QLD PT Patronage data from FY 12/13 through to 16/17

[ozbob]

This data was obtained through a successful  RTI Application Number 135-05892  TMR

Time to get to work troops!   

SEQ > https://backontrack.org/docs/rti/SEQPatronageData.xlsx

Regional Queensland > https://backontrack.org/docs/rti/RegionalQldPatronageData.xlsx

Note: Two third parties (bus operators in Yeppoon and Airlie Beach/Whitsundays) objected to the release of their information.
Consequently, information relating to these entities has been removed from the workbooks.

[ozbob]

I will be submitting an RTI for the patronage data for FY 17/18 at the end of September. done 2nd September 2018. 

Today is Diamonds ..

[ozbob]

I have started some region specific threads as it will help to keep the discussion more organised and relevant.

In time the threads will grow in number.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1035723021330202624

[ozbob]

I have today submitted a RTI Application for the patronage data for FY 17/18.

[ozbob]

Summary of passenger number changes from FY 12/13 through to FY 16/17

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036097765825114112

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

2nd September 2018

Public transport data released under RTI - Ipswich in serious trouble

Greetings,

RAIL Back On Track was recently successful in a RTI Application for public transport data for Queensland ( see http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=13284.0 ).  We have long been after data for bus routes and railway station entrys (trips), the data is not made publicly available routinely as for some other jurisdictions. So we are pleased to have the data from financial years 2012/13 through to 2016/17.  Today we have made RTI application for the 2017/18 passenger data.

We have looked at the SEQ rail patronage in some detail already (see below).  The real surprise is that the line with the strongest growth was the Doomben line.  Considering the particularly poor frequency on weekdays and the limited service on Saturdays this was unexpected.  The Doomben line does not operate on Sundays.  There is a case for operating this line 7 days a week, and improving the frequency and span on all days of the week to continue to drive patronage growth.

Particularly alarming has been the fall off in patronage on the Ipswich - Rosewood line. Opening of the Springfield Central line (FY 13/14) would have taken some pax from Goodna and Wacol, and Gailes but not enough to explain the significant drop in patronage.
Folks have given up sadly.  There has also been a drop off in Western bus patronage as well as rail fail impacted (see below).  We have been suggesting for some time now that the Western bus network needs an urgent review to correct the bus timings ( often late due to traffic congestion issues), and review the actual routes, span and frequency.  The data supports this call.

The rail and bus networks for the Western region are not delivering, people have been forced to abandon public transport.  We call on our Members of Parliament for the Western Region, and the Ipswich City Council to start seriously pressing the State Government and TransLink for proper reform and hastening of the recovery of the full rail timetable.  Rail fail has had serious impacts on the Ipswich region as the data demonstrates.

Best wishes,

Robert

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

Summary of SEQ rail passenger number changes from FY 12/13 through to FY 16/17



Station entrys (trips) Wacol through to Rosewood
18.4% reduction from FY 12/13 through to FY 16/17.



Western bus patronage data

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036135653887467520

[ozbob]

Sunshine Coast Daily 4th September 2018 page 5

Public transport use slides



https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036654941228560388

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036656170025414657

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036699154918006784

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036657434570321931

[ozbob]

Sunshine Coast Daily 4th September 2018 page 14

Transport solutions missing

[ozbob]

Sunshine Coast Daily --> Commuter advocates call for public transport authority

PUBLIC transport usage on the Sunshine Coast has fallen during the past five years despite a rapid increase in population.

It's a situation repeated across the southeast Queensland network and has resulted in calls for a separately-funded Public Transport Authority as a stand alone entity to fix what adovated describe as a failing system.

Figures obtained by Rail Back On Track using Right To Information legislation have revealed the extent of the failure to drive greater public transport patronage.

Since 2012/13 rail patronage was down five per cent from 464,940 to 441,329 in 2016-17.

Similarly numbers using buses fell 7.13 per cent from 3,861,483 in 2012-13 to 3,585,969 in 2016-17.

