BCC - elections 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

1st February 2016

Memo to Brisbane Lord Mayor Candidates

Brisbane's Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is now pushing network reform in broad principle, from the old failed direct service model, to a more informed, connected and better trunk and feeder model.  BCC has steadfastly refused to undertake proper network reform until now -  clinging obstinately to a high cost, inefficient, non connected network.  The Lord Mayor now thinks that in the interests of improved capacity and functionality passengers can now transfer into a high frequency mass transit corridor (the proposed Brisbane Metro).  He has said that buses will be freed up for deployment into the suburbs.  Fascinating stuff.

Bus network reform today will deliver more buses freed up for the suburbs.  We have shown how this can be done.  Treating the existing busways and rail lines as high frequency mass transit corridors, a much improved public transport network for Brisbane can be delivered.

Do we have wait for another 8 years?  Do we have to spend billions of dollars first?  Or can we move on with fixing today's network at near neutral cost.  This is the fundamental question facing Brisbane.

How network reform can be delivered >> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg167865#msg167865

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

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

2nd February 2016

Public transport dreams, road congestion is getting worse, a nightmare?

Greetings,

BCC Lord Mayor Candidates have released more detail on proposals. A video has appeared about Light Rail, but information is being drip-fed to the public. We need to know where exactly where the Light rail proposal is actually going to go. Light rail could have a place in the transport mix, but it needs to bring something completely new to the table, rather than just exhume old, dead and buried alignments and studies from the past. The Centenary Suburbs is one potential new corridor.

Note, 'Sydney is building light rail' is not an argument for light rail because Sydney is also building an automatic metro.

There is a lot of championing different modes. For the record, we see buses, rail, light rail, ferries and active transport as tools to help solve the overall transport problem. There isn't one mode of transport that does everything well, and each has a role to play in an overall network.

Improved rail, will however certainly be a big part of the change.

Cross River Rail has been stalled for seven years. It is meant to relieve rail and road capacity constraints for Gold Coast and Beenleigh commuters. Today, the Courier Mail reveals the Pacific Motorway will reach gridlock within four years, potentially creating a 80km car park between the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Cross River Rail should have been built by now hey?  The Gold Coast Mayor wants another highway!

RAIL Back on Track 100% supports Brisbane bus reform, no matter what candidates may propose. We have yet to see any detailed bus reform proposals from any candidates. We hope this will change.

On the bus network, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has done a complete back flip. He no longer repeats the line "the bus network isn't broken and doesn't need radical change." Oh, it is damn broken, and now needs a subway! Brisbane City Council should have implemented the 2007 Lord Mayor's Mass Transit Report and co-operated with the 2013 bus review hey? We now face total collapse of road, bus and rail networks. Did we mention that the 2018 Commonwealth Games are just around the corner? Ignoring problems is not a solution. It never has been. Both Local and State Government have been too busy stalling each other, they need to start working together, fast.

Our New Bus Network Proposal is here ---> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork.

Twelve new hi-frequency bus routes to Brisbane's suburbs would be unlocked, providing near-immediate relief to suffering passengers. As it rearranges existing resources, it is virtually cost-neutral. It would give Brisbane Australia's best bus network within two years

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk  also needs to justify why his flagship Brisbane metro is not automatic. This is unacceptable for a 'New world city' - it must be driverless. The Sydney metro will be driverless, so why will Brisbane miss out? Reaching the touted 30 000 passengers/hour/direction will be difficult in our opinion, without the safety and precision of a fully automatic system.

We look forward to the Lord Mayors explanation as to why his metro isn't automatic.

Best wishes
Robert

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

References:

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/new-data-confirms-the-pacific-motorway-will-be-in-gridlock-before-2020/news-story/96ca77d8d15c59c09afcb55ffefe504c

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/second-route-to-gold-coast-should-be-considered-tom-tate-20160202-gmjf28.html

[ozbob]

ABC News --> Brisbane City Council Election 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

8th February 2016

MUST READ: Message to ALL BCC Candidates!

Greetings,

Our message for BCC candidates is pretty clear:

FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT
FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT
FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT
FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT
FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT
FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT FIX BUS NETWORK - BUS REFORM - FIX IT

Got it?

