2015 fares

[hU0N]

Actually, there is an even easier way.

Journey 1 - normal
Journey 2 - normal
Journey 3 - continuation of the shortest existing journey that day (regardless of how many hours ago)
Journey 4 - as per journey 3
etc.

This way people pay for their two longest journeys, and everything else each day is free. It's actually so simple to implement a daily cap, it's a crime that something as inadequate as nine then free is still allowed to exist.

[ozbob]

Spot on hUON, our fare structure is an utter farce!

A simple daily cap algorithm should be even in the reach of Queensland .. not rocket science ...

Meanwhile ..

Couriermail --> Public transport more expensive that driving, Canstar survey finds

[Jonno]

Some kind of daily cap after 3 or 4 trips ?

Large number of zones in SEQ does present some challenges for a daily cap.

Smart cards are smart.

The solution is simple - cap at twice highest journey for a 24h period. 

Both Sydney and Melbourne have a daily cap that is essentially a flat fare.  That will not be equitable on our system.

I don't mind a simple flat fee per day with highly reduced number of zones.  Essential any additional trip even if free is saving us money!  We have to change our car culture and trying to minimize PT subsidies whilst forcing people to drive and this an even bigger subsidy is fools economics. People need to be encouraged to think Walk, Cycle, PT and then oh do I really need to take the car!!!

[ozbob]

Media release 24th June 2015



SEQ: Fare unaffordability crisis continues - Fix the fares 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 has said it is time the State Government moved forward with a fare review for SEQ.  The implementation of concession fares for Health Care Card holders should be done immediately.  The unemployed need equitable and affordable access to public transport in Queensland. The May 2015 Public transport performance data again has affordability as the standout failure of the KPIs.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The ALP when in opposition gave a committment to conduct a review of the failed fares for SEQ  ' to establish a future fare structure that is fair, affordable, and designed to boost patronage across the network ' (1).
The ALP have also made a committment to extend concession fares to the unemployed  ' ... will maintain public transport concessions and extend them to recipients of the Newstart allowance ' (2). "

"The unaffordability of fares is the key standout failure of the latest TransLink Key Performance Indicators released yesterday (3). There is no doubt that the previous two State Governments and TransLink have failed to deliver a fare system that is equitable, drives patronage and assists in mobilising our community. The failure to properly sort the SEQ fares  is a very sad indictment on previous Governments."

"It is important that proper community consultation be undertaken as part of a fare review.  Top down implementation of anti-public transport fare structures has just resulted in a failed fare mess, and has proved very costly in real dollars and in a political sense."

Contact:

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

References:

1. Letter from Tim Mulherin 20th January 2015
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11178.msg151987#msg151987

2. http://www.queenslandlabor.org/wp-content/uploads/2014QldPolicyPlatform_web.pdf

3. http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/open-data/2015-May-snapshot.pdf


http://backontrack.org/docs/tl/kpisummarymay15.jpg


http://backontrack.org/docs/tl/affordabilitymay15.jpg

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 2nd July 2015 page 13

Transport fares not on track like Melbourne's

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 14s

Majority of QLD say public transport is too expensive
> http://www.4bc.com.au/news/majority-of-qld-say-public-transport-is-too-expensive-20150623-ghv73r.html ... #qldpol #farefailSEQ  review ?

[#Metro]

Simple discounting will not work. That approach has already been tried with Emerson et al and the 9-then-waste programme. Passengers left the system because it was overpriced garbage. Discounted garbage is still garbage.

Network quality must radically be improved, so that overall value for money is perceived.

This is how to do it ---> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Bus reform will deliver that boost in network quality, for absolute minimum cost, and in many cases, no cost at all.

[verbatim9]

I would still want some kind of all day capping on weekends. After spending 40.00 bucks through the week. I don't want to pay another 40.00 to go to the coast and back on a weekends. That's the beauty of reward and capping for the longer trips on your day off.