Commuter advocate Jeff Addison said the popularity of public transport was decreasing while the population increased because it was failing to meet community needs.

He said the North Coast Rail line delivered only single-track levels of service and the State Government's Fairer Fares policy that reduced costs across the network had no positive impact.

"The government needs to deliver services that meet the needs of a growing community," Mr Addison said.

He said commuters were driving to Caboolture to catch trains into Brisbane because of delays and lack of service further north towards Nambour.

Some bus routes have increased in popularity to places like the University of the Sunshine Coast at Sippy Downs and the regional university hospital at Birtinya.

But Mr Addison said there had been a a linear downward trend in overall numbers using public transport.

"Something it not working," he said. "A review is needed."

Rail Back On Track spokesman Robert Dow said TransLink was not working.

"The data shows the network is in trouble," he said. "We need a proper Public Transport Authority with the resources, authority and skill sets needed."

Mr Dow said electronic records only went back to 2012-13 meaning the advocacy group had not been able to access 10-year trends, with the previous five years held in paper files.

"The rail network needs to carry twice the numbers as it now attracts," he said.

"We need an integrated public transport model."

Mr Dow said it was ridiculous community groups had to use Right To Information legislation and pay to access what were publicly-available records in other states.

A Palaszczuk Government spokesperson described the patronage figures as more than 12 months old and came before record number of trips in 2017/18, a result Mr Dow attributed to Commonwealth Games travel rather than a change in the five-year trend.

"In the 2017/18 financial year, train trips on the Sunshine Coast line (from Elimbah to Gympie North) increased by 8.5 per cent, or about 59,000 trips," the government spokesperson said.

"Sunshine Coast bus patronage increased by about 155,000 trips in 2017-18, compared to the previous financial year - an increase of three per cent.

"Across TransLink's southeast Queensland public transport network, the 182.83 million trips recorded was an increase of 5.4 million, or 3.1 per cent higher, than the 2016-17 financial year.

"Train trips increased by 3.4 per cent, increasing by 1.7 million trips, while buses increased by more than 2 million trip, or 1.8 per cent.

"We want more people catching public transport and that has to be supported by a mix of new infrastructure and improved services."

The spokesperson said growth in public transport use has also been building since the introduction of Fairer Fares in late 2016, which had provided more than $111 million to support passengers (as of July 2018).

"The Palaszczuk Government is also delivering a $371 million ticketing system, which will make catching public transport easier from Coolangatta to Cairns," the spokesperson said.

"The new ticketing system will let Sunshine Coast commuters pay for trips via contactless credit or debit cards, smart phones and smart watches; as well as the current cash and Go Card payment options.

"It will also let Sunshine Coast commuters track services in real time on urban qconnect and TransLink networks.

"TransLink continually monitors the performance of its network to ensure it is providing efficient and reliable services.

"We are absolutely committed to publishing open data, and the quarterly TransLink Tracker."

The spokesperson said the former LNP Government cancelled publication of the TransLink tracker, and ushered in a culture of secrecy around the performance of the public transport network.

"All open data figures for both Queensland Rail and TransLink are now published on or around the 10th day of each month," the spokesperson said.

[ozbob]

^ the data in the Monthly Snapshot and the TransLink Tracker ( which is really just massaged monthly snapshots ) is superficial limited data.

The real meaningful stuff is not published, hence the need for RTI etc. 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1036750463020879873

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Bus and ferry patronage dropping, rail patronage flatlining

Bus and ferry patronage has dropped 6 per cent over five years, while rail patronage across the south-east has virtually flatlined, new government data shows.

Analysis of a right to information request by Rail Back on Track revealed while the population grew by almost 6 per cent between 2012 and 2016, there was no similar, corresponding uptake in public transport.

Ninety train stations recorded a drop in passenger figures while 60 stations saw an increase in patronage.

The biggest growth in passenger numbers was seen at Altandi station in Sunnybank with a rise of 120 per cent over five years - from 137,750 passengers in 2012/13 to 303, 767 in 2016/17.

