BCC - elections 2016

[ozbob]

errrr  Brisbane has a ' world class ' busway network ... that is why Brisbane really doesn't need light rail. We need to optimise WHAT WE HAVE!

The other places cited do not have the same equivalency in terms of busways.

[#Metro]

Gold Coast it works because the GC hasn't a well developed heavy rail. It is too far away from the Coast and serves a regional function, not a local one.

Brisbane, in contrast, has Priority A busways AND Priority A railways.

And the Perth Light rail - that got cancelled. They're probably not going to build anything except the heavy rail extension to the airport.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

Gold Coast it works because the GC hasn't a well developed heavy rail. It is too far away from the Coast and serves a regional function, not a local one.

Brisbane, in contrast, has Priority A busways AND Priority A railways.

And the Perth Light rail - that got cancelled. They're probably not going to build anything except the heavy rail extension to the airport.

And there is the not so small matter of Cross River Rail and how that will transform much as well ...

[SurfRail]

Gold Coast it works because the GC hasn't a well developed heavy rail. It is too far away from the Coast and serves a regional function, not a local one.

Built form and patronage dynamics are quite different too. 

Major trip generators all on one line.

Potential branches to places like Robina, Runaway Bay, Elanora, or even as far away as Coomera would all be anchored at every end for bi-directional demand - no LRT line on the Gold Coast is going to end up somewhere like Doomben or Emu Plains. 

No massive AM or PM peak, but very strong patronage in what would normally be regarded as "off-peak" elsewhere.

The capacity matches the Gold Coast well.  More would be excessively expensive, less would run into problems.

For Brisbane, it seems they are really looking for an inner-city distributor rather than a line haul service.  Maybe they need to start looking at these, which in fact have higher door density than most trams do.

[ozbob]

Yep, super-buses ...

[ozbob]

This tweet caught my eye ..

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

Twitter

Naych ‏@canonhunter 6h

I love Brisbane City Council elections - it's a contest fought over who has the dumbest Big Idea. #qldpol

[Fattious]

More coverage on 612ABC this morning on cost benefit analysis.

[ozbob]

More coverage on 612ABC this morning on cost benefit analysis.

In what way?  That they actually need to do a rigorous assessment before anyone will take any of this nonsense seriously?

[#Metro]

In what way?  That they actually need to do a rigorous assessment before anyone will take any of this nonsense seriously?

Must be this kind of calculation:

"Cost: $1.2 BN. Benefit: I get elected. Then I'll stall the whole thing for the rest of my elected term.

Conclusion - I'll run with it."

Or maybe it was:

TRAMS!! + Good Pic of Me = Election Victory!

[#Metro]

Breakfast with Spencer Howson
5:00am - 7:45am

More about Spencer Contact Us

Light rail from Newstead to UQ or rubber-wheeled 'Metro' form the Gabba to Herston? Academic calls for cost-benefit analysis
23 February 2016 , 9:52 AM by Spencer Howson

When the two main contenders for Lord Mayor of Brisbane release different plans for the city's transport renewal and both say they've done the maths - that their plan is the one to relieve congestion and future-proof the state's capital - as a voter, how do you choose between them?

Dr Robert Bianchi is an infrastructure expert with Griffith Business School. Dr Bianchi says neither side has released a cost-benefit analysis, making it near impossible to judge one against the other:

http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2016/02/light-rail-from-newstead-to-uq-or-rubber-wheeled-metro-form-the-gabba-to-herston-academic-calls-for-.html?site=brisbane&program=612_breakfast

[#Metro]

The CBA for LRT would be similar to that of BCC's in 2007. The CBA for the BaT tunnel was released, and I know this because RBOT compared it to the CRR1 tunnel proposal and found that on both BCR and NPV metrics, it was significantly worse at generating benefits to Queensland. (i.e. cheaper but nastier).

[ozbob]

Both the projects are nonsense.  No rigour, no real details, just overblown thought bubbles.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 2 minutes ago

@Team_Quirk metro & @Rod4Bris light rail are nonsense no rigour no real details overblown thought bubbles

> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11398.msg169680#msg169680 ... #qldpol

[#Metro]

^ Maybe tweet ABC 612? I think the presenter needs to dedicate a good extra long segment to you Ozbob!!