[techblitz]

yup verbatim +1. Capping is imperitive for frequent inner city users with easy access to many facilities....facilities which encourage more small trips than thier outer city counterparts

ultimately i would like to see the outer metro commuters paying a little less eg: sunshine coast,gold coast commuters and the inner city commuters paying the offset....outer zone trips to/from the city are the real budget drainer.....

[petey3801]

I think the Sydney 'Sunday Funday' $2.50 cap for the day is a fantastic idea worth exploring up here. The services are running, might as well get as many bums on those seats as possible! And get the cars off the road as much as possible as well.

[verbatim9]

Yeah I reckon too, Melbourne has something similar. SEQ should look at a flat rate on Sat, Sun and Public holidays to fill up the PT if you have not reached your 9 trips by the weekend. $6.00 Aud capped to go anywhere in the Network  on a Sat, Sun or PH. from 4am-3am. $0.00 if you have done your 9 trips. But even then on a PH being Monday everyone wins

[#Metro]

It would be interesting to hear what TL's views, principles and methods are for determining the 'right fare' are.

[ozbob]

PT fares around the nation --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=10571.msg155180#msg155180

SEQ is really a fare backwater ...  mark time! 

[Stillwater]

Today's state budget likely to contain some weasel words like: 'Labor remains fully committed to making public transport fares more affordable.  That is why I am pleased to announce funding for a comprehensive fare review that will examine this issue over the next 12 months.  Only Labor has a plan to make fares fairer for all and that is what we will do.'

Translation: That should stall the matter for another 12 months.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Shane Doherty ‏@ShaneDoherty9 8 minutes ago

@Curtis_Pitt_MP says public transport fares go up by CPI #9News #qldpol

[verbatim9]

Fare reform campaign now including weekend and public holiday caps Plus open payment (with NFC MasterCard and Visa) It will be a $3.00 gocard fare for one zone before you know it and 20.00 bucks to the Gold Coast

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Qlders feel safest on commuter trains, national study shows

Queensland rail commuters felt safer on night trains than their counterparts in other states, new research has revealed.

A survey by consumer research firm Canstar Blue found 57 per cent of Queensland rail commuters felt safe travelling at night, well ahead of New South Wales (50 per cent), Victoria (46 per cent), South Australia (45 per cent) and Western Australia (40 per cent).

Queenslanders also had the lowest rate of witnessing anti-social behaviour on trains, with 45 per cent reporting having witnessed such behaviour.

That compared favourably to NSW (50 per cent), Victoria and SA (49 per cent), and WA (47 per cent).

Robert Dow from public transport advocacy group Rail Back on Track said Brisbane's commuter train network had made great inroads when it came to passenger safety.

"Every service after 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays has security guards on it – every service," he said.

"Now that's very good and it's clearly coming up in the data.

"Queensland Rail would be almost level pegging with TransPerth if it had a better fare structure, but that's out of its control."

Ninety-two per cent of Queensland rail commuters said they felt safe during daytime travel, compared to 91 per cent in WA, 90 per cent in NSW, 87 per cent in Victoria and 86 per cent in South Australia.

The threat of terrorism had made just 17 per cent of Queenslanders more concerned about catching public transport.

Overall satisfaction in rail networks was highest among TransPerth users, followed by Adelaide Metro, then Queensland Rail, Sydney Trains and Metro Trains in Melbourne.

Mr Dow said Queensland Rail would likely top the list if it were not for one issue.

"It clearly indicates we've got a problem with fares in south-east Queensland," he said.

"Apart than that, Queensland Rail is performing at a very good level."

Research by the same company, released last month, revealed most Queenslanders were put off using public transport because of the cost, saying it was cheaper to drive.

Canstar Blue general manager Megan Doyle said there were "a lot of factors" that added up for the overall rail experience.

"It only needs one of them to go wrong to leave passengers feeling thoroughly fed up," he said.

"Keeping everything on track is a monumental task and a thankless one.

"I'm sure most people can understand that, from time to time, things will go wrong and they may be delayed or forced to stand on an overcrowded train.

