy over potential privatisation was sparked when council's civic cabinet opted not to renew the long-time head of Brisbane Transport Allan Warren.

Mr Warren said in a memo to his 2700 employees council was seeking a "new dawn" for its transport arm.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bus-drivers-launch-antiprivatisation-petition-20140815-104jib.html

[James]

Twitter

Kim Stephens ‏@kimstephens_bt

Hands off our buses anti-privatisation campaign launched by @CrMiltonDick and Brisbane's bus union

More irrational vote whinging by Cr Milton Dick and other prominent ALP figures and self-interest protecting from the unions. All they are about is spreading more "LNP cuts" scaremongering. It is disgusting that they continue to support a bus network which encourages people to drink drive (due to poor public transport services) and affects those who are poorest in society the most (by supporting a high-waste network which requires high fares to match).

There is no excuse for ignorance - BT is the operator, if you haven't picked up on that then you obviously know nothing about the situation and as such, shouldn't be commenting on what is best for the bus network beyond a local level.

[HappyTrainGuy]

lol. Stop Newman cuts. Do they remember they were the ones that Privatized Queensland Rail or introduced money wasting services like the 328 or 340 buz?

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

16th August 2014

Re: BCC Councillors: Go And Ride Your Own Privatised CityCats

Greetings,

More concerns from some with the competitive tendering process that is looming for Brisbane Transport.

Bus drivers launch anti-privatisation petition 
--> http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bus-drivers-launch-antiprivatisation-petition-20140815-104jib.html

Sadly, BCC and Brisbane Transport ' missed the bus ' in 2013 when there was flat refusal to cooperate with the proper public transport authority viz.  TransLink.

There would have been no job losses, there would have been a redeployment of buses to properly support a better planned high frequency integrated public transport with better coverage routes,  which would have seen significant patronage gains.

No doubt the State Government was frustrated by the bus review failure, so now they have determined that in order to achieve the necessary reform they will go to competitive tender.

The smart thing to do is support Brisbane Transport in their competitive tender bid in our opinion.

LNP are the government, they have indicated competitive tendering is on the horizon for Brisbane.  Fact.

Brisbane Transport can be very competitive in our opinion, dig in and just oppose, could well mean oblivion.

Best wishes
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

6th August 2014

Greetings,

BCC Councillors: Go And Ride Your Own Privatised CityCats

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 challenged Brisbane City Councillors to ride their own privatised CityCats on the Brisbane River.

Cr. Milton Dick claimed in a recent article:

"I'm concerned the contestability process is an excuse and we will see privatisation for the first time in the city's history of public transport."

This claim is false in our opinion. Brisbane City Council's own minutes show that BCC's bus service had bought existing private bus operators (see below). In these minutes our research uncovered the embarrassing fact that BCC already engages private bus operators through contracts to run special event services. BCC had contracted a private bus company, Park Ridge Transit, to operate selected BUZ 140 services, and there is a video of this.

BCC also privatised the CityCat to TransDevTSL (Veolia) through contract. May we suggest that objecting BCC councillors go and ride their own privatised CityCats?

In our opinion, Brisbane City Council and its councillors aren't trying to solve the problems, they are the problem. This is what is blocking rational network planning, rational bus network reform and the low fares and additional mobility that flows from that. BCC's so called 'bus review' failed to put on just ONE new BUZ route and effectively cancelled high frequency services to Yeronga, The Centenary Suburbs, Albany Creek and improvements in Bulimba.

They objected to bus network reform, and ultimately ended up objecting to everyday low fares and more frequent turn up and go services for their own Brisbane residents. Yeronga is the worst example of this.

We think Brisbane City Council will have an extremely difficult time reorganising the bus network due to political inefficiency imposed on the network design. This is a problem that private operators do not face. In fact, BCC are not even supposed to be altering the bus network as that is TransLink's job.

There is already elected government oversight at the state level and through public transport agency TransLink.

RAIL Back on Track seeks bipartisan commitment to full scale bus network and rail reform from all parties contesting the 2015 Queensland Election. Queensland Rail must be put on a path to driver only operations and the BCC bus network must be rationalised. This way, low cost and abundant public transport for SEQ can be guaranteed.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

Brisbane bus routes could face more cuts http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-bus-routes-could-face-more-cuts-20140805-100r5u.html

Exhibit A - Brisbane Transport BUZ route 140 being operated by private bus operator Park Ridge Transit.