Please stop the unimplementable fare stunts and infrastructure grandiose.  People are not as dumb as you obviously think.  It is a pity that you are not confined to Roads, Rates and Rubbish.  Much of your policy, all candidates, is rubbish though.  Just a different type of rubbish.

Brisbane is going backwards.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Reference:

http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow now

MUST READ: Message to ALL BCC Candidates!

> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11398.msg168589#msg168589 ...

@Team_Quirk @Rod4Bris @BenPennings #qldpol

[#Metro]

From Red Team FB website:

Fare Free Friday will deliver free bus, CityCat, and ferry fares every Friday from 1 May to 31 December 2016. We need to drive a public transport culture in Brisbane, and to do that, we need to get people out of their cars and back onto public transport. Let's get Brisbane moving again.

User comment: Where is all this money coming from?

Reply - Rod Harding: Graham Quirk ripped $20m out of public transport which saw PT patronage go backwards. Yes, a decline in PT patronage despite population growth. Congestion costs Brisbane's economy $2B every year, a cost projected to be nearly $6B in 15yrs time. This $28m investment for Fare Free Friday aims to generate an extra 1.7 million trips to help bust congestion and drive the public transport culture Brisbane desperately needs.

Remember that any specific problem does not imply a specific solution. There could be multiple solutions, some better than others.
Fare free friday is waste because most people would still need to travel to work on Friday, and happily pay the fares to do so.
This is going to be a massive leak of farebox revenue TransLink will not be collecting, and I wonder if BCC is enough to prop it up.

$28 million is a HUGE amount of money, enough to pay for SIX CityGliders, and assuming that each new CG gets 1 million pax, around 6 million passengers per year, or 3x the patronage projected from Fare Free Friday.

[ozbob]

Been scheduled for a chat about public transport and the BCC election after the 3pm news on 4BC with Ben Davis - Brisbane Live   ... 

[ozbob]

Fare Free Friday will never happen. No way will Harding get elected now.

[ozbob]

Been scheduled for a chat about public transport and the BCC election after the 3pm news on 4BC with Ben Davis - Brisbane Live   ...

Thanks for the opportunity Ben and 4BC for the chat.  Covered the broad issues, suggested that fares is a state government responsibility and it is best to wait for the fare review, highlighted some obvious problems with the proposal for fare free Friday, Ben didn't realise it only would apply to BT buses and ferries. Highlighted LM Quirk's comment re the fare review. Mentioned the Victoria Bridge  Cultural Centre plans by Greens, the need for bus network reform. Bicycle lanes and sorting CityCycle. Mentioned Labor's transitways  and grade separations. Talked briefly about the metro, and how it really needs to be driverless and a lot longer, and integrated with the TMR plans for a true metro down the track possibly. Also the fact that the busways are State and the site at Go Print is State as well. Mentioned the fact that no detail on Labor's light rail yet either.

I also commented that we would very much like to see detailed bus network reform plans from all candidates! 

[#Metro]

Rod Harding's #FareFAIL

[kram0]

Fare Free Friday will never happen. No way will Harding get elected now.

We can only hope he is not elected!! While all parties are far from perfect and have there own agenda's, if we have yet another level of Labor government in this state, the economy will absolutely come to a complete standstill and the damage done by just Anna2 will take years to repair, let alone what damage a Labor council could do as well.

[#Metro]

The Greens have been a real surprise. Usually their policies are 'at the bottom of the garden' so to speak. They certainly were last election with light rail conversion of all the busways and whatnot.

Now, their policies have broad appeal and make a lot of practical sense. That is a major and welcome change.

[ozbob]

4BC Public transport: The hot topic for upcoming election

>> http://www.4bc.com.au/news/public-transport-the-hot-topic-for-upcoming-election-20160208-gmp1e1.html

The future of public transport in Brisbane looks set to be the issue that will win or lose the upcoming Brisbane City Council election.

Public transport advocate Robert Dow from Rail Back On Track assesses the public transport proposals put forward by each party.

Listen to the full interview from Brisbane Live with Ben Davis.

Been scheduled for a chat about public transport and the BCC election after the 3pm news on 4BC with Ben Davis - Brisbane Live   ...

