SEQ fares

[achiruel]

All I see is a person that's not very good at maths.

Distance from the Ipswich CBD to the Brisbane CBD is 42 km. Driving a fairly economical car like a Toyota Yaris, consuming 5.5 litres/100 km (it'll probably be more in peak hour traffic) and an average petrol price of $1.80/litre, the weekly fuel bill for a 5 day week would be $41.58, or $8.32/day. Add that to the parking fee, and that's a total of $22.32/day, and that's before factoring in increased car maintenance costs and depreciation due to the extra kms. Additionally, if they were travelling 5 days/week, F riday would be at 50% off, making the average daily cost $11.94.

So driving is easily double the cost of taking the train, assuming this person works in the CBD 5 days/week. Even if it's 4 or less, the cost is probably still double, taking the non-fuel/parking costs into consideration.

[HappyTrainGuy]

But if work has free parking that's another story...

[SurfRail]

She's early bird parking at the convention centre, not the CBD.

[achiruel]

She's early bird parking at the convention centre, not the CBD.

Doesn't change the equation by much, and realistically my estimate of fuel consumption is probably a little on the low side. Not many cars will get 5.5 in heavy peak hour traffic.

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2023/709-2023.pdf

Question on Notice
No. 709
Asked on 25 May 2023

MRS L GERBER ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS AND MINISTER
FOR DIGITIAL SERVICES (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

Will the Minister provide (reported separately for each of the last four calendar years and for each
go card type (adult, senior, child etc)), (a) the average amount of money spent on travel per go
card (excluding cards not used during that period), (b) the maximum amount used on any go
card, (c) the average number of trips taken per go card (excluding cards not used during that
period) and (d) the most number of trips taken using a go card?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Currumbin for the question.

The Palaszczuk Government is committed to making public transport accessible for all
Queenslanders, and provides assistance through public transport concessions, ticketing products
and schemes. A broad range of concessions are available to eligible concession cardholders to
ensure the benefits are received by those who need them most. Revenue collected from public
transport fares falls well short of the funding required to provide public transport services, with
the Queensland Government historically subsidising over 80 per cent of transport operator costs.
go cards allow customers to travel on all Translink bus, train, ferry and tram services across
greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast regions. The Palaszczuk Government
is investing $371 million in Translink's new Smart Ticketing system, introducing new ways
customers can plan and pay for public transport across Queensland. Smart Ticketing introduces
new payment methods including Visa, Mastercard and American Express contactless debit, or
credit cards, smart watches, smartphones and other smart devices, in addition to go cards and
paper tickets.

With reference to go card usage over the last four years from 2019 to 2022:

. the average amount of money spent on travel using a go card will vary depending on zones
travelled, travel during off-peak or peak times, and if travelling on a concession
. customers are encouraged to make extra daily trips on the network by allowing them to
make use of our one, two and free policy for seniors and some concession groups
. all standard go cards can make use of the eight and 50 per cent frequent user discount,
which allows discounted journeys for the remainder of a week, once eight paid journeys
have been undertaken
. child go cards also have unlimited free travel on weekends
. generally, the average number of trips and fares have reduced as public transport usage
recovers from the impacts of COVID-19. Travel patterns have also changed due to working
and studying from home arrangements.

(a) The average spend per Adult go card:
– in 2022, was $126
– in 2021, was $148
– in 2020, was $137
– in 2019, was $145.

The average spend per Child go card:
– in 2022, was $43
– in 2021, was $52
– in 2020, was $52
– in 2019, was $51.

The average spend per Seniors go card:
– in 2022, was $32
– in 2021, was $33
– in 2020, was $33
– in 2019, was $41.

The average spend per Concession go card:
– in 2022, was $100
– in 2021, was $103
– in 2020, was $99
– in 2019, was $123.

(b) The maximum spend on any Adult go card:
– in 2022, was $5311
– in 2021, was $5856
– in 2020, was $6254
– in 2019, was $4793.

The maximum spend on any Child go card:
– in 2022, was $1290
– in 2021, was $1238
– in 2020, was $1292
– in 2019, was $1118.

The maximum spend on any Seniors go card:
– in 2022, was $2322
– in 2021, was $2374
– in 2020, was $2361
– in 2019, was $2035.

The maximum spend on any Concession go card:
– in 2022, was $1987
– in 2021, was $2329
– in 2020, was $2781
– in 2019, was $2011.

(c) The average number of trips per Adult go card:
– in 2022, was 37
– in 2021, was 45
– in 2020, was 41
– in 2019, was 44.

The average number of trips per Child go card:
– in 2022, was 27
– in 2021, was 35
– in 2020, was 34
– in 2019, was 35.

The average number of trips per Seniors go card:
– in 2022, was 30
– in 2021, was 34
– in 2020, was 32
– in 2019, was 33.

The average number of trips per Concession go card:
– in 2022, was 77
– in 2021, was 81
– in 2020, was 78
– in 2019, was 104.

(d) The most trips taken using an Adult go card:
– in 2022, was 2074
– in 2021, was 2223
– in 2020, was 2891
– in 2019, was 2272.

The most trips taken using a Child go card:
– in 2022, was 1457
– in 2021, was 1342
– in 2020, was 1942
– in 2019, was 1742.

The most trips taken using a Seniors go card:
– in 2022, was 5260
– in 2021, was 3379
– in 2020, was 3461
– in 2019, was 3472.

The most trips taken using a Concession go card:
– in 2022, was 3196
– in 2021, was 4796
– in 2020, was 5861
– in 2019, was 6883.

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2023/763-2023.pdf

Question on Notice
No. 763
Asked on 14 June 2023

MR S MINNIKIN ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS AND MINISTER
FOR DIGITIAL SERVICES (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

Will the Minister provide the total number of go cards that have been used in the last 12 months
(reported separately by type (adult, senior etc))?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Chatsworth for the question.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads is committed to providing a single, integrated
transport system accessible to everyone. Queenslanders use public transport to connect to jobs,
education, health and other essential services.

go cards allow customers to travel on all Translink bus, train, ferry and tram services across
greater Brisbane, Ipswich, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast regions.

The total number of go cards used between 1 June 2022 to 31 May 2023, reported separately by
go card type, was as follows:
. adult – 1,729,647
. child – 245,269
. seniors – 293,356
. concession – 405,754.

For the 12 months ending 31 May 2023, over 2.67 million go cards were used across the network
in South East Queensland (SEQ). This compares encouragingly with pre-COVID-19 figures which
were around 2.76 million go cards being used in the 2018–19 financial year.
The Palaszczuk Government is investing $371 million in a new Smart Ticketing system that
enables customers to pay for public transport using a Visa, Mastercard or American Express
contactless debit or credit card, smartphone, smart watch or smart device. Smart Ticketing is
currently available for travel on adult go card fares between all G:link, Queensland Rail (SEQ)
and Airtrain stations.

[ozbob]

"Ways to save on travel

Stretch your travel budget further in South East Queensland with our top tips.

Use go card or Smart Ticketing to travel – fares are at least 30% cheaper than a paper ticket.

Travel-off peak if you can – you'll save 20% on your go card or smart ticketing fare on weekdays before 6am, 8.30am to 3.30pm or after 7pm; all weekend; and public holidays.

Make 8 journeys in a 7 day period then save 50% – from Monday to Sunday with go card and Smart Ticketing.

Take the kids with you for free – children under 5 travel free at all times, and children aged 5 to 14 travel free on weekends with an orange go card."