Exhibit B Extract from Brisbane City Council Minutes 4403 Ordinary Minutes 14 May 2013 (also contains much discussion about bus review as well) http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/governance-strategy/committees-meetings-minutes/councils-meeting-minutes

BCC Council Minutes [4406 (Ordinary) Meeting – 4 June 2013]
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/governance-strategy/committees-meetings-minutes/councils-meeting-minutes

Brisbane CityCat
http://www.brisbaneferries.com.au/

Private Bus Operators in Brisbane

1951 –   first electric trolley bus service introduced and Council also purchased two
private bus operators in Cannon Hill, Morningside and Bulimba areas

1952 –   Council took over private bus services in Ashgrove, Clayfield, Wavell Heights,
Northgate and Banyo and acquired its first underfloor-engine diesel buses (Leyland Royal
Tiger and AEC Regal IV)

1956 –   Council took over private bus services in Mitchelton, West Stafford, Newmarket
and Alderley.

[SurfRail]

Brisbane Transport should not exist.  Period.

Whether operated public or privately, it is insane that there are 2 levels of government involved, particularly where it is split not only on geography but also on mode.  This imperative would be much less strong if BCC also ran trains, but it does not.

[bagbuffy]

Twitter

Kim Stephens ‏@kimstephens_bt

Hands off our buses anti-privatisation campaign launched by @CrMiltonDick and Brisbane's bus union

More irrational vote whinging by Cr Milton Dick and other prominent ALP figures and self-interest protecting from the unions. All they are about is spreading more "LNP cuts" scaremongering. It is disgusting that they continue to support a bus network which encourages people to drink drive (due to poor public transport services) and affects those who are poorest in society the most (by supporting a high-waste network which requires high fares to match).

There is no excuse for ignorance - BT is the operator, if you haven't picked up on that then you obviously know nothing about the situation and as such, shouldn't be commenting on what is best for the bus network beyond a local level.

It's the LNP that claim there better Economic Handlers than Labor.

Here is a perfect opportunity for both LNP State Government and City Council to show that they have the credentials  to fix Brisbane Transport together. 

Both LNP State Government and LNP City Council have failed the people of Brisbane.

[ozbob]

Media release 17th August 2014

Brisbane: Let Brisbane Transport Drive Its Own Future

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 the incorporation and separation of Brisbane Transport from Brisbane City Council (BCC).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"It is our view the Lord Mayor should separate Brisbane Transport from BCC and let Brisbane Transport drive its own future."

"Brisbane Transport needs to make its own commercially risky decisions free from the internal bureaucracy and politics of local government. The decision to retain Brisbane Transport as a division of BCC raises serious concerns and potentially exposes ratepayers to commercial levels of business risk."

"For example, in 2010 a cost explosion occurred within Brisbane Transport forcing BCC to consider capping staff levels in other areas of the council (1). Other Councils would never experience this problem. For example, the councils of Auckland (NZ), Perth, Melbourne and Sydney do not own bus operations and do wear this risk."

"BCC also needs to focus on what it does best - core functions such as rates, roads, rubbish and redevelopment, rather than using council resources to plot the bus division's next commercial moves."

For example, BCC's own internal efficiency review by consultancy AT Kearny found:

'Inefficient process involving three divisions for bus procurement- each division increases lead times and paperwork and decreases transparency and accountability.' (page 31) (2)

"Ethical concerns arise when one considers that BCC's role as adjudicator of development applications, and at the same time, a large, commercialised bus operator. For example, prospective bus operators wishing to set up a new bus depot within Brisbane would have to prepare a development application and then submit it to BCC – their direct rival bus competitor!"

"Ultimately, the question needs to be asked: why does BCC even need to be operating the buses? BCC has been happy to privatise the CityCat by contract, contract off selected BUZ 140 services to Park Ridge Transit, and contract away special event bus services to five private bus companies, setting a precedent."