"But if this becomes the norm, rather than the exception, then they will have good reason to feel aggrieved, particularly if the cost of travel is already a sore point."

[verbatim9]

Mike Baird calls for an increase of GST to 15% That equates to a 7.5 % increase in public transport fares if it goes ahead 5 % GST increase + a 2.5% CPI increase as mentioned by Curtis Pitt at latest Qld Budget http://m.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-premier-mike-baird-calls-for-gst-to-rise-to-15-per-cent-20150719-gifxcm.html
I rather see the base of the GST broadening to Food, health and education than an 5% increase to 15%

[James]

I don't think Mike Baird is going to have many friends at COAG with that plan, particularly WA.

I think we will see CRR before we see the GST hit 15%.

[verbatim9]

Yeah true, but its getting alot of media attention

[SurfRail]

Mike Baird calls for an increase of GST to 15% That equates to a 7.5 % increase in public transport fares if it goes ahead 5 % GST increase + a 2.5% CPI increase as mentioned by Curtis Pitt at latest Qld Budget http://m.smh.com.au/nsw/nsw-premier-mike-baird-calls-for-gst-to-rise-to-15-per-cent-20150719-gifxcm.html
I rather see the base of the GST broadening to Food, health and education than an 5% increase to 15%

I'd be happy to see the GST increased to 15%, applied to all goods and services and with certain concessions and exemptions removed (eg GST is treated the same for agricultural land as other types of land instead of being GST free; going concern exemption removed; margin scheme abolished).

The trade off for this would be:

- All duties abolished nationwide
- All payroll tax abolished nationwide
- All existing State land taxes removed and replaced with broader based but easier to shoulder land taxes which apply to all property with no thresholds or exemptions

[red dragin]

Just been offered a job in Fortitude Valley, $10k a year more than I get now for the same job essentially.

Stupidly I didn't consider that out of the extra $126 per week I'll earn, $60 alone will go to transport fares. Combined with lost tax deduction (business use of car) and a decrease in child care rebate, I'll actually be better off staying where I am, than to take job in the CBD.

A perfect sign of how unaffordable PT is in this city.

And Joe Hockey's says "just get a better paying job" 

[Stillwater]

Because they are too weak to put up their own taxes, the states don't want the GST (their tax - they are the beneficiaries) to go up, but want Medicare levy (a federal financial impost) to go up.  States are happy to tell the feds to put up the fed taxes, but not the states.

Maybe we should have federal, nationwide, payroll tax, land tax etc.  States then become branch office of the federal government.  This seems to be where they want to be, judging by the way they behave.  Keep borders for State of Origin football purposes.

[#Metro]

Nobody spends somebody elses's money as carefully as they spend their own. Everone wants it to be someone else's problem.

[ozbob]

Public transport performance data  June 2015

> http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/open-data/2015-June-snapshot.pdf

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

4th August 2015

June 2015 TransLink Public transport performance data

Greetings,

The June 2015 TransLink Public transport performance data is now available publicly

>>  http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/open-data/2015-June-snapshot.pdf

Slight improvement in fare affordability for ferry, however it remains the standout KPI failure.  The Ferry affordability KPI does suffer from big swings though (? small sample size).

Of concern is the  the Reliability and frequency KPI - bus  There are very serious issues with the Brisbane bus network.

Reform is needed.

Best wishes
Robert

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

[aldonius]

Huh, so we do have patronage data, just not broken out by operator. Interestingly we can do a go card/other breakdown, as the go card only data is provided separately. About 15% of all journeys are paper singles (or QR/operator school periodicals).

[SurfRail]

It'd be interesting if they bothered reporting the tram stats that GoldlinQ collects.

http://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/game-changer/young-happy-with-gold-coast-light-rail-system-according-to-survey/story-fnvizjmv-1227468510408

[Gazza]

How practical is it to do OTR data by comparing live arrival information and comparing that with the GTFS timetable info?
Have a rule that if a bys is 6 mins late that chalks up as a late arrival.

