TransLink patronage during COVID-19 situation

[aldonius]

Bob, do you have data from pre covid ?

You can probably do some cross-checking with the monthly origin-destination totals. (I expect you'd need to scale the recent data to match, and then apply that backwards...)

https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/go-card-transaction-data

[ozbob]

Annual data back to FY 2009/10 is available on our forum > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=14382.0

[kram0]

Thanks Bob.

It's seems FY 22/23, nearly back to pre covid levels and from FY 23/24 well and truly back in growth mode. The opening of CRR should help the rail figures significantly.

[Cazza]

The opening of CRR should help the rail figures significantly.

Add the Brisbane BRT... I mean Brisbane Metro with the associated network changes to that list too we should hope.

[ozbob]

I have not given up ... 

> https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?board=96.0

[ozbob]

Updated for September 2021

Spreadsheet --> https://backontrack.org/docs/tl/dashboard/sep21/trips_oct19_sep21.ods



Spreadsheet --> https://backontrack.org/docs/tl/dashboard/sep21/trips_oct19_sep21rec.ods

[ozbob]

Question on Notice
No. 1150
Asked on 12 October 2021

MR R STEVENS ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

Will the Minister provide the number of SEQ public transport trips separately for each Friday in
May, June, July and August 2021?

ANSWER:  > https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2021/1150-2021.pdf

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> How Brisbane public transport explains COVID's impact on tourism, city work

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> TransLink underestimates commuter numbers by 17m, $40m $

A Covid-19-caused commuter shortfall on South East Queensland's public transport network has smashed a $40 million hole in government coffers during the first half of the financial year.

Figures obtained by The Courier-Mail reveal operator TransLink repeatedly over-estimated the number of passengers using its rail, bus, ferry and light rail network between July and November.

The State Government budgeted for patronage to reach 66.5 million across the five months, which would have generated $127.3 million.

However, TransLink data reveals 49.5 million passengers used the network over the period with actual revenue reaching $88.2 million – $40 million lower than expected.

August was the worst month, with budgeted revenue $12.1 million lower than expected and a patronage shortfall of 5.7 million.

Despite the significant missed prediction, a TransLink spokesman said the Department of Transport and Main Roads was optimistic of a passenger rebound in 2022.

"TransLink's priority remains on providing accessible, efficient, customer-focused services and we have continued to run services to schedule in SEQ during Covid-19 to support essential workers and others who rely on the network," he said.

Despite the $40 million budget shortfall, Queensland's transport network is slowly recovering from the pandemic.

In November 10.9 million passengers used the network, 85 per cent of the budgeted 12.9 million.

Patronage has returned to about 69 per cent of pre-pandemic levels after dropping to about 20 per cent early last year. ...

[ozbob]

ABC --> Queenslanders slowly returning to public transport post-pandemic, data shows

Queenslanders are slowly returning to public transport after two years of pandemic-hit patronage, with commuter figures hovering around 68 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

Data from the state transport department shows in the week ending May 22, total patronage across busses, light rail and heavy rail sat at 2.6 million trips.

The comparable week ending May 26 in 2019, before the pandemic began, saw patronage figures at 3.8 million trips.

Ferries were not included in the data as they had only recently returned to operation after being taken off the river during the floods.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said during the first months of the pandemic, patronage dropped as low as 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and that was mirrored again this January and February during the Omicron wave.

"Combine the pandemic, with floods in February and March, and recent heavy rainfalls, it's been a challenging time for commuters," Mr Bailey said.

But, he said, the quick return of commuters to buses and trains showed promise, with the strongest patronage figures shown by the Gold Coast light rail where patronage topped 77 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

About 600,000 people are now using the G:Link tram monthly. ...

[300LA]

ABC --> Queenslanders slowly returning to public transport post-pandemic, data shows

- "About 600,000 people are now using the G:Link tram monthly." @ 77% of pre covid levels

- "Heavy rail trips rose to 62% of pre-COVID levels, with 673,841 trips taken over the week"

I knew G:link was popular. But wow!
I'm surprised at those numbers. That the entire QR network is only carrying 4-5x more Pax that 1x tramline seems astonishing!!