"Incorporation of Brisbane Transport will level the playing field with private operators, give Brisbane Transport greater independence and autonomy,  get commercial decision making out of the Council chambers, freeing up time and resources to focus on core council responsibilities. It will also make it easier to make the necessary reforms to the bus network and prevent unacceptable situations where meetings with TransLink were barred on six occasions."

"We call on the Lord Mayor to free Brisbane Transport by separating Brisbane Transport from Brisbane City Council and incorporating it under the Corporations Act. Further, we ask the Queensland Government to impose, as a condition of a valid tender for the bus network, the requirement that the applicant be an incorporated company, registered business partnership or sole trader, to the exclusion of all others."

"Ultimately, should Brisbane Transport win the bus contracts, and option will exist to divest Brisbane Transport by placing it into the hands of its own dedicated staff, in a staff and management buyout."

References:

1. Bus boom causes council staff crunch http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bus-boom-causes-council-staff-crunch-20100914-15atl.html

2. Securing 2026 Operational Sustainability http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/news_and_publications_a_t_kearney_report.pdf

Contact:

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

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services

Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services

    Peta Fuller
    Quest Newspapers
    August 21, 2014 12:00AM

BRISBANE City Council has released the city's most used bus routes for the first half of this year alongside their less popular counterparts.

Topping the list by weekly average patronage was the UQ Lakes to RBWH route 66 while high-frequency BUZ services made up 85 per cent of the most popular routes.

Robert Dow from public transport advocacy group Rail Back on Track said high frequency services were clearly the future for the city's bus network.

"It's pretty clear that if you have frequency, people will support it, despite the high cost fare structure because they perceive that there's value there," Mr Dow said.

"We think there also needs to be a little bit more emphasis on cross suburb connections."

The state government-funded NightLink routes made up the majority of the least popular buses.

During last year's Translink bus review the least popular service, the Sandgate Loop, was among those to be cut but the move was halted by Brisbane City Council when they took over the review.

The statistics come after Opposition Leader Milton Dick continued to push the council on a potential future bus review as the state government moves to introduce contestability measures, which include council tendering for their bus operations.

"I maintain we don't necessarily have a public transport problem, the only reason we're going down this (contestability) path is because the state government is telling us to," Cr Dick said.

However Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has repeatedly confirmed there won't be any bus reviews this financial year.

Mr Dow said while he thought Brisbane City Council's public transport arm Brisbane Transport could certainly win a tender process, they would have to reconsider Translink's 2013 recommendations to secure the contract.

Public and Active Transport chairman Peter Matic said council would be contesting the tender process once the state government announced the details of contestability plans and would be competing to win.

Highest weekly patronage, January to June 2014 (highest first)

66 Inner Busway Route (UQ Lakes to RBWH)

199 West End to New Farm BUZ

130 Parkinson BUZ

150 Browns Plains BUZ (via Garden City)

Blue CityGlider

412 St Lucia BUZ

196 Fairfield Gardens — New Farm BUZ

140 Browns Plains BUZ

100 Forest Lake BUZ (via Ipswich Rd)

444 Moggill BUZ

330 Bracken Ridge BUZ

111 Eight Mile Plains BUZ

333 Chermside BUZ

120 Tarragindi BUZ

345 Aspley BUZ

340 Carseldine BUZ

200 Carseldine Heights BUZ

222 Carindale BUZ

180 Mansfield BUZ

375 Bardon — Stafford City via City

Lowest weekly patronage, January to June 2014 (lowest first)

314 Sandgate Loop

N310 Sandgate NightLink

193 New Farm Community Route

N385 The Gap NightLink

N199 West End-New Farm NightLink

308 Chermside-Toombul (Sunday only)

N184 Cavendish Road NightLink

313 Sandgate Loop

N390 Ferny Grove NightLink

N339 Bracken Ridge NightLink

N226 Wynnum NightLink

N111 Eight Mile Plains NightLink

N100 Forest Lake NightLink

N464 Forest Lake NightLink

N200 Carseldine Heights NightLink

N130 Parkinson NightLink

P459 Centenary City Precincts

329 Bracken Ridge to Carseldine local feeder

312 Sandgate Loop

P458 Centenary City Precincts

[ozbob]

Media release 21st August 2014

Problem? What Problem? BCC Councillors Lose Touch On Bus Reform

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 highlights growing community damage with the public transport cost explosions.