Thanks for the opportunity Ben and 4BC for the chat.  Covered the broad issues, suggested that fares is a state government responsibility and it is best to wait for the fare review, highlighted some obvious problems with the proposal for fare free Friday, Ben didn't realise it only would apply to BT buses and ferries. Highlighted LM Quirk's comment re the fare review. Mentioned the Victoria Bridge  Cultural Centre plans by Greens, the need for bus network reform. Bicycle lanes and sorting CityCycle. Mentioned Labor's transitways  and grade separations. Talked briefly about the metro, and how it really needs to be driverless and a lot longer, and integrated with the TMR plans for a true metro down the track possibly. Also the fact that the busways are State and the site at Go Print is State as well. Mentioned the fact that no detail on Labor's light rail yet either.

I also commented that we would very much like to see detailed bus network reform plans from all candidates! 

[ozbob]

The Greens have been a real surprise. Usually their policies are 'at the bottom of the garden' so to speak. They certainly were last election with light rail conversion of all the busways and whatnot.

Now, their policies have broad appeal and make a lot of practical sense. That is a major and welcome change.

Yes apart from the fare stuff, rest has been good IMHO.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

10th February 2016

Why are Queenslanders so stupid?

Good Morning,

Raising of false expectations with respect to fares is anti-public transport.  It is disappointing that BCC Candidates other than the incumbent Lord Mayor Graham Quirk,  cannot understand the need for a properly integrated fare system for SEQ.

The basic problem with public transport in SEQ is a grossly inefficient network due to the divide between BCC and the rest of SEQ and Brisbane Transport and the various operators.  It is a shambolic network.  This has been a major factor in the very high cost fares presently on the system.

Candidates raising false expectations with respect to fares is very unhelpful and  destructive.  The State Government has commissioned a fare review, this needs to run to completion.  Actions by both the ALP and Greens Candidates is not helpful in getting an affordable, equitable fare structure embedded in a coherent fare system for SEQ.

We have repeatedly called for public transport functions to be removed from BCC.  Only by doing that will the festering mess really be improved for the long term. The Public Transport Authority needs to be a real authority as for other states.  Not a part time, part place authority.

We are heartened though by the Greens recognition that bus network reform will deliver great gains at relatively small cost, compared to ' Metro '  and ' Light Rail ' pipe dreams which are simply thought bubbles at present.

We need to fix up what we have got.  Why are Queenslanders so stupid?

Best wishes
Robert

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

Reference:

Fare Review Taskforce Terms of Reference > http://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/fares/fare-review-ToR

[ozbob]

http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/2016-brisbane-city-council-elections.html
The BrizCommuter word on The Green's policies.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Council elections: Need for honest growth debate in 2016

[ozbob]

http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/2016-brisbane-city-council-elections.html
The BrizCommuter word on The Green's policies.

Thanks Briz.  This has been distributed.   

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

11th February 2016

More evidence of public transport network failure in SEQ

Good Morning,

Interesting summary chart.  It shows heavy rail passenger journeys over a century for Melbourne and Sydney annually.  Brisbane has around 50 million heavy rail passengers annually at present.




Source: https://twitter.com/TRaw_SGS/status/697240455512076288

By those trends, Brisbane should have been over 100 million by now.  In Sydney and Melbourne the heavy rail network is used much more efficiently.  Instead of running buses in competition and parallel to heavy rail the various modes are optimised for their true utility.  In SEQ an absurd fare structure, poor frequency and poor connections is now seen as relative poor patronage, and much worsening congestion in and around Brisbane.

Not rocket science is it?   We need proper bus network reform.  We have shown how that can be achieved [ http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.0 ]

What is the hot topic in Brisbane City Council elections?  Grandiose ' gold ' infrastructure and free fares!  What a joke transport in Brisbane has become under a succession of mediocre State Governments and even more mediocre Councils.

Carry on ...

Best wishes
Robert

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

Reference:

http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2016/02/inner-city-rail-capacity-study-where.html

How can Brisbane's transport meltdown be resolved?