[SurfRail]

^ It was the same with pre-Covid numbers - it was at or around 12m per annum just before it all hit, while QR was still languishing at around 50m.

QR patronage figures won't go up meaningfully until they implement service upgrades which they could quite easily do even now. 

It is entirely possible to run 15 minute off-peak and weekend headways in both direction to every station on the network right now, except for the following where more infrastructure is needed:
- the Doomben branch
- south of Kuraby (assuming no change to the Beenleigh and Gold Coast line patterns)
- north of Caboolture (where it currently wouldn't be viable anyway)
- west of Ipswich (Ipswich trains could run to Thomas St and Wulkuraka but for the short platforms, and west of there is unnecessary)

The only limit for the rest of the system is willingness to pay for more services to run, and in the short term the availability of rollingstock due to the NGR fixes going on.

We don't need CRR, Gold Coast-Logan Faster Rail or any other big ticket projects to get this level of service up and running, the government is just completely missing in action.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Queensland commuters set post-COVID record as smart ticketing trial expands

Public transport use in Brisbane has surged, new data has shown, but it is still well down on pre-pandemic levels.

Now authorities hope a ticketless payment trial, which will be extended to another major train line on Monday, will encourage more people to use public transport in south-east Queensland.

During the first months of the pandemic, and in the first two months of this year during the Omicron wave, patronage dropped to as low as 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

Translink data to be released on Monday shows 527,048 trips were made on Tuesday, August 9 — the highest single-day usage since the pandemic was declared.

The previous post-pandemic high was 521,343, recorded on March 10 last year. ...

Post-pandemic record
The 527,048 trips recorded on August 9, 2022, was the most since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.

Previous post-pandemic high
The previous high for most trips since the pandemic was 521,343 on March 10, 2021.


Still a way to go
Passenger trips were still only at about 73 per cent of pre-pandemic levels for the week ending August 14, 2022.

Gold Coast light rail leads the way
Light rail patronage has reached 94.5 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Ekka revival
Patronage on the Ekka public holiday was around 80.6 per cent compared to before COVID-19.

====

^  this selective release of data when it suits Government p%sses me right off.  Why on earth do we have to wait 6 weeks for the ' monthly performance snap shots ' for the previous month? For example we still haven't got the July data, it will be available around September 10th. Here they are releasing August data.

This data should be updated daily on a real time dashboard setup.  Yes, public transport management in Queensland is mediocre. This is just another example.

[ozbob]

^
https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1561359111824211968

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RailExpressNews/status/1561563572039086080

[ozbob]

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/96002

Public transport patronage surges to post-pandemic high
22nd August 2022

Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

More Queenslanders are choosing public transport as their mode of travel with commuter figures hitting the highest level since the pandemic began.

Translink data shows 527,048 trips were made on the South East Queensland network on Tuesday 9 August, which marked the peak daily patronage figure since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.

The number of trips on 9 August surpassed the previous high of 521,343 trips completed on 10 March 2021.

Public transport patronage for the week ending 14 August 2022 is above 73 per cent compared to pre-pandemic travel across bus, ferry, light rail and heavy rail combined.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the increasing commuter figures were encouraging and reflected strong confidence in the public transport network.

"The positive uptick shows Queenslanders are choosing public transport more often," Mr Bailey said.

"Our priority now is to continue encouraging public transport use and sustaining this growth by planning a reliable, safe, and accessible Queensland passenger transport system right across the state.

"From the figures, we can see that light rail on the Gold Coast continues to be a strong performer, which customers returning to the G at higher rates than other modes of transport.

"We are continuing to invest in public transport at record amounts, to provide people with easy and convenient public transport access."

Mr Bailey said new Cross River Rail stations would increase attraction to public transport due to their location.

"Having new CBD stations, and a station at the doorstep of the Gabba will open up the transport network to so many new people who may not have had a station near them," he said.

"We're not just building Cross River Rail, we're building a new network.

"Our SEQ Rail Connect document outlines a pipeline of investment and opportunity.