"I maintain we don't necessarily have a public transport problem, the only reason we're going down this (contestability) path is because the state government is telling us to," Cr Dick said.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"We dispute the Councillor's claims, and are starting to wonder if BCC councillors have lost touch. The evidence is clear - TransLink's fare affordability tracker is at its worst level on record. We also recently released the first service quality map of BCC's bus network, which revealed entire suburbs that lack BUZ access or decent services such as Yeronga, Bulimba, The Centenary Suburbs and Albany Creek, to name a few. We had to do it ourselves because neither BCC nor TransLink actually had a public map of the entire bus network!"

"In our opinion, BCC's opposition to bus reform has contributed to a cost explosion on public transport. BCC does not set fares, but it does set bus supplier costs and obviously, higher costs equals higher fares. Why is it BCC councillors appear to not grasp this simple concept? Have they not noticed the escalating 7.5%, 15% and 20% fare rises of the past few years which has taken fares to some of the highest in the world for services? Have they been too busy driving their cars to notice? Even the Lord Mayor admits to not knowing when he last caught a bus!"

"It is a sad irony that the councillors that went around claiming that they were concerned about representing the interests of the disadvantaged and needy are the same people now responsible for causing a massive cost explosion that is slamming low income and the disadvantaged into the ground, and damaging the community social fabric. The fares are so expensive now that these disadvantaged groups can't even afford to catch the services that are put on for their benefit."

"Brisbane's sister city, Auckland, NZ is abandoning its 'taxi style' bus network and committing itself to full scale bus network reform. It is doing so with the assistance of a Brisbane-based transit consultancy firm. We ask the State Government to require of all tenderers that they submit a statement for assessment outlining their willingness to co-operate with TransLink and specifically whether they would be willing to cooperate on the difficult task of reforming the bus network."

"To all the BCC councillors objecting to bus network reform and contestability, we have a blunt message for you: you had your chance to demonstrate that you could do a better job than TransLink in 2013 and you failed the city. You failed to deliver TransLink's proposed BUZ services to Yeronga, The Centenary Suburbs, Albany Creek and improvements to Bulimba. You failed to deliver affordable services, and you failed on six occasions to co-operate with TransLink's request for consultations. Why should the people of Brisbane trust you again?"

"To the BCC councillors objecting to private operators coming in, please, go and take a ride your own council's privatised CityCats. Read your own council's meeting minutes and you will see the details of contracts BCC has made with five private bus companies to run special event bus services."

"Only genuine reform of rail and bus networks, together with fare reform will guarantee abundant and low cost public transport for all and a reverse of falling patronage and lead to a better fare-box with less subsidy."

References:

1. Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/brisbane-city-council-patronage-figures-show-this-years-most-and-least-used-bus-services/story-fni9r0hy-1227031046779

2. Graham Quirk unable to remember when he last caught bus http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/graham-quirk-unable-to-remember-when-he-last-caught-bus-20140402-35yb9.html

Contact:

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

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

22nd August 2014

Brisbane City Council proves to itself that it needs bus reform

Greetings,

We note the latest bus patronage figures. It confirms people want more frequent services that stop at fewer stops and are voting with their feet.

There is something interesting in the figures we want to highlight - Route 66 has overtaken BUZ 199 as Brisbane's most patronised bus route. The fact that this has happened directly violates BCC councillors' claims that the TransLink bus review 2013 was all 'Cuts Cuts Cuts' which would destroy the network and patronage.* For route 66, the exact opposite has happened.

The reason why 66 shows improvement is because route 109 was removed by merger with the 66, which at the time ended at Wooloongabba. By merging the 109 UQ Lakes with Route 66 a much more useful route was created and more service put by simply reducing out the waste and inefficiency from having two separate bus routes.

Perhaps Brisbane Transport and BCC were not aware what they were doing, but they have just proven that their own bus network needs major reform.
Why? This merger of 66 + 109 is actually idea first suggested by us in 2009.  Here is our original proposal, and media release:

29th July 2009 SEQ: Where's our Buz? http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2538.msg12418#msg12418

When Brisbane Transport took the review off TransLink, it also inadvertently took, and ultimately implemented our members' proposal.