    There needs to be bi-partisan support for Cross River Rail by both sides of Queensland politics in State Government and Brisbane City Council level. Rather than thinking about themselves, politicians need to think about Queenslanders.
    Funding needs to be prioritised for rail over poor value for money road and busway projects. Remember, just one 60% full train can take around 500 cars off the road, that is 15 minutes worth of one traffic lane! 
    The urban sprawl needs to be restricted, or at least be concentrated around existing transport corridors.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Departure of Warren Truss clears the way for funding to build second train route in Brisbane

HOPES are rising that Brisbane's desperately needed Cross River Rail project may soon get the green light.

Infrastructure Australia is this month expected to unveil its list of national priorities.

And sources suggest this week's retirement announcement by deputy prime minister Warren Truss will remove a major obstacle to Federal Government support for the $5 billion project.

The former Infrastructure Minister was a strong supporter of ex-prime minister Tony Abbott's insistence that states should be solely responsible for public transport infrastructure.

The Cross River Rail initiative to provide a second train route through central Brisbane – including a tunnel under the river and several underground stations – was number one on the last Infrastructure Australia list in 2013.

But the proposal was dumped by the Newman government in favour of the so-called BaT (bus and train tunnel) scheme.

The incoming Palaszczuk Government reinstated Cross River Rail as top priority.

Queensland Transport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe told The Sunday Mail yesterday that it took a change of prime minister to secure Commonwealth funding for stage two of Gold Coast Light Rail.

"I hope a change in the ministry will signal the Turnbull Government are on board with Cross River Rail," he said.

Transport minister Stirling Hinchliffe hopes to have the Turnbull Government on board with the Cross River Rail. Picture: Tara Croser

Public transport advocates have called on Brisbane's leading two mayoral candidates to commit funding to help ensure Cross River Rail goes ahead.

RAIL Back on Track lobby group spokesman Robert Dow said Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and ALP mayoral hopeful Rod Harding had lost the plot with expensive headline-grabbing proposals for unnecessary light rail or rubber-tyred subway Metro systems.

"We need to focus on the main game, which is the rail system,'' he said.

Cross River Rail is already nearly a decade behind schedule, having been the key recommendation of the Inner City Rail Capacity Study commissioned by the Bligh Government in 2008 to set priorities to 2016.

Discussion on Cross River Rail is here > http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2034.msg168985#msg168985

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 1h

. @Rod4Bris @BenPennings This shows LM grand plans are bullsh%t .. @Team_Quirk

>> ...

#qldpol Get on with CRR ...

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

14th February 2016

Brisbane Light Rail and Metro: Vision or Mirage?

RAIL Back on Track warns that candidates are pushing election 'votebait' with proposals for Light Rail and Metro. These projects aren't designed to help the people, they are designed to help get politicians elected.

In Victoria, voters were titillated by new rail lines to Melbourne Airport, Doncaster, Rowville and Avalon Airport. What actually happened? A few dry reports were written, and there was no federal funding. The reports are now busy collecting dust.

They were sold a mirage.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk talks up BCC's infrastructure delivery credentials. But look at Legacy Way: BCC never delivered its promise of "2000 daily express buses" down Legacy Way. After boasting that $300 million was saved through 'innovative design', BCC apparently couldn't find $50 million to link Legacy Way tunnel with the busway. Passengers on morning express buses from the Western Suburbs now find that they cannot use the tunnel to go home in the afternoon. How ridiculous.

BCC can't even review its own bus network properly. In 2013, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk declared "the bus network is not broken" and didn't need an overhaul. Now he claims the bus network is so broken that it needs a metro! His metro proposal has major flaws. It is manual - yesterday's technology! Service during evenings and weekends are likely to be low, due to increased labour costs during those times. Manual metros also risk strike action that would shut down public transport to large parts of Brisbane, costing billions in lost productivity.

The route is not optimal and will completely disrupt the busway network. Also, the State Government owns the proposed depot site and the busways. Given that BCC instructed its staff not to co-operate with TransLink staff on six separate occasions during the 2013 bus review, the prospect of co-operation between the State Government and BCC is more than likely doomed.

Mayoral candidate Rod Harding's election promises are just as bad.