[ozbob]

^ Maybe tweet ABC 612? I think the presenter needs to dedicate a good extra long segment to you Ozbob!!

612 ABC are on our outlet list.  They are aware of what is going on I am sure. 

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

24th February 2016

BCC Election: Major parties offer mirages while city gridlocks

Good Morning,

Brisbane residents face at least another 10 years of bus congestion and traffic gridlock it appears if either the Labor or LNP Lord Mayor candidates are successful at the upcoming Brisbane City Council March 19 elections.

We have looked at both Light Rail and Metro proposals. Frankly, we think their proposals are votebait. Rather, we would like to see comprehensive bus reforms similar to our New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork. Bus Reform is deliverable now for near neutral cost.

Both major party challengers are putting up hi-gloss, headline-arresting proposals. But these projects would not be built for at least 10 years, if ever. Brisbane is going to choke and gridlock on itself in that time. What is their solution for that?

Normal planning process has been turned on its head.

Normally, you first have a 'what is the problem' analysis, then pick potential alignments and only in the last steps do you pick the mode (bus, tram, train etc) and compare the business cases for each against each other.

Both Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and candidate Rod Harding have avoided doing this and simply picked vehicles (metro, trams) to crow about. They haven't done their homework properly.

Graham Quirk's metro is proposed to be constructed on land and infrastructure that Brisbane City Council does not own. We are not even sure that this is the best alignment for a metro, because no proper alignment options analysis has been done. The vague proposal will wreck the inner city bus network. A manual metro is also unacceptable when cities like Vancouver (Canada) and Copenhagen (Denmark) have gone automatic.

Rod Harding's Light Rail proposal has similar problems. Rod Harding is basically taking the existing CityGlider and putting it on steel wheels at a cost of $1.2 billion. It adds no new destinations to the network, and is likely to be no faster or frequent than the existing route 66 bus to UQ Lakes. There are questions about how it will fit in the road space and where the maintenance depot will go.

For heaven's sake, there is already a busway to the PA Hospital and UQ Lakes.

The 2007 Lord Mayor's Mass Transit report conclusively showed it would be poor value for money against superbuses. Patronage on the CityGlider would have to increase by five times before Light Rail capacity was necessary.

As for freeing up more buses for the suburbs, that is bunk. It would free up perhaps 10 buses. In a fleet of 1000 plus buses, it's negligible. It also ignores the fact that you could buy more buses, superbuses, if you spent the savings from not building Light Rail on bus improvements in the suburbs.

A surprise this election has been transport election policy from The Greens candidate Ben Pennings.

The Greens are on the ball. They have promised to introduce a CentenaryGlider service to Brisbane's Western Suburbs. There is huge community support for that, and in other 'black hole' areas like Bulimba, Yeronga and the Northwest that have been neglected for years. If they keep announcing bus improvements like that, they will have an extremely competitive and be a able to deliver a low cost alternative that will be deliverable in a single term of office. Electric buses are the future for Brisbane.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

Route 66 timetable. Services already run every 5-10 minutes all day using the high speed, high capacity busway and Eleanor Schonell Green Bridge.
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/131014-66.pdf

Calculation
Existing CityGlider 13 buses in peak hour x 65 passengers/bus = 845 passengers / hour (A)
Upgraded CityGlider 150-pax superbus, running every 2 minutes. 30 buses x 150 passengers/bus = 4500 passengers / hour (B)

Factor: Divide B into A: 5.3x

[#Metro]

People can already get to UQ from West End and the Glider. Just get on to a CityCat at West End Ferry. The whole terminal was upgraded, sparing no expense, it is sparkling new.

I remember when West End Ferry Terminal was a wooden pier and a brick dunny block. Before the Boggo Road Busway and Eleanor Schonell Bridge was put in, West End Ferry terminal was extraordinarily busy.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 2h

Latest: #bnevotes Major parties offer mirages while city gridlocks

> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11398.msg169749#msg169749 ... #qldpol

@BenPennings @Team_Quirk @Rod4Bris

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

26th February 2016

Paris Metro: Not all trains have steel wheels!

Greetings,

We have become aware of a disinformation campaign video regarding metros.