Thanks Brisbane City Council for implementing our idea and ultimately showing that, yes, your bus network requires major reform and that change will increase, not decrease, patronage. The proof is now there.

Don't miss the bus!

Best wishes
Robert

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

Notes:

*The number of bus routes measures the system's complexity not its convenience or utility. Networks that have many bus routes are often worse, not better.

Note that the BUZ 196 was also created by merging two half hourly bus services into a single Hi-frequency bus service and 'cutting' the 197 New Farm bus route.

References:

1. Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/brisbane-city-council-patronage-figures-show-this-years-most-and-least-used-bus-services/story-fni9r0hy-1227031046779

2. 29th July 2009 SEQ: Where's our Buz? http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2538.msg12418#msg12418

Media release 21st August 2014

Problem? What Problem? BCC Councillors Lose Touch On Bus Reform

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 highlights growing community damage with the public transport cost explosions.

"I maintain we don't necessarily have a public transport problem, the only reason we're going down this (contestability) path is because the state government is telling us to," Cr Dick said.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"We dispute the Councillor's claims, and are starting to wonder if BCC councillors have lost touch. The evidence is clear - TransLink's fare affordability tracker is at its worst level on record. We also recently released the first service quality map of BCC's bus network, which revealed entire suburbs that lack BUZ access or decent services such as Yeronga, Bulimba, The Centenary Suburbs and Albany Creek, to name a few. We had to do it ourselves because neither BCC nor TransLink actually had a public map of the entire bus network!"

"In our opinion, BCC's opposition to bus reform has contributed to a cost explosion on public transport. BCC does not set fares, but it does set bus supplier costs and obviously, higher costs equals higher fares. Why is it BCC councillors appear to not grasp this simple concept? Have they not noticed the escalating 7.5%, 15% and 20% fare rises of the past few years which has taken fares to some of the highest in the world for services? Have they been too busy driving their cars to notice? Even the Lord Mayor admits to not knowing when he last caught a bus!"

"It is a sad irony that the councillors that went around claiming that they were concerned about representing the interests of the disadvantaged and needy are the same people now responsible for causing a massive cost explosion that is slamming low income and the disadvantaged into the ground, and damaging the community social fabric. The fares are so expensive now that these disadvantaged groups can't even afford to catch the services that are put on for their benefit."

"Brisbane's sister city, Auckland, NZ is abandoning its 'taxi style' bus network and committing itself to full scale bus network reform. It is doing so with the assistance of a Brisbane-based transit consultancy firm. We ask the State Government to require of all tenderers that they submit a statement for assessment outlining their willingness to co-operate with TransLink and specifically whether they would be willing to cooperate on the difficult task of reforming the bus network."

"To all the BCC councillors objecting to bus network reform and contestability, we have a blunt message for you: you had your chance to demonstrate that you could do a better job than TransLink in 2013 and you failed the city. You failed to deliver TransLink's proposed BUZ services to Yeronga, The Centenary Suburbs, Albany Creek and improvements to Bulimba. You failed to deliver affordable services, and you failed on six occasions to co-operate with TransLink's request for consultations. Why should the people of Brisbane trust you again?"

"To the BCC councillors objecting to private operators coming in, please, go and take a ride your own council's privatised CityCats. Read your own council's meeting minutes and you will see the details of contracts BCC has made with five private bus companies to run special event bus services."

"Only genuine reform of rail and bus networks, together with fare reform will guarantee abundant and low cost public transport for all and a reverse of falling patronage and lead to a better fare-box with less subsidy."

References:

1. Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/brisbane-city-council-patronage-figures-show-this-years-most-and-least-used-bus-services/story-fni9r0hy-1227031046779

2. Graham Quirk unable to remember when he last caught bus http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/graham-quirk-unable-to-remember-when-he-last-caught-bus-20140402-35yb9.html

Contact:

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

[ozbob]

Been some anecdotal feedback re pax dropping off on night link buses and evening trains as well.  The fare system failure is really starting to bite.

The limited bus data above seems to confirm the feedback.  All the more grist to the mill to get this botched fare system sorted ...

[James]

Been some anecdotal feedback re pax dropping off on night link buses and evening trains as well.  The fare system failure is really starting to bite.