Rod Harding's Friday Fares Fiasco policy will cause mass overcrowding and chaos on Fridays. Passengers would be sucked out of the rail network at places like Toowong, introducing further waste and inefficiency into the BCC bus network, pushing up rates and fares.*

Almost four weeks to the election, Rod Harding has also left the people of Brisbane in the dark about his Light Rail 'investigation'. How much will it cost? Where will it go? How much faster than buses will it be? What will the service frequencies be like? Nobody knows. Light Rail is likely to cost around 1-2 billion. The West End - Newstead route has been done to death and has been found over and over again to be unviable. Why persist?

Rod Harding states that he is from a banking and finance background. Mr Harding, will you be providing estimates for the cost-benefit ratio and net present value of this Light Rail 'investigation' compared against simply running larger 150-passenger superbuses?

Mayoral candidates from both sides of the fence need to know that the people of Brisbane didn't just come down in the last shower. Brisbane needs proper bus reforms like our New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork. When are the candidates going to get behind that?

Contact:

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


References:

* Millions of dollars would likely have to be spent buying buses to cope with load spikes
on one day of the week with this policy.

Sydney has rejected the idea of a manual metro, and is now constructing a driverless metro. http://nwrail.transport.nsw.gov.au/

[#Metro]

I guess when BCC was talking about 'innovative design', they must have meant leaving out the connection to the busway, so the innovation is that buses can run express one way in the morning, but not the other way in the afternoon?

THAT'S innovation!!

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

15th February 2016

Our New Bus Network Proposal Breaks 10,000 Mark

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 all Lord Mayoral candidates to support our New Bus Network Proposal.

New Bus Network Proposal (Updated) http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Current Brisbane City Council Bus Network http://tiny.cc/checkyourbus

Report: Frequency is Freedom http://backontrack.org/docs/bus/reform/BusReformBlueprint.pdf

Our New Bus Network Proposal now has over 10,000 views and raised much interest. It is a comprehensive and achievable plan that will fix Brisbane City Council's broken bus network.

Bus reform will give Brisbane Australia's best bus network within a single term of office. Twelve new hi-frequency bus lines across Brisbane - more lines than either Graham Quirk's Metro or Rod Harding's Light Rail - could be rolled out across Brisbane.

Because existing bus resources are used, the proposal is virtually cost-neutral.

New 'CityGliders' - high frequency bus routes

400 CentenaryGlider superbus would carry 150+ passengers every 10 minutes or better to the Centenary Suburbs, with 24 hour bus service on Friday and Saturday nights.

230 BulimbaGlider Faster and improved bus service every 15 minutes or better via both Riding and Thynne Rds with connections at Morningside station to the Cleveland line. 24-hour bus service on Friday and Saturday nights.

New or Improved BUZ routes

175 Garden City BUZ (Logan Rd)
185 Mansfield BUZ (via Busway)
196 Yeronga BUZ (Extension into Yeronga)
200 Carindale BUZ (Stanley Rd) (new alignment)
205 Carindale Heights (Chatsworth Rd)
222 Carindale Interchange (converted to 150+ passenger superbuses)
300 Toombul Interchange BUZ (Kingsford Smith Drive)
359 Albany Creek BUZ (Old Northern Rd)
375 Stafford BUZ (new bus station at Stafford City)
380 The Gap BUZ (Payne Road)

900 Series CityConnector Buses

902 Toombul-Carindale CityConnector
903 Toombul-Ferny Grove CityConnector (current 369 extended from Brookside Shops)
911 UQ St Lucia-Mitchelton CityConnector (direct service to UQ from Northwest)

Absolutely enormous service benefits across the entire city of Brisbane will be unlocked with bus reform.

Proposals for Metro and Light Rail cost billions of dollars and would take up to 12 years to deliver! We can't wait for that can we?

Where are the mayoral candidates' proposals to fix the current BCC bus network? Brisbane needs Bus Reform NOW.

Contact:

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

Reference:

Brisbane buses: Call for CityGlider in Centenary suburbs
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-buses-call-for-cityglider-in-centenary-suburbs-20141105-11gxl3.html

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Violent threats made against Greens candidate

Maybe a sign that the Greens are actually making some good policy commitments and the establishment is getting a bit worried about their own incompetence? 