In stark contrast, Thagoona station in Ipswich saw its passenger numbers halved over five years, with just 3647 people passing through in 2016/17 - an average of 10 commuters a day - compared to 7510 in 2012/13.

Figures showed the Doomben train line is busier than the Ipswich to Rosewood line, but gets fewer services - while Landsborough station is busier than all stations north of it.

The Springfield line past Darra and the Redcliffe Peninsula line past Petrie have almost the same total patronage, but the latter is spread over twice as many stations.

Robert Dow of Rail Back on Track said, overall, commuters were shunning public transport because it was not meeting the community's needs.

"Folk have given up sadly and the rail fail has had serious impacts on Ipswich region particularly, as the 18 per cent slump in patronage on the Ipswich-Rosewood line demonstrates," Mr Dow said.

"The opening of the Springfield Central line in December 2013 would have taken some passengers from Goodna, Wacol and Gailes, but not enough to explain the significant drop in patronage.

"There's also been a drop off in Western bus patronage as well. The network needs an urgent review to correct the bus timings and routes."

He said the real surprise was that the line with the strongest growth was the Doomben line.

"Considering the particularly poor frequency on weekdays and the limited service on Saturdays this was unexpected," Mr Dow said.

"The Doomben line does not operate on Sundays. There is a case for operating this line seven days a week, and improving the frequency and span - the time between the first and last services - on all days of the week."

In a statement, a Palaszczuk government spokesman said the data was more than 12 months old and only included figures from the first six months of the government's Fairer Fares implementation.

"The 2017-18 financial year saw a record number of trips on the TransLink south-east Queensland public transport network," he said.

"The 182.83 million trips was an increase of 5.4 million - 3.1 per cent higher - than the 2016-17 financial year.

"Train trips increased by 3.4 per cent (an increase of 1.7 million trips) while buses increased by more than two million trips or 1.8 per cent."

The spokesman added that western bus patronage increased by nearly 400,000 trips in 2017-18 to 2.39 million, up from 2 million trips the previous year.

"The Ipswich-Rosewood line (all stations west of Darra) increased by 2.9 per cent in 2017-18, or about 95,000 trips, when compared to the previous year," he said.

"There has been an increase in patronage on the Doomben line, but the services on the line still have capacity to carry more passengers.

"The needs of communities change over time and TransLink continually monitors the performance of the public transport network to ensure its is providing efficient and reliable services.

"TransLink's network planning team works with public transport operators, including major stakeholders like Brisbane City Council and Queensland Rail, to continually deliver network improvements."

But Rail Back on Track hit back, saying the government was relying on data from the last financial year to claim that the public transport system was improving.

"They're saying there's been an increase in patronage, but where's the data?" Mr Dow said.

"Unless they give us the data, we don't believe them. Because what they're talking about is aggregate figures, which will reflect the big bump in passenger numbers from the Commonwealth Games.

"We put in a request for the 2017-18 data but they didn't provide it to us.

"I think that data will be very inflated because of the Games, it won't give a representative picture.

"We're more interested in the long-term trend over a five period and that trend is devastating for the likes of the Ipswich line.

"It's unacceptable, there's no other word to describe it.

"The last set of data is 12 months old, however, [the government] sat on it. They've covered that data up, they haven't made it public, the line's been deteriorating and what did they do? Nothing. They just let it happen.

"They claim they monitor the performance of all the different elements of the network. They might be doing that but they haven't taken action to stop that decline."

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037006340122542081

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037008250556694528

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 5th September 2018 page 17

Transport networks not delivering

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

5th September 2018

Public transport data released under RTI

Good Morning,

There has been an excellent response by the community ( https://www.facebook.com/RAILBackOnTrack/posts/2217694144911427 ) and media to patronage data released via RTI that RAIL Back On Track made.  It is no wonder the Government and the transport authorities 'hide' this data as it paints a poor picture of years of declining patronage and not much action to address the systematic issues with the public transport network. The monthly TransLink performance snapshot, and the TransLink Tracker (3 massaged monthly performance snapshots essentially) is very superficial and is a feel good exercise rather than one of critical analysis.  One thing is very clear, we need a proper Public Transport Authority for Queensland, with a dedicated Minister for Public Transport that is actually focussed on improving public transport.