The limited bus data above seems to confirm the feedback.  All the more grist to the mill to get this botched fare system sorted ...

Really, the data was just stating the bleeding obvious. Of course BUZ will have the most patronage and of course routes which run twice a day like the 314 will have the least patronage. The Centenary 'City Precincts' Rockets run about 3 services (total) a day and already have low patronage... of course those routes will do badly.

I personally think the data released should have excluded the NightLink routes. To include them is effectively fudging the figures and does not reveal the real 'pure waste' routes as they were shoved down the list and out of sight. NightLink is outside bus review territory anyway...

[techblitz]

So whats the best way...
Do translink do thier set/proposed route review.......then put the contracts out...then said tendering/biddiing begins?

or do translink outline region boundaries and the tender companies come up with thier own proposed routes along with costings?

[#Metro]

The largest inefficiency is the bus routing. It would be silly to contract out on the basis of the current (cost explosive) network and keep that for another 8 years. TransLink needs to be confident that whoever takes the bus contracts has balls of steel to implement and co-operate for the necessary reforms to the bus network. It is NOT going to be easy!

The fact that our own RBoT proposal for the 109 + 66 proposal has resulted in Brisbane's most popular bus route, pushing route 199 BUZ off the podium, is proof positive that there are huge gains in efficiency and effectiveness to be made that will not only result in a more effective network that is cheaper to run, but actually is more useful as well.

[Gazza]

What is also impressive about the 66 is that it gets the highest patronage despite finishing 7:30 weekends and 9:30 weeknights.

LOL at the 120, Maroon Glider etc getting a better span of service!

[aldonius]

Oddly enough, the last southbound 66 arrives at UQ Lakes at 10:23pm (departing RBWH at 10pm) - almost an hour later than its northbound counterpart 

[James]

Oddly enough, the last southbound 66 arrives at UQ Lakes at 10:23pm (departing RBWH at 10pm) - almost an hour later than its northbound counterpart 

I think this is the dead-running factor, as 66s are pretty much exclusively Sherwood/Garden City depot buses. Hence there's minimal extra costs of running the bus to UQ Lakes then out-of-service to the depot vs. running out-of-service from RBWH.

Similar thing can be observed with the 77 (operated exclusively by Garden City). From 8MP service span of hours is 6am - 6pm, from Chermside it is 7am - 7pm. A similar thing also occurred with P88 (operated exclusively by Garden City) prior to its scrapping.

[SurfRail]

So whats the best way...
Do translink do thier set/proposed route review.......then put the contracts out...then said tendering/biddiing begins?

or do translink outline region boundaries and the tender companies come up with thier own proposed routes along with costings?

The sensible thing to do would be to bed the new operators in over 3-6 months and then start changing things instead of unleashing chaos all at once.

[#Metro]

Double Standard??

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/cr-dick-objects-to-12-million-for-bcc-printing-material-20140826-108rx9.html

Cr Johnston expressed concern that of the 21 contracts awarded, eight had not gone through a competitive tender process.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Couriermail Quest --> Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services

Brisbane City Council patronage figures show this year's most and least used bus services

    Peta Fuller
    Quest Newspapers
    August 21, 2014 12:00AM

BRISBANE City Council has released the city's most used bus routes for the first half of this year alongside their less popular counterparts.

Topping the list by weekly average patronage was the UQ Lakes to RBWH route 66 while high-frequency BUZ services made up 85 per cent of the most popular routes.

Robert Dow from public transport advocacy group Rail Back on Track said high frequency services were clearly the future for the city's bus network.

"It's pretty clear that if you have frequency, people will support it, despite the high cost fare structure because they perceive that there's value there," Mr Dow said.

"We think there also needs to be a little bit more emphasis on cross suburb connections."

The state government-funded NightLink routes made up the majority of the least popular buses.

During last year's Translink bus review the least popular service, the Sandgate Loop, was among those to be cut but the move was halted by Brisbane City Council when they took over the review.

The statistics come after Opposition Leader Milton Dick continued to push the council on a potential future bus review as the state government moves to introduce contestability measures, which include council tendering for their bus operations.

"I maintain we don't necessarily have a public transport problem, the only reason we're going down this (contestability) path is because the state government is telling us to," Cr Dick said.

However Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has repeatedly confirmed there won't be any bus reviews this financial year.

Mr Dow said while he thought Brisbane City Council's public transport arm Brisbane Transport could certainly win a tender process, they would have to reconsider Translink's 2013 recommendations to secure the contract.

Public and Active Transport chairman Peter Matic said council would be contesting the tender process once the state government announced the details of contestability plans and would be competing to win.

Highest weekly patronage, January to June 2014 (highest first)

66 Inner Busway Route (UQ Lakes to RBWH)

199 West End to New Farm BUZ

130 Parkinson BUZ

150 Browns Plains BUZ (via Garden City)

Blue CityGlider

412 St Lucia BUZ

196 Fairfield Gardens — New Farm BUZ

140 Browns Plains BUZ

100 Forest Lake BUZ (via Ipswich Rd)

444 Moggill BUZ

330 Bracken Ridge BUZ

111 Eight Mile Plains BUZ

333 Chermside BUZ

120 Tarragindi BUZ

345 Aspley BUZ

340 Carseldine BUZ

200 Carseldine Heights BUZ

222 Carindale BUZ

180 Mansfield BUZ

375 Bardon — Stafford City via City

Lowest weekly patronage, January to June 2014 (lowest first)

314 Sandgate Loop

N310 Sandgate NightLink

193 New Farm Community Route

N385 The Gap NightLink

N199 West End-New Farm NightLink

308 Chermside-Toombul (Sunday only)

N184 Cavendish Road NightLink

313 Sandgate Loop

N390 Ferny Grove NightLink

N339 Bracken Ridge NightLink

N226 Wynnum NightLink

N111 Eight Mile Plains NightLink

N100 Forest Lake NightLink

N464 Forest Lake NightLink

N200 Carseldine Heights NightLink

N130 Parkinson NightLink

P459 Centenary City Precincts

329 Bracken Ridge to Carseldine local feeder

312 Sandgate Loop

P458 Centenary City Precincts

I was sent this not long ago. Thank goodness Carseldine has those buz and prepaid routes to get that priority cool air conditioned air to locals.



Apparently within a ~45 second window 3x340 1x344 and 1x341 went past with the P341 having the most patronage. 2x340 and 1x344 had minimal passengers onboard.

Can anyone shed more light on why the 340 was even Buzed in the first place? I still say it was buzed to make the busway look like it was value for money. Otherwise it would have been a flop to only have a few buses actually using it. There have been a couple times where I have stood waiting at Kedron and for a stop that is supposed to have buses every few minutes it was a ghost town. Waste waste waste waste waste.

[SurfRail]

For a long time the plan was explicitly to cut it back to only run between Carseldine station and Chermside.  Squeaky wheel possibly.

[techblitz]

Can anyone shed more light on why the 340 was even Buzed in the first place? I still say it was buzed to make the busway look like it was value for money. Otherwise it would have been a flop to only have a few buses actually using it. There have been a couple times where I have stood waiting at Kedron and for a stop that is supposed to have buses every few minutes it was a ghost town. Waste waste waste waste waste.

i will take a hunch and they say buzed it becuase:

1. to offset peak overcrowding between roma st and chermside
2. due to success of the buz system they thought they would replicate it to carseldine to supposedly entice passengersbetween chermside/carseldine to ditch thier vehicles and use the bus even though:
2.a : crap access to bus stops after graham rd....2b..not enough student population between chermside/carseldine...2c....too many people still reliant on cars for shopping/social/sporting activities etc....its a demographics thing.
3. to provide that link between carseldine rail/chermside but nowhere near enough people using it...especially off-peak...my own obs and htg's obs confirm it...

As you can see....BUZ does not work if its aligned incorrectly..and the principle of "oh well its now 15 minute freuqnecy it should improve patronage is not always true".....they would have been better off either jacking up 333/330 frequencys to handle peak capacitys...whats good for the 130 is good for the 333....

Just with the 330....Get to regularly observe loadings @ roma st outbound.....it seems to have improved vastly since it diverted via the a/link tunnel. People are cluing on to the timesavings to chermside.Day loads pretty impressive!