"There are also more than thirty stations across the network either in the planning, procurement or delivery phase that will be fully disability compliant including stations associated with Cross River Rail, Transport Oriented Developments and Queensland Rail's Station Accessibility Upgrade Program."

Translink has introduced a number of initiatives to encourage customers to the network including increased cleaning, additional train and bus services, a Service Capacity Tracker and the ability to take bicycles and e-scooters on peak trains.

The Palaszczuk Governemnt also provides fare discounts, including off-peak, concession and the 'eight and half price' scheme delivered as part of the Fairer Fares initiative.

"Fairer Fares has saved Queenslanders more than $241 million since 2016 and we will continue to back money saving initiatives like this to make public transport more attractive," Mr Bailey said.

During the first months of the pandemic, patronage dropped as low as 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels. Patronage fell that low again this January and February during the Omicron wave.

In stark contrast, patronage on the Ekka public holiday was around 80.6 per cent of pre-COVID levels as people took advantage of the day to get out and about across the network. The strongest patronage figure was the Gold Coast light rail where patronage topped 94.5 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

"It's been a challenging time for everyone and we recognise there has been a shift in how they travel. However, Translink is continuing to adapt to meet the public transport needs of Queenslanders," Mr Bailey said.

"It's important to remember that COVID-19 remains prevalent in the community and wearing a mask on public transport is a crucial defence against it."

Fast Facts from Translink figures:

The 527,048 trips recorded on August 9 2022 was the most since the COVID-19 pandemic was declared.

The previous high for most trips since the pandemic was 521,343 on 10 March 2021.

Passenger trips are above 73 per cent of pre pandemic levels for the week ending 14 August 2022.

Patronage on the Ekka public holiday was around 80.6 per cent compared to before COVID-19.

Light rail patronage hit 94.5 per cent.

ENDS

[Fares_Fair]

"Fairer Fares has saved Queenslanders more than $241 million since 2016 and we will continue to back money saving initiatives like this to make public transport more attractive," Mr Bailey said.

Not a problem, and you're welcome Mr Bailey. 

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2022/828-2022.pdf

Question on Notice
No. 828
Asked on 18 August 2022

MR M CRANDON ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (HON M BAILEY)

QUESTION:

Will the Minister advise the reasons for the variation between budgeted and actual South East
Queensland patronage in the 2021–22 financial year?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Coomera for the question.

Over the 2021–22 financial year, Queensland's public transport workers have faced a series of
challenges and have overwhelmingly responded to them by continuing to keep the state moving
with minimal service disruptions.

There are several reasons for the variation between budgeted and actual South East Queensland
(SEQ) patronage in the 2021–22 financial year, with the COVID-19 pandemic being the largest
factor for why the budget was not achieved.

The 2021–22 Budget assumed that the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021–22 would see
patronage recover and grow in the 2020–21 actuals, as travel patterns returned to pre-COVID-19
levels. However, the impacts of COVID-19 and the new Delta and Omicron variants, are reflected
in lower SEQ public transport usage. Restrictions were also implemented to combat the spread
of the virus which led to a decrease in public transport.

These restrictions include:
. lockdowns in July and August 2021
. interstate border closures
. increased restrictions, such as proof of vaccination status to enter venues and mask
mandates for indoor public spaces
. encouragement of working from home
. delayed start of the 2022 school year by two weeks.

While COVID-19 and associated responses has been the main cause for the variance between
actuals and budget, the SEQ floods which occurred in late February/early March 2022 caused
major disruptions to the SEQ public transport network.

March 2022 saw the full suspension of the SEQ rail network over two days due to flood damage
and then a further week of partially restored services as services were progressively restored.
Translink supported bus services were also reduced at this time. Demand for public transport
services was also lower than usual over this period, as many in the community were personally
responding to flood impacts.

The Palaszczuk Government supported Queenslanders to recover by providing a weekend of
free public transport (including free road tolls). Brisbane City Council subsequently offered a fare
free weekend of bus services. Patronage during fare free periods is not recorded. The Brisbane
ferry network was suspended over many weeks and remains in recovery from the damage caused
to infrastructure and vessels.