Sunshine Coast Daily --> Commuter advocates call for public transport authority

Sunshine Coast Daily 4th September 2018 page 14 Editorial Transport solutions missing

Brisbanetimes --> Bus and ferry patronage dropping, rail patronage flatlining

In their rebuttal Transport staff have been referring to Financial Year 17/18 patronage data. How about releasing the full data set please including station entrys, ferry and bus route patronage and tram so we can verify the claims made?

Why do we have to resort to RTI action for data that should be routinely published every year?

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

2nd September 2018

Public transport data released under RTI - Ipswich in serious trouble

Greetings,

RAIL Back On Track was recently successful in a RTI Application for public transport data for Queensland ( see http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=13284.0 ).  We have long been after data for bus routes and railway station entrys (trips), the data is not made publicly available routinely as for some other jurisdictions. So we are pleased to have the data from financial years 2012/13 through to 2016/17.  Today we have made RTI application for the 2017/18 passenger data.

We have looked at the SEQ rail patronage in some detail already (see below).  The real surprise is that the line with the strongest growth was the Doomben line.  Considering the particularly poor frequency on weekdays and the limited service on Saturdays this was unexpected.  The Doomben line does not operate on Sundays.  There is a case for operating this line 7 days a week, and improving the frequency and span on all days of the week to continue to drive patronage growth.

Particularly alarming has been the fall off in patronage on the Ipswich - Rosewood line. Opening of the Springfield Central line (FY 13/14) would have taken some pax from Goodna and Wacol, and Gailes but not enough to explain the significant drop in patronage.
Folks have given up sadly.  There has also been a drop off in Western bus patronage as well as rail fail impacted (see below).  We have been suggesting for some time now that the Western bus network needs an urgent review to correct the bus timings ( often late due to traffic congestion issues), and review the actual routes, span and frequency.  The data supports this call.

The rail and bus networks for the Western region are not delivering, people have been forced to abandon public transport.  We call on our Members of Parliament for the Western Region, and the Ipswich City Council to start seriously pressing the State Government and TransLink for proper reform and hastening of the recovery of the full rail timetable.  Rail fail has had serious impacts on the Ipswich region as the data demonstrates.

Best wishes,

Robert

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

Summary of SEQ rail passenger number changes from FY 12/13 through to FY 16/17



Station entrys (trips) Wacol through to Rosewood
18.4% reduction from FY 12/13 through to FY 16/17.



Western bus patronage data

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037018503847366656

[ozbob]

Welcome Brian.  I have moved your post to this thread > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=13269.msg213452#msg213452

Our Gold Coast Rep will answer in time.

[ozbob]

I did an earlier prerecorded interview with Cathy Border ABC Gold Coast on the patronage data. Been booked for 6pm ABC Radio Brisbane with Kelly Higgins-Devine. Matt Longland DDG TransLink will be on at 4.30pm today. Now 6pm too ...

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037238813620240384

[ozbob]

For interest:

https://www.queenslandrail.com.au/about%20us/Media%20Centre/Media%20Releases/Archive/2009PassengerLoadSurvey.aspx

2009 Passenger Load Survey

15/09/2009

Queensland Rail conducts annual Passenger Load Surveys to determine patronage on morning and afternoon peak period services.

The survey is a valuable tool which enables Queensland Rail and TransLink to measure patronage on individual services and then use this information to plan future services.

The latest Passenger Load Survey indicates that despite an increase in patronage over the past 12 months, new trains and more services have helped to reduce the number of trains exceeding comfort design capacity during peak periods.   

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

This was very well done.  Lots of detail and utility.  Real shame they stopped being done.