Video: Bir-Hakeim station, close to the Eiffel Tower, showing the Paris Metro trains and their rubber tires. A steel track is clearly visible.

Not all trains have steel wheels. This does not mean that they are 'fancy buses'. The Paris Metro has trains that run on rails, but have rubber tyres. Anybody describing a rubber tyre metro as 'buses' is dead wrong, and should issue a public withdrawal.

Trains can come with steel wheels, rubber tyres or no wheels at all. Maglev trains don't have wheels, for example.

Frankly, both the Quirk ' Metro 'proposal and the Harding Light Rail proposal are election votebait and are without merit, in our opinion. Will they ever be built? Probably not.

Unacceptably, the ' Metro ' is manual and is proposed to be constructed on land and infrastructure BCC does not own. The Light Rail proposal, in effect, puts steel wheels on the existing CityGlider bus for $1.2 billion. It exhumes a dead-and-buried alignment and is likely to be no more faster or frequent than the existing 66 bus to UQ Lakes. It adds no new destinations to the transport network and wastefully duplicates existing busway, railway and CityCat infrastructure, which is just incredible for a project that costs that much.

It is time both major parties stopped putting out election votebait that they will only cancel or mothball after the election is over. The people of Brisbane did not come down in the last shower.*

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

* The people of Brisbane have already had to put up with the scam and charade that was Cross River Rail 1, The Cleveland 'solution', and BaT.

Bir-Hakeim Station, Paris Metro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir-Hakeim_(Paris_M%C3%A9tro)

Montreal Metro, Canada


Paris Metro

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane Mayoral race: Both candidates' plans are 'absolute bullsh--', lobby group says

BRISBANE faces 10 years of traffic gridlock regardless of who wins the battle for City Hall, according to public transport campaigners.

Lobby group RAIL Back on Track has dismissed LNP Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's Brisbane Metro proposal and a light rail scheme announced by his Labor rival Rod Harding as unnecessary "vote bait''thought-bubbles.

"We think both of them are absolute bullsh%t to put it bluntly,'' spokesman Robert Dow said yesterday.

"Both major party challengers are putting up hi-gloss, headline-arresting proposals. But these projects would not be built for at least 10 years -- if ever. Brisbane is going to choke and gridlock on itself in that time,'' he said.

he focus should be on ensuring the city's $5 billion Cross River Rail went ahead, providing a second train route through the central city. That, combined with bus route reforms, would go a long way towards solving Brisbane's congestion, Mr Dow said.

"This other stuff is farcical. What we require and expect from our civic leaders is rational clear thinking, but what we're getting is rubbish.''

Mr Quirk's $1.54 billion Brisbane Metro system would carry up to 30,000 passengers an hour on high-speed, rubber-tyred vehicles, using the existing southeast and inner northern busways and an underground system through the CBD.

But Mr Dow said the plan depended on using land and infrastructure the City Council does not even own. "We are not even sure that this is the best alignment for a metro, because no proper alignment options analysis has been done. The vague proposal will wreck the inner city bus network.''

Mr Harding, meanwhile, proposes a light rail linking Newstead and Fortitude Valley through to CBD to West End and the University of Queensland.

"Rod Harding is basically taking the existing CityGlider and putting it on steel wheels at a cost of $1.2 billion,'' Mr Dow said. " It adds no new destinations to the network, and is likely to be no faster or frequent than the existing route 66 bus to UQ Lakes.''

Mr Quirk said his Metro would "deliver real action on traffic congestion'', cutting buses into the CBD by 200 an hour and making more available in the suburbs.

"It will be built over the next six years and provide a 100 year life for Brisbane.'' he said it was fully costed and Council would pick up most of the bill.

Mr Harding said light rail was in addition to $600 million worth of projects he had already announced to tackle the "traffic congestion crisis'' facing Brisbane and get commuters on to public transport. "With an extra one million people to call Brisbane home in the next 15 years we must plan for this growth, now.''

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

27th February 2016

Don't trust Graham Quirk with Brisbane's Bus Network

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has demonstrated that he hasn't got what it takes to deliver a decent bus network for
Brisbane, in our opinion.