Threats are a disgrace.

... Mr Pennings has also thrown his support behind independent mayoral candidate Jim Eldridge's plan to ban alcohol advertising on council busses.

"We have had a lot of feedback in regards to wrap around advertising on buses," he said.

"A lot of people, particularly at night, are having a hard time seeing their stop.

"There's enough things discouraging people from using public transport in regards to cost and frequency." ...

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/violent-threats-made-against-greens-mayoral-candidate-for-brisbane-20160214-gmtx2y.html

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow now

. @BenPennings @QldGreens We abhor any threats to any candidates, any party or independent. We stand with you against this. #qldpol

[ozbob]

^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 3s

. @BenPennings Tks for pointing out scourge of ad wrap. Are @Rod4Bris @Team_Quirk bothered? Obviously not!

> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=10971.msg146792#msg146792 ... #qldpol

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> Slow burn in lead up to Brisbane City Council election, political expert Paul Williams says

THE charge for City Hall will intensify with a "slow burn" according to one political scientist.

Griffith University's School of Humanities senior lecturer Paul Williams expects the LNP and ALP will lift their campaigns in the two weeks leading to the election.

The Brisbane City Council election will be held on Saturday, March 19.

Dr Williams said while the ALP's Rod Harding was a "comment candidate" the city was unlikely to see a change in mayoralty.

"There is more of a chance that we'll see a Labor majority in the wards," he said.

"Quirk has a lot of political capital, he's still a popular mayor ... some criticisms against him include that 'he's done too little in his time as mayor' and that 'he has been mayor for too long'."

He said while Brisbane City constituents cared about the election, residents were not yet fully engaged.

"You might say that we are feeling 'politicked out'," Dr Williams said.

"Last year we had some tumultuous events ... We've also got the Federal election coming up this year.

"Even though we're passionate about council, it's probably the least sexy of the three levels of government. It's hard to become passionate about roads, rates and rubbish which is good for the incumbents."

Parking and congestion will be two of the most debated issues according to Dr Williams, with development a hot topic in inner and middle city suburbs.

The LNP unveiled plans for a metro service after the ALP committed to light rail last month.

The Greens have also made some major transport commitments, including free public transport for seniors and an overhaul of Victoria Bridge.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane lord mayor election: Team Quirk fundraisers up to $2500 a head



^ Says it all ...

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

20th February 2016

Increased Car Parking? No Thanks!

Greetings,

RAIL Back on Track members are  concerned that new parking dictates announced by Rod Harding are a step backwards, promoting car use over public transport.

Mandating a car park can easily add another $50,000 to the price of an apartment. That's obviously going to have an impact on housing affordability, and encourage people to drive versus taking buses and trains.

We are calling on Rod Harding to exempt any new development from his proposed car parking change that is within 800 m of a train station or a BUZ/CityGlider bus stop.

If people are having issues with cars parking in their street, there are obvious solutions: fix the bus network, issue residential parking permits or charge cars for the privilege to park on the street.

Increased mandatory car parking? No thanks!

Best wishes
Robert

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

References:

Brisbane council election: Car parks central in seven-point planning pledge
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-council-election-car-parks-central-in-sevenpoint-planning-pledge-20160218-gmxw8u.html

City of Ottawa Review of Minimum Parking Standards >

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane City Council Election: Labor to appoint a Brisbane City architect

[verbatim9]

Fare Free Friday will never happen. No way will Harding get elected now.

We can only hope he is not elected!! While all parties are far from perfect and have there own agenda's, if we have yet another level of Labor government in this state, the economy will absolutely come to a complete standstill and the damage done by just Anna2 will take years to repair, let alone what damage a Labor council could do as well.

I second this, Labor will lose votes in Brisbane and Gold Coast due to the Lockout debacle. The state is not leading good government. I would like to give credit where credit is due. Lnp did bring in Realtime ordered the trains and on time  Council bought a lot of new busses established a new maintenance facility for them. Yet  Labor have just concentrated on do nothing fast. I was also disappointed in the Public holiday regig with no e-vote or asking public and people in general. The state labor transport Minister seems to be a good guy hopefully something will come out of that?