[SurfRail]

It would be nice if we went with TripTracker and the data actually updated in real-time (ie every 2 seconds which is close enough for commuters' purposes). 

The once-per-minute updates I find to be basically useless.  The real-time system is generally fine for determining if a service is actually roughly where it is meant to be (ie you haven't missed it), but you can hardly rely on the perennial 1 minute countdown because a single traffic light phase can throw it off completely.

[aldonius]

I've just gone through the various PDFs (which report total patronage and satisfaction) and the CSV (go card only). Now we have aggregate week-by-week patronage data from mid-2012 to end of June 2015 in convenient Excel form.

Fun discoveries: the non-go-card data has some massive variation commencing roughly this time last year. In some cases it even goes negative (i.e. reported total patronage for a given week is less than reported go card patronage).

Download link:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7243561/RBoT/Overall-Patronage-Data.xlsx

[ozbob]

^ Thanks Aldonius.  Marvellous effort that   

[ozbob]

July 2015 Public transport performance data is now available

>> http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/open-data/2015-July-snapshot.pdf

Summary



Affordability

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

29th August 2015

July 2015 TransLink Public transport performance data

Greetings,

The July 2015 TransLink Public transport performance data is now available publicly

>>  http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/open-data/2015-July-snapshot.pdf

Fare affordability remains the standout KPI failure.  The Ferry affordability KPI does suffer from big swings though (? small sample size).

Best wishes
Robert

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


KPI Summary July


Affordability KPI July 2015

[ozbob]

For interest, how affordability has worsened on our surveys ..

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

2011 Survey  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=7144.0

How would you rate go card fares?
Answer
Count Percentage
Extremely expensive 146 26.9
Expensive 207 38.1
Fair fare price 85 15.7
Bit too cheap 101 18.6
Too cheap 4 0.7

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

2012 Survey  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9243.0

How would you rate go card fares?
Answer
Count Percentage
Extremely expensive 91 31.6
Expensive 109 37.9
Fair fare price 32 11.1
Bit too cheap 3 1.0
Too cheap 53 18.4

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

2013 Survey http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=10297.msg135659#msg135659

How would you rate go card fares?
Answer
Count Percentage
Extremely expensive 52 38.0
Expensive 69 50.4
Fair fare price 16 11.7
Bit too cheap 0 0
Too cheap 0 0

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

2014 http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11038.msg149907#msg149907

How would you rate go card fares?
Answer

Count Percentage
Extremely expensive  59 47.20%
expensive  40 32.00%
fair fare price  12 9.60%
bit too cheap  1 0.80%
too cheap  9 7.20%

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Blame game as Brisbane commuters abandon buses

Brisbane commuters are abandoning buses in droves, leading Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding to launch a broadside at Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's handling of the city's bus network.

But the Quirk administration has pointed the finger squarely at the fares set by the state government-owned public transport authority, TransLink.

Mr Harding said Brisbane City Council's 2014-15 annual report, which will be tabled in council on Tuesday, showed council bus patronage dropped 2.83 per cent from 77.8 million passengers in 2013-14 to 75.6 million in 2014-15.

Mr Harding said the figures were "damning" and showed an "alarming decline" in passenger numbers.

"At budget time the Lord Mayor was spruiking the number of new buses he was funding, yet there are 74 less buses in the fleet this year," he said.

"You can't expect to carry more passengers with less buses and less services.

"People jumping off buses and into cars is a consequence of Graham Quirk cutting $20 million in public transport services."

Mr Harding said the figures showed the LNP administration was not committed to getting Brisbane "moving".

"This is an alarming decline in passenger numbers," he said.

"...That's 42,300 less passengers per week catching buses in Brisbane.

"Meanwhile Council's Key Corridors report shows traffic congestion is up 3.2 per cent.

"It's no wonder our roads are congested."

The LNP administration's Public and Active Transport chairman, Peter Matic, said it was up to the Queensland government to reduce public transport fares to an affordable level.