The key problem is the bus network and the inability of Brisbane City Council and the State Government to fix
it. All other Australian Capital Cities don't trust local government to run public transport. Sydney has its
buses run by NSW Government company State Transit. Perth has its buses run by three private contractors under
public agency TransPerth.

In NSW, buses, metros and light rail are State Government initiatives and are not local council projects.

In theory, the Queensland Government decides which bus routes go where and how often. In practice, this is not
the case. We know this because this theory was tested during the 2013 TransLink Bus Review. In the real world,
Brisbane City Council actively blocked the bus review, refusing to send staff to meetings on six separate
occasions. A cosmetic bus review followed, leaving critical problems with the bus network such as waste,
duplication and 'black holes' intact.

Waste and duplication increase bus service costs. So the Queensland Government increased fares.

Residents are angry that there are 'black holes' in Brisbane City Council's bus network.  Yeronga, Bulimba,
The Centenary Suburbs and The Northwest are all 'black hole' areas. By rejecting the 2013 TransLink Bus Review,
the Lord Mayor effectively cancelled proposed service upgrades to their suburbs. Uber has now moved into this space,
profiting from the lack of bus service there.

The removal of the Coronation Drive's bus lane now means Western Suburbs residents are caught on buses in traffic
gridlock. In one incident, a newspaper journalist endured a one hour forty-five minute trip from Indooroopilly to the
Brisbane CBD.

The Lord Mayor rejected bus reform at the time saying "the bus network is not broken and does not need a radical
overhaul". He also said that he would "never ever" implement such reforms and that they were absolutely "off the
table".

Other cities reformed their bus networks. Brisbane's Sister City of Auckland, NZ reviewed its bus network. Hobart completely
reviewed its bus network, cutting bus network complexity by 50%. Houston, USA massively expanded bus service
across the entire city at neutral cost. In fact, the Auckland bus review involved the former head of Brisbane
Transport Neil Cagney, who now runs a transport consulting firm on Coronation Drive.

Importantly, none of these cities are building a metro in order to fix their bus networks. They are just getting
on with fixing their bus network directly.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has demonstrated that he cannot deliver basic public transport to the people of Brisbane.
We don't need his metro to fix the bus network. We just need to fix the bus network directly, now. Introduce all door
boarding, simplify the bus network and introduce superbuses on key bus routes.

In November 2014, we sent our New Bus Network proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork directly to Brisbane City Council.
What have they done with it?

This isn't just a bus network crisis. It is fundamentally a crisis of leadership and action. Brisbane City Council's
bus network is inefficient and obsolete.


Contact:

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

References:

Reveal Bus Service Changes Transport Minister Told
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/reveal-bus-services-changes-transport-minister-told-20130212-2ebc9.html

Uber chalks up 2.5 million rides in Brisbane in just 18 months
http://www.smh.com.au/business/uber-chalks-up-25-million-rides-in-brisbane-in-just-18-months-20151021-gkf1lk.html

"The company puts its popularity in Brisbane down to the "transport desert" across the city, where it says 59 per
cent of its rides either end or begin.

"Our data shows residents of public transport deserts are using Uber to extend the reach and use of existing
public transport networks," a spokesman said."

Houston (USA) bus reforms http://humantransit.org/2014/05/houston-a-transit-network-reimagined.html

[ozbob]

From RAIL Back On Track facebook page

TransLink was introduced in 2003 with the promise of "integrated public transport". Almost 16 years later, the only thing about our public transport that is "integrated" is the fare system.

Several Brisbane mayoral candidates are proposing to undo the limited integration we have, promising cheaper fares for Brisbane residents only. This undermines the purpose of the integrated ticketing system and creates an unfair two-tiered approach to fares.

While we appreciate that this highlights the fare-failure at the state level, any changes to fares should be across the board and managed by TransLink, not local councils.

A fare review is currently underway. It's time for council candidates to campaign on local issues.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

29th February 2016

Candidates Urged to Act on Bus Network 'Black Holes'

'Black Holes' within Brisbane City Council's bus network have been ignored for years. With the March 19 election fast approaching, now is the time to act on these 'black holes' in the bus network. Our New Bus Network Proposal identified five 'black hole' areas within Brisbane's Bus Network:

1. Bulimba
2. Yeronga
3. Centenary Suburbs (Riverhills, Middle Park, Mt Ommaney etc)
4. Northwest Suburbs (Eatons Hill, Albany Creek, McDowall etc.)
5. UQ Campus staff and students living in the Inner North West (The Gap, Ashgrove, Bardon) going to UQ St Lucia.