The return of influenza season in May and June 2022—combined with COVID-19—saw many in
the community responsibly isolating to prevent further community transmission, further reducing
demand for public transport services. These events were not budgeted and have each contributed
to the variance between budgeted and actual SEQ patronage for the 2021–22 financial year. Due
to recent emergent trends, such as working from home and a shift towards online learning, it has
been difficult to model patronage at the time of setting budgets and may remain so for some time.

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament

https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/questionsAnswers/2022/837-2022.pdf

Question on Notice
No. 837
Asked on 18 August 2022

DR M ROBINSON ASKED MINISTER FOR TRANSPORT AND MAIN ROADS (HON M BAILEY)
QUESTION:

Will the Minister provide for the 2021–22 financial year the budgeted and actual number of South
East Queensland public transport trips (reported separately by the number of zones travelled for
each)?

ANSWER:

I thank the Member for Oodgeroo for the question.



The South East Queensland ticketing system does not recognise the number of zones travelled
for every trip. Transactions such as passenger counts do not have an origin and destination
pairing which is required to identify the number of zones travelled by passengers. The data in the
above table illustrates trips where the number of zones travelled can be determined by an origin
and destination pairing.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Billions spent on public transport, but car is still king in Brisbane

... Data from the 2021 census, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this week, shows just how much Brisbanites depend on their cars – and not all of it can be blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic.

An overwhelming majority of Brisbane commuters get to work by car, the data shows.

Indeed, just 6.3 per cent travelled to their place of employment using public transport, compared to 60.8 per cent who drove or were driven. ...

Some interesting data published in this article.

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/96406

Light rail takes charge in best week since COVID

22nd October 2022

Public transport patronage continues to surge with the week ending October 16 recorded the highest percentage of trips taken since the start of the pandemic.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey celebrated the milestone, marking The G: best in show.

"Across all modes of public transport, we have continued to see steady growth as life returns to normal with patronage across SEQ last week sitting at 78.4 per cent when compared to 2019," Mr Bailey said.

"But light rail continues to set the benchmark and has hit 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels for a full week – the first time any mode has done this since the pandemic started.

"We're putting this down to booming tourism, commuters returning to the office and students back in the classroom.

"It's clear that Gold Coasters love light rail and are continuing to back it week in, week out."

Mr Bailey said the milestone was a far cry from the height of the pandemic, when patronage was at 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

"The last two months have been strong as commuters, students and tourists get back onboard," he said.

"More than 800,000 trips were taken on G:link trams in August – the first time this many trips had been taken on trams in one month since COVID hit Australian shores

"There were also two days in August during which more than 527,000 trips were taken across all public transport modes in SEQ, marking another first since the start of the pandemic.

"September public transport patronage in SEQ remained above 70 per cent despite a public holiday and extended rail track closures.

"This puts us in good stead to close out the year on a patronage high, before winding down over Christmas.

"I look forward to all our modes getting back up to the 100 per cent mark as we continue to encourage commuters out of their cars and onboard."

Gold Coast-based Minister and Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon said the data proved just how popular the Gold Coast's public transport options were.

"Already, 65 million people have hopped on and off The G: as it spans from Helensvale through to Broadbeach," Minister Scanlon said.

"Gold Coasters and tourists alike are choosing public transport more often, which gets cars off the road and is great for our lifestyle."

Visit the Translink website, download the MyTranslink App or call 13 12 30 for more information on public transport.

FAST FACTS

3,077,280 trips taken in the week ending 16 October 2022
199,762 light rail trips in the week ending 16 October 2022
More than 540,000 trips taken across all modes in SEQ on each day from 11-13 October 2022
13.2 million trips taken in August 2022
11.8 million trips taken in September 2022.

ENDS

[ozbob]

There is no reason the patronage could be not displayed weekly on a live dashboard.

They know last weeks, it should be public.

How hard is it?

We will not see the October patronage until around December 10th. 

It simply is not good enough.