[HappyTrainGuy]

If they wanted to take it seriously to reduce overcrowding then I wouldn't see the new transformer buses doing peak hour 338/359 runs past my place because if there needs to be a high capacity bus to reduce overcrowding it's at Albany Creek/Eatons Hill on a milk run

Re 2c. It's not the demographics making everyone drive but the local area road layout and public transport options. Take the 336/337. Connecting all these areas to the major links (shopping centres/railway lines) yet it's only between peaks every 2 hours and then there's the whole 336/340 stop debarcle. The 335 is hourly - access is poor (should be rerouted Kirby Road-Chermside rather than Gympie Road). 325 is hourly - slightly better running hours than the 335 but still poor. Then you have those duplicating corridors, APT tour routes, providing poor interchanges/stop locations or most routes are hourly at the minimum. The same is repeated for the railway line where parking from Sunshine-Caboolture is suffering and having to constantly be expanded because the supporting bus network/access is isn't there or up to a usable standard. Which in this day and age is just.... just sad. Especially given the high fares and lack of network reform to increase patronage.

Agreed about the 330. Patronage for the Chermside-City-Chermside via the airport link has really taken off these past few months especially in the afternoons. It's just a shame they can't work out how to make use of the streets above to really maximise the network. Sigh.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> BCC transport chief Geoff Beck has no transport experience

Brisbane City Council has quietly appointed a new chief to its public transport arm who has no experience in the transport sector.

Geoff Beck will hold the critical post of Brisbane Transport boss as the council moves into a State Government-imposed contestability process, in which it will fight private operators to retain its current operational responsibility of 70 per cent of the city's bus fleet.

The so-called "competitive contract process" is expected to commence next year and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has vowed to fight aggressively for the tender, something reaffirmed by finance chairman Julian Simmonds in the council chamber this week.
Councillor Julian Simmonds.

Councillor Julian Simmonds. Photo: Glenn Hunt

"We're in it to win it," Cr Simmonds said.

However, Opposition Leader Milton Dick has questioned Mr Beck's suitability for the lucrative role heading into the important process, a month after it emerged council's civic cabinet decided not to renew the contract of long-term Brisbane Transport head Alan Warren.

Mr Beck's immediate past role was as executive manager of the council's field services group, the department responsible for the city's footpaths and rubbish services, and prior to that as the acting divisional manager of Brisbane infrastructure, which makes his appointment an internal promotion.

"I'm concerned it appears someone who has no background in this portfolio is in charge," Cr Dick said.

"If we are going down the path of contestability and possible privatisation, we need, people in these roles with the strongest skill set relating to the portfolios."

But Cr Simmonds defended the appointment, saying Mr Beck was extremely well credentialed for the role.

"Geoff has been put in that role because he deserves that role, he has performed admirably in previous roles in field services and he absolutely has the skill base to do it," he said.

"He's not in there with an agenda but what he does have is an excellent rapport with the field workers of this organisation and he has a particular skill set in that regard, and we look forward to that continuing in that new role in Brisbane Transport."

Cr Simmonds said although Mr Beck would play a key role in the contestability process, it would ultimately be run by the Lord Mayor and his civic cabinet.

"Geoff Beck won't be wholly and solely running the contestability process, that will be the civic cabinet and we will be putting our best foot forward," he said.

"He will certainly play a role to ensure we are positioned well but the process will be owned by the broader organisation."

Mr Beck's role began on September 1 and was not publicly announced or scrutinised by the full council, reflecting again, Cr Dick said, the ongoing secrecy of appointment processes within the administration.

"Of course this was another secret appointment without any scrutiny," he said.

"If there is a new divisional manager, those reports should be forthcoming.

"If his role is to privatise Brisbane Transport to actually deliver contestability, we need to get that information and the commuters of Brisbane deserve to know exactly what the plans are for the future of public transport in our city.

"I certainly hope we aren't appointing people on ideological lines rather than the people with the best strategic experience."

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/bcc-transport-chief-geoff-beck-has-no-transport-experience-20140903-10c0wz.html

[#Metro]

You can have low fares and a bus review or high fares and no bus review. You cannot have low fares and no bus review.

Milton Dick should come clean and tell us whether he as 20% fare increases in the pipeline.