Controversial ride sharing company Uber is profiting from the lack of Brisbane City Council bus services in these areas, describing Brisbane as a "transport desert".

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk has had plenty of time to fix it. In fact, he was handed the bus review in 2013 and given carte blanche to make whatever changes he wanted. So, what did the Lord Mayor do? He cancelled proposed bus upgrades to these suburbs, and cut bus and ferry services across the city.

He clung to the philosophy that every bus must run to the CBD. And when you do that, you won't have enough money leftover to make those buses worth catching. They will be infrequent and you will be unable to supply decent all-day service. That is the reason why these suburbs are 'black hole' areas.

The Lord Mayor wants to pin the blame for high fares on the Queensland Government by asking it to reset fares to 2009 levels, but that is not the whole story.

Failure to reform the bus network helps push up fares. Indeed, The Commission of Audit under the Newman administration singled out increasing costs at Brisbane City Council's bus operations as a threat to Queensland Government finances:

"Increases in the payment required to be made to operators (especially to Brisbane Transport) for the provision of bus services are a significant financial risk for the State,"

If the Queensland Government reduces fares to 2009 levels, would the Lord Mayor discount his monopoly bus contract charges to the Queensland Government back to 2009 levels also?

This is why we think the fare reduction policies announced by Rod Harding (ALP), Graham Quirk (LNP) and Ben Pennings (GRN) are election gimmicks. Their fare policies reduce the ticket price but do not improve the productivity of the bus network. Their policies will only transfer costs from family budgets to the city budget and then back to family budgets again when city rates are due. How is that a solution? A fare review is underway and this will determine future fare options for SEQ and BCC.

Brisbane City Council's bus network must be dealt with. The bus network is broken. Services need to be fast and frequent to attract more passengers and fare revenue. Wasteful competition with the rail network must cease. Black holes must be filled in, and the bus network radically simplified. We have shown how to do this with our New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

We can't wait 10 years or more for Graham Quirk's metro or Rod Harding's Light Rail dreams to deliver, if ever. We need action on Bus Reform now.

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

References:

New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

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

Commission of Audit Findings
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/audit-creates-more-uncertainty-for-bus-users-20130430-2iqxa.html

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

Uber chalks up 25 million rides in Brisbane
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/uber-chalks-up-25-million-rides-in-brisbane-in-just-18-months-20151021-gkf1lk

"The company puts its popularity in Brisbane down to the "transport desert" across the city, where it says 59 per cent of its rides either end or begin.

"Our data shows residents of public transport deserts are using Uber to extend the reach and use of existing public transport networks," a spokesman said."

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 29th February 2016 page 21

No trust in Brisbane's bus network

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's faux pas there for all to see

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane council election: Gloves come off amid claims of negative campaigning

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

3rd March 2016

BCC Election 2016: Public Transport Policy 'Near Death Experience'?

Greetings.

It has been interesting to watch candidates scramble to sell transit policies to Brisbane voters. This area has been absolutely neglected by the Lord Mayor, particularly Bus Reform. The current bus network is well and truly broken. The system has failed, and Brisbane City Council's bus network has been exposed for what it is - cost-explosive, not meeting basic TransLink on time standards, riddled with waste, inefficiency and duplication. Just yesterday, extensive congestion and delays again affected the Brisbane City Council bus network.

There are still no policies for new BUZ or CityGlider routes from the Lord Mayor, or anything much in the way of Bus Reforms. Why? The ' Metro ' is just rolled gold fantasy!

Similarly, challenger Rod Harding's Light Rail has been exposed as a gimmick that simply puts steel wheels on the existing CityGlider for $1.2 billion. It adds no new destinations, no new mobility, and won't be faster, more reliable, or more frequent than options existing already.

He too has not announced any new BUZ or CityGlider routes. Why?