"Brisbane bus patronage fell again last financial year, which is a direct outcome of the ever-increasing public transport fares determined by the state government and the perception of passengers that public transport is simply unaffordable," he said.

"Council is doing everything in its power to encourage more regular public transport users, but at the end of the day the state government needs to act on fares."

On that point, Robert Dow from public transport advocacy group Rail: Back on Track agreed.

Mr Dow said a state government review into public transport fares, which was currently underway, was a welcome development.

But that review needed to result in a better deal for commuters, he said.

"It's no surprise that patronage has dropped a little bit," Mr Dow said.

"It's stagnated and dropped on the rail, too, in the same way and a lot of that is down to fare unaffordability."

According to TransLink data, the drop in bus patronage was not confined to Brisbane City Council services.

Overall, the total number of bus trips across the entire TransLink network, which also included several private operators, dropped 4.64 per cent from 118.6 million trips to 113.1 million between 2013-14 and 2014-15.

In the same period, rail trips rose 1.2 per cent from 49.8 million to 50.4 million, while ferry trips fell 14.86 per cent from 7.4 million to 6.4 million.

In 2011-12, there were 120.3 million bus trips and 52.8 million rail trips.

Cr Matic will introduce a motion to the council on Tuesday calling on the state government to reduce fares to an "affordable level" and introduce a new capped daily fare.

A spokeswoman for Deputy Premier and Transport Minister Jackie Trad said the council had "failed to keep up their end of the bargain" in bus network funding.

"The increase in service levels and the subsidy council pays for bus services (community service obligation or CSO) have not come close to matching the 160 per cent increase in Brisbane Transport's costs since 2005," she said.

"In fact, in 2009 Brisbane City Council's CSO as a percentage of overall operating cost was 27 per cent, but in 2014 this contribution had slumped to 21 per cent.

"It is forecast that BCC's CSO payment as a percentage of overall cost will be 18 per cent by 2017.

"If BCC's contribution to running Brisbane's buses had kept pace there would be more funds to invest in public transport services."

Ms Trad's spokeswoman said the government was conducting a "comprehensive expert-led review" of public transport fares in an effort to boost patronage.

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Robert Dow of Rail Back on Track says politicians have got to take their focus off roads and put it on public transport.

A PUBLIC transport advocate says politicians have got to take their focus off road transport.

Robert Dow of Rail Back on Track said affordability of public transport in South East Queensland was well documented.

He said "more buses, more often" were also needed in the suburbs so the wait time was shorter.

Shailer Park resident Lisa Heanue said catching public transport to work at Teneriffe was not affordable or convenient for her as it meant catching two buses.

Mr Dow said a bus network review was needed to get more people on public transport and off congested roads such as the Pacific Motorway.

He said widening the motorway was a temporary fix.

Forde federal LNP MP Bert Van Manen said it would be fantastic to see the State Government upgrade public transport to take cars off the road.

Ms Heanue said the waiting time between catching two buses could be as much as 20 minutes.

"On a good day with public transport, it takes me about 1.5 hours each way to get to work," she said.

"On a good day with my car, it takes about one hour to one hour and 10 minutes.

"I pay $12.80 to park on the street and pay $8 in petrol. The bus costs me $13.38.

"While the bus means I don't pay for petrol, I prefer to pay the extra in order to get to and from work a bit faster."

Bus commuter Rachael Vagg of Shailer Park said she caught the bus because driving into the city took twice as long, but agreed the cost of public transport was expensive costing her $15 a day.

Liddy Vearing of Cornubia also said bus fares were too high, but opts to take the bus in to the city instead of driving as there was no parking in the CBD.

[verbatim9]

Must be referring to peak paper ticket prices to make the story more sansationalist. As I traveled all the way from Chermside to Ikea and back (one way off peak and return peak). Way under 15 bucks. I guess if that passenger doesn't want to buy a Go card Open payment will be good for her in the future.

[verbatim9]

See > http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11684.0

Thanks.

[ozbob]

News.com.au --> You could be saving hundreds on your commute with simple smartcard hacks