[ozbob]

Email to the Minister for Transport and DDG Translink

CC:  Premier, Deputy Premier and the Member for Bundamba

Request for prompt publication of weekly public transport patronage data

23rd October 2022

Good Morning,

Yesterday the Minister for Transport published a statement ' Light rail takes charge in best week since COVID ' at https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/96406

We welcome the disclosure that patronage on the SEQ public transport is showing steady growth. In fact it was reported that "... Public transport patronage continues to surge with the week ending October 16 recorded the highest percentage of trips taken since the start of the pandemic. ..."

And ' "Across all modes of public transport, we have continued to see steady growth as life returns to normal with patronage across SEQ last week sitting at 78.4 per cent when compared to 2019," Mr Bailey said.'

" ... light rail continues to set the benchmark and has hit 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels for a full week – the first time any mode has done this since the pandemic started. ... "

It is clear then that the public transport patronage is available after each week.  Why then do we have to wait for publication of the Translink Monthly Performance Snapshots to know what the patronage was?  The Snapshots are published on or about the 10th of the month for the month preceding that month!  This means the patronage data is between 6 and 10 weeks behind.  Hardly satisfactory or transparent is it?  For example the data that was disclosed in the Minister's statement yesterday in the present publication paradigm we would not normally know until the 10th of December 2022!

Come on, you can do better than this.  It would be a simple exercise to set up a live patronage update widget on the public transport dashboard page that is updated weekly for the patronage.

I would be happy to set one up myself on our web resources if Translink supplied to the data to me on a weekly basis.
The form and publication of the Monthly Snapshots can remain as is, just publish or supply the patronage data weekly please.

Timely publication of the patronage would give confidence and improves transparency.

We trust this will happen forthwith.  Happy to discuss this further as necessary.

Thank you.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1584441990141202437

[ozbob]

Follow up email:

Re: Request for prompt publication of weekly public transport patronage data

3rd November 2022

Good Morning,

Any response please to the email below?

Or are you just going to ignore us yet again.

There are many constructive things that could be done.   

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Email to the Minister for Transport and DDG Translink

CC:  Premier, Deputy Premier and the Member for Bundamba

Request for prompt publication of weekly public transport patronage data

23rd October 2022

Good Morning,

Yesterday the Minister for Transport published a statement ' Light rail takes charge in best week since COVID ' at https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/96406

We welcome the disclosure that patronage on the SEQ public transport is showing steady growth. In fact it was reported that "... Public transport patronage continues to surge with the week ending October 16 recorded the highest percentage of trips taken since the start of the pandemic. ..."

And ' "Across all modes of public transport, we have continued to see steady growth as life returns to normal with patronage across SEQ last week sitting at 78.4 per cent when compared to 2019," Mr Bailey said.'

" ... light rail continues to set the benchmark and has hit 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels for a full week – the first time any mode has done this since the pandemic started. ... "

It is clear then that the public transport patronage is available after each week.  Why then do we have to wait for publication of the Translink Monthly Performance Snapshots to know what the patronage was?  The Snapshots are published on or about the 10th of the month for the month preceding that month!  This means the patronage data is between 6 and 10 weeks behind.  Hardly satisfactory or transparent is it?  For example the data that was disclosed in the Minister's statement yesterday in the present publication paradigm we would not normally know until the 10th of December 2022!

Come on, you can do better than this.  It would be a simple exercise to set up a live patronage update widget on the public transport dashboard page that is updated weekly for the patronage.

I would be happy to set one up myself on our web resources if Translink supplied to the data to me on a weekly basis.
The form and publication of the Monthly Snapshots can remain as is, just publish or supply the patronage data weekly please.

Timely publication of the patronage would give confidence and improves transparency.

We trust this will happen forthwith.  Happy to discuss this further as necessary.

Thank you.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ozbob]

Not hard is it ....

====

Latest reported weekly patronage

                                                                 

Week ending	Passenger trips
7 August 2022	2,959,046
14 August 2022	2,776,649
21 August 2022	2,984,161
28 August 2022	2,959,527

Source Translink open data

====

[ozbob]

^ received a response from the DDG Translink.