The Greens policies are commendable. Their CentenaryGlider service has very strong community support and is achievable within a single term of office, for a fraction of the cost of Metro or Light Rail vote bait.

All the policies election candidates need in the public transport policy sphere, we have put out there on a silver platter:

1. Fill in 'Black holes' - Yeronga, Centenary, Bulimba and Northwest
2. Fix bus transport for UQ Campus staff and students to UQ living in Enoggera, Ashgrove, Bardon, The Gap and along Hawken Dr.
3. Introduce all door boarding
4. Introduce superbuses (150 pax) on key routes such as 66 UQ Lakes
5. FIX THE BUS NETWORK - See our New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Metro and Light Rail are vote bait policy options that would not be delivered for at least another two BCC elections away, if ever. We refuse to wait that long - bus reform is achievable and affordable NOW.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

Brisbane City Council Bus Delays
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=2695.msg170164#msg170164

[ozbob]

3 March 2016

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times --> Public transport still a sham across Brisbane

RAIL Back on Track has long called for Brisbane City Council's bus contracts to be discontinued and legislation passed banning Brisbane City Council from operating public transport. All other States and Territories organise public transport at the State level and do not subcontract a local government to deliver services.

Brisbane City Council has a long history of resisting bus reform. Its network is obsolete, enormous 'black holes' exist in coverage, there is waste, inefficiency and duplication galore. Fares have exploded, no doubt due in large part to the increasing costs at Brisbane City Council.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk was handed carte blanche to make whatever changes he wanted to the bus network in 2013. It was made very clear that the bus network needed reform. The opportunity to reform was wasted.

Bus reform would have given Brisbane Australia's best bus network and provided excellent services to 'black hole' areas such as Bulimba, Yeronga, The Centenary Suburbs and the Northwest.

Now the bus network has collapsed, as we had been constantly warning for years.

The reliability is the worst in South East Queensland by a large margin, and this is with exclusive busway infrastructure in Brisbane that all other regions do not have.

Is it just one performance standard for private bus operators, and another standard for Brisbane City Council?

What exactly has to happen before the Transport Minister and State Government act?

Transport Minister, fire Brisbane City Council as a bus operator.

If Brisbane City Council knows that its monopolist contract for bus services is just going to be renewed no matter how good or bad its performance is, why would it change?

Brisbane City Council isn't even meeting TransLink performance standards!

The State Government should take over bus operations, just like it is done in Sydney with State Transit Buses.

Is there any leadership left at City Hall or George Street?

We have shown that bus network reform will deliver. Time to act!

ROBERT DOW Rail Back on Track

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

4th March 2016

Brisbane Council Elections 2016: Don't Eat The Vote Bait!

Greetings,

What do these three interstate projects below have in common? The answer is, they are vote bait in our opinion. None are delivered. But they did win a certain party office - for a while. Voters ultimately realised they were being duped, and the game was up. This is why we and the media need to be extraordinarily skeptical of the policies Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and challenger Rod Harding are pushing.

Rail to Melbourne Airport

"There is no details about how much the project may cost, and how it will be funded, or even when it may be built by. The premier says you'll have to trust him and wait until the May budget."

Rail to Doncaster

Rail to Avalon Airport



A politician in the first video sums up the ruse very succinctly:

"This is a joke... [the premier] promised rail links to Avalon, to Doncaster, to Rowville, none of them have been delivered."

The Metro and Light Rail projects being pedalled by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and challenger Rod Harding are vote bait in our opinion. They will not be delivered for another two council election cycles, if ever. Quirk's metro is to be built on land and infrastructure Brisbane City Council does not own or control. It is manual and there are questions over whether the alignment is optimal.

Rod Harding's proposal essentially puts steel wheels on the existing CityGlider for $1.2 BILLION. That's the most expensive public transport wheel change in human history. Harding's light Rail also requires $500+ million injection from Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Does the Premier have the funds for that?

Unfortunately, The University of Queensland appears to have hooked itself on this vote bait proposal. Perhaps caught up in the image and romance of Light Rail,  it has not realised that it does not represent an improvement on the status quo. It's not going to be faster, more frequent, more reliable, more environmentally friendly, move more people, or give anyone better access than improved buses or the busway into UQ Lakes. With that said, what exactly does UQ think the benefit is?