[ozbob]

I did an earlier prerecorded interview with Cathy Border ABC Gold Coast on the patronage data. Been booked for 6pm ABC Radio Brisbane with Kelly Higgins-Devine. Matt Longland DDG TransLink will be on at 4.30pm today. Now 6pm too ...

Interesting interview.  Hopefully I will be able to extract it tomorrow!   

Matt Longland said many things, but there has been a gain of around 3% overall for 17/18 (this excludes the free games travel). 

Looking very much forward to the break up data for 17/18.

[#Metro]

I expect a lot of that would be GC LRT...

[SurfRail]

The light rail uplift purely from Stage 2 opening appears to be around 2 million per annum on the face of it, against which you would need to weigh up the removal of the 709 and the TX1/TX2/TX3, and bus network improvements flowing from those.  I'd be happy if the total uplift was at least around 1 million trips per year, which would be about 5% of the 16/17 figures.

[Gazza]

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/drive/drive/10181190

2:02:00

[ozbob]

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/brisbane/programs/drive/drive/10181190

2:02:00

Interview on ABC Radio Brisbane Drive with Kelly Higgins-Devine,  Robert Dow RBoT, DDG TransLink Matt Longland, and then some further comment from Robert Dow RBoT.  Subject PT Patronage.

Here > https://backontrack.org/docs/abcbris/abcbrisbane_5sep18.mp3 MP3 25MB

If you listen carefully, Mr Longland does admit they have the data.  No reason why route patronage for bus, ferry and tram cannot be regularly published, it is discreet. As I explained in the interview we well understand the complexity with overlapping rail lines (hence the break up of the data we received - sections and outer lines).  We are simply suggesting that station entrys (trips) as supplied in the RTI be made regularly available too, because from that we (and others) can easily discern trends and changes.  I hope on reflection they do publish this data regularly, it is absurd that we have to resort to RTI. (By the way repeated requests for this data internally privately were ignored, constantly - that is why we went RTI in the end).

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037377943683530753

[ozbob]

Queensland Times 6th September 2018 page 4

Passengers desert Ipswich trains, figures show

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037419132021497856

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

6th September 2018

Public Transport Patronage in Queensland - Interviews

Good Morning,

Interviews on ABC Radio Brisbane Drive with Kelly Higgins-Devine,  Robert Dow RBoT, DDG TransLink Matt Longland, and then some further comment from Robert Dow RBoT.  Subject PT Patronage.

Here > https://backontrack.org/docs/abcbris/abcbrisbane_5sep18.mp3 MP3 25MB

If you listen carefully, Mr Longland does admit they have the data.  No reason why route patronage for bus, ferry and tram cannot be regularly published, it is discreet. As I explained in the interview we well understand the complexity with overlapping rail lines (hence the break up of the data we received - sections and outer lines see https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?board=91.0 ).  We are simply suggesting that station entrys (trips) as supplied in the RTI be made regularly available too, because from that we (and others) can easily discern trends and changes.  I hope on reflection they do publish this data regularly, it is absurd that we have to resort to RTI. (By the way repeated requests for this data internally privately were ignored, constantly - that is why we went RTI in the end).

For information here is some data from the PTA WA (Transperth) for rail line patronage - Mandurah line selected.



Other states do provide Mr Longland.  http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/about-us/priorities-and-performance/transport-performance#Mandurah-Line-37

Have a good day!

Best wishes,

Robert

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

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037433314276036608

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037500393490509824

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1037612143095341056

[#Metro]

Some observations

- Great Circle Line patronage, combine the 599, 598 together as they are a paired loop service:

598: 434,971
599: 413,998

Total: 848,969

That's solid patronage.

If we amalgamate 599,598,590 we can transfer almost all 590 pax to 599/598 (reformed):

590: 538,610

Total (amalgamated): 1,387,579 <--- Enough to justify 15 min service

[ozbob]

Quest Westside News 13th September 2018 page 8

Passengers plunge



https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/1040124542025256961