They are reviewing to see if data could be released a little quicker.

Thanks.

[ozbob]

Sydney Trains for interest ...

> https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/data-and-research/passenger-travel/train-patronage/train-patronage-monthly-figures

[ozbob]

Couriermail 14th January 2023 page 19

Light rail leads recovery

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1614095390474907653

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Get off the bus! More drivers than ever take toll roads

Brisbane's sole toll operator, Transurban, has reported record figures across its six tunnel, bridge and motorway assets, while public transport continues to struggle to reach pre-pandemic levels. ...

... The latest quarterly Translink data – to October last year – shows patronage at only 71 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, despite a significant jump from the previous year to more than 36 million trips. The same three-month period in 2019 saw almost 51 million trips. ...

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ozbob13/status/1623017521770266624

[ozbob]

Media Release - not online
Minister for Transport and Main Roads
The Honourable Mark Bailey

Busiest day on SEQ public transport since COVID-19
8th March 2023

Public transport patronage continues to rebound from the impacts of COVID-19 with last week recording the busiest day on the network since the pandemic started.

More than 626,000 trips were taken across South East Queensland (SEQ) buses, trains, trams and ferries on Tuesday, February 28, marking the first time more than 600,000 trips have been recorded in one day on the network since COVID started impacting public transport in early 2020.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said buses led the way on Tuesday.

"On the bus network there were more than 400,000 trips taken, which was 84 per cent of the number of trips taken on the same day in 2019," Mr Bailey said.

"While Gold Coast Light Rail had the highest percentage of pre-COVID levels at 93.6 per cent.

"The number of trips taken across all modes on the SEQ public transport network was at 83 per cent on Tuesday when compared to the same day in 2019.

"This is a major milestone for the SEQ public transport network when you consider patronage dropped to about 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and again during subsequent lockdowns.

"Trains are also rebounding strongly with patronage on Tuesday at 80 per cent when compared to 2019 levels.

"The number of trips on ferries rose to 68.6 per cent of pre-COVID levels on the back of all ferry terminals reopening following the floods this time last year.

"It's very pleasing to see people returning to the public transport network because we know COVID has changed people's travel patterns with working from home becoming more prominent."

Mr Bailey said recent weeks of strong trip numbers across the South East proved Tuesday was not just a one-off.

"Patronage rebounded strongly throughout 2022 and it's pleasing to see patronage pick up in 2023 where last year left off," he said said.

"Trips on G:link trams were at 96 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the week ending Sunday, February 26 while buses were at 88 per cent.

"Trains were again near 80 per cent of pre-COVID levels as more commuters return to the network.

"We look forward to carrying more customers across the network with exciting major projects such as Cross River Rail, Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail, and Smart Ticketing providing more services and making it easier to catch public transport."

Head online to the Translink website, download the MyTranslink app or call 13 12 30 for more information about public transport.

ENDS

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> OPINION COVID lockdowns are over: Why didn't Brisbane return to buses and trains?

The way people travel around Brisbane has changed.

While life (mostly) returned to normal after pandemic lockdowns, the number of trips taken on buses, trains, ferries and trams in south-east Queensland is still only 84 per cent of what it was in January 2020. ...

[ozbob]

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/ChartingTrnsprt/status/1688879151196082177

[ozbob]

https://x.com/railbotforum/status/1702397440958276062?

[ozbob]

ABC News --> South East Queensland public transport patronage rises, but still short of pre-pandemic levels

Key points:

. More than 153 million public transport trips were taken in South East Queensland last financial year

. The growth in patronage follows three successive financial years of falling commuter numbers

. Transport Minister Mark Bailey says the return to public transport is "encouraging"

Tens of millions of extra trips have been taken on South East Queensland's public transport network in the past financial year as the state emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

But commuter numbers are still yet to fully return to the levels that had previously been recorded on the network before the pandemic struck.

New figures from Translink show more than 153 million public transport trips were taken in the region in the 2022-23 financial year, which was about 40 million more than the year before.

It came after a three-year period of declining public transport usage amid the COVID-19 pandemic. ...