Brisbane must move away from this 'razzle dazzle' votebait sideshow and back to the nuts and bolts of how to deliver the now overdue Cross River Rail (not delivered after 8 years) and Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's dumped whole-of-bus-network Bus Reform from 2013. Superbuses carrying 150 pax or more need to be introduced to the network. The Fares Review Panel can be re-purposed to perform a bus review and start where TransLink left off in 2013.

Will Graham Quirk and Rod Harding contribute to Cross River Rail? Will the Lord Mayor let bus reform finally proceed?

Spin catches up with you hey?

Best wishes
Robert

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

References:

Rail to Avalon Airport
http://economicdevelopment.vic.gov.au/transport/rail-and-roads/public-transport/avalon-airport-rail-link

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

4th March 2016

Super-buses

Greetings,

What are super-buses?  Super-buses are like trams, minus the wires and track.  They can use existing busway and road infrastructure.
( A series of videos on super-buses can be viewed here > http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11326.0 )

Brisbane is unique in Australia, in that it has a network of bus-ways.  It makes a lot of sense to further optimise that existing by the introduction of super-buses.  This together with network reform will get rid of the CBD bus congestion, at a great deal less cost than either of the half baked proposals by Lord Mayor Quirk (Metro) and ALP Lord Mayor Candidate Rod Harding (Light Rail).

It may surprise some that the concept of super-buses for Brisbane is not new.  In 2008, Brisbanetimes published an article:

Catch the bus? It could soon look like this

> http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/catch-the-bus-it-could-soon-look-like-this/2008/05/15/1210765033830.html



Not much happened hey?

The collective expert opinion* is that we need to move forward with bus reform, and drive bulk mass transit capacity on rail.  Cross River Rail is the essential project for Brisbane and SEQ.

Bus reform means super-buses on the busways and reducing the number of near empty buses clogging up the CBD.  It means more buses for cross suburban and feeder bus routes to key rail and bus transit exchanges. Bus services can be more frequent where they are needed.

It is a great tragedy for Brisbane that both the LNP and ALP have got their key transport policies incorrect.

It is still not too late to change tack to a positive, achievable, and really beneficial policy position is it?

Time will tell.

Best wishes
Robert

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

* Solving Brisbane's public transport woes: experts tell
> http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/solving-brisbanes-public-transport-woes-experts-tell-20160301-gn7tol.html

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane leadership contest the closest in 12 years

[techblitz]

harding looking more and more like a shoe-in......especially since the greens will more than likely preference him......

[ozbob]

I wouldn't say a ' shoe in '  however it would be good if there was a change in the overall council makeup.  The Metro is dead, even if Quirk re-elected IMHO.

Should Harding win, the light rail will never get built as the business case will not stack up. And there is no way the state will prop it up for half a billion $$.  The fare review will trump FFF in the end.

Proper network reform will more than likely proceed. 

[techblitz]

the irony is when the courier mail did thier poll on harding light rail vs 1.4b metro.....quirk had a 60-30 approval rating......i guess thats just been reversed
Yep bus reform looking more and more like a shoe-in as the state struggles to come up with funds......BT/BCC/RBTU will eventually have to cave-in......simply a waiting game...

[ozbob]

Twitter

Team Quirk ‏@Team_Quirk 3 minutes ago

LM announcing major upgrade at iconic Mt Coot-tha including new zip line. More details to follow #bnevotes

[verbatim9]

I would like the local elections conincide on the same day as state elections. There might be different issues but most people can figure that out. Get it over and done with in one hit.

[#Metro]

I liken Blue Team's campaign to a 'scatter gun'. It's random small stuff each week.

[James]

Proper network reform will more than likely proceed.

Optimistic. Both sides have been running around like blithering idiots and totally ignoring the idea of "integrated transit" and the obvious idea of network reform. Setting up BT-only transit zones, ignoring CRR and focusing on Victoria Bridge alone, the list goes on. Likewise, all but Emerson were running around in 2013 like the sky was falling in when network reform was tried then.

I would be surprised to see network reform this side of 2020. I invite the two major parties to prove me wrong.

[verbatim9]

Voted today @ City Hall my vote locked in and decision on 4 year terms 👍