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Quirk pledges $2 million for two BMX parks

[#Metro]

Brisbane council election: Property Council slams Labor parking plan

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-council-election-property-council-slams-labor-parking-plan-20160221-gmzllg.html

The car parking measures also came under fire from public transport advocate Robert Dow from Rail Back On Track, who described the idea as a "step backwards".

"That's obviously going to have an impact on housing affordability, and encourage people to drive versus taking buses and trains," he said.

"We are calling on Rod Harding to exempt any new development from his proposed car parking change that is within 800 metres of a train station or a BUZ/CityGlider bus stop.

"If people are having issues with cars parking in their street, there are obvious solutions: fix the bus network, issue residential parking permits or charge cars for the privilege to park on the street."

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

22nd February 2016

Bus Cost Explosion to Engulf Lord Mayor Graham Quirk? II

Greetings,

A key reason why fares have exploded is that Brisbane City Council, under the stewardship of Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, sat on their hands and ignored genuine needs to reform the bus network in 2013.* For four years we continually pointed out all the problems within Brisbane City Council's inefficient and ineffective bus network. Indifference was the response.

"The bus network is not broken and does not need a radical overhaul" Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said. Will the Lord Mayor repeat this line again during this election please?

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has been exposed as having no viable comprehensive public transport plan for Brisbane. The Brisbane Metro proposal is votebait because it requires BCC to construct a metro on property and infrastructure that it does not own. A manual metro is also totally unacceptable when cities such as Vancouver (Canada) and Copenhagen (Denmark) built automatic metros decades ago.

While we think challenger Rod Harding's Light Rail and Friday Fares Fiasco are no better, we are encouraged by the promise of Rod Harding's $20 million for high frequency buses in the suburbs. Rod Harding's Level Crossings removals, Northern and Eastern transit-ways are low cost, generally sound policies.

We call on Rod Harding to tell us where these new or improved frequent bus services will go. Will Rod's $20 million package include a CentenaryGlider, a BulimbaGlider, BUZ services to Yeronga and the Northwest?

The Greens have announced a CentenaryGlider to the Centenary Suburbs, running every 10-15 minutes and 24 hour service on Friday and Saturday night. Graham Quirk??

Brisbane needs bus reform now. No ifs, no buts, no excuses. It can be delivered entirely within a single term of office at virtually neutral cost. Our New Bus Network Proposal is available here ---> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Contact:

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

References:

Rod Harding - Connecting Brisbane
http://backontrack.org/docs/bccvotes15/Connecting_Brisbane.pdf

* Brisbane City Council does not set fares, but it does set bus supply costs through monopoly contracts with TransLink. Obviously higher costs on the supplier side equals higher fares on the customer side.

[ozbob]

^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow now

Latest: Bus Cost Explosion to Engulf @Team_Quirk

> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11398.msg169569#msg169569 ... #qldpol @Rod4Bris @BenPennings

[Fattious]

Rod and Quirk were both on 612ABC Breakfast with Spencer this morning. Playback should be available on the 612 Breakfast Web site.

[Fattious]

Highlight was Quirk down playing Rod's light rail in that it is is piecemeal and the entire network need consideration.  Crikies,  is Quirk planning to do finally do something with busses! Pot calling kettle black and potentially sinking further if Rod makes further announcements prior to Quirk on BT. 

[#Metro]

Maybe, in the last ditch effort as the titanic begins to sink, they realise -- we did not put out a whole heap of media releases complaining about the bus network just because it was fun to do. 

[#Metro]

ABC is very fast, impressed.

Rod Harding's "investigation" was nothing more than chatting to people. Not an actual engineering investigation or options analysis.

If he went to Sydney, he'd realise that they are building a METRO.

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http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2016/02/labor-and-lnp-public-transport-plans-for-inner-brisbane-are-now-both-on-the-table.html

Labor and LNP public transport plans for inner Brisbane are now both on the table

22 February 2016 , 9:37 AM by Spencer Howson

As March 19th draws closer, the public transport battle at City Hall is heating up.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk released his Brisbane Metro plan recently and now Labor's candidate for Lord Mayor has released more details on his plan to bring back trams to the streets of Brisbane: