New fare strategy - articles and discussion

[awotam]

Now, now.  Half of the 300k seats are being delivered on rail.  Thing is, that isn't a very big increase.

Yeah, right. Rail was supposed to get about 80,000 of the 300, 000 in 2010. By QR reckoning, it got 30,000. By RBOT reckoning, it got about 7,000 

[Arnz]

If I recall correctly some 3-car services in off-peak were extended to 6-cars in 2010 (so that they claim they're offering more seats last year, although the many train seats added were in the less busier off-peak).

[ozbob]

Magic seat mirrors .. but have a look at this

from http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5242.0

I record the daily OTP (when I remember .. LOL)

Ok we have been running at 228 services in peak per day.

On the 24th it was still 228, I queried that as Richlands had started.

On the 25th the services has jumped to 324!   That is a lot of extra services, not explained by Richlands alone ..  have they jumped the gun?

On second thoughts might be because of the shuttles.  They are still peak services I guess ...

96 x 500  = 48,000 seats ...

[#Metro]

This seats statistic is a smiley statistic.

If I have a 15 minute train service and I extend that existing service to one extra rail station- assuming 2 trains per hour extra for 8 hours, I can claim that I have added 2 trains/hour x 8 hours x 5 days/week x 2 directions x 900 seats/train = 144 000 weekly seats, and I can write a media release along the lines of "Amazing, service levels go through the roof!" when I have just added frequency to just ONE station on the network.

I propose an alternative RAIL BOT statistic called % frequent network coverage indicator.
There could be a number of classes of this too, to match different standards of frequency.

Its very simple. Count the number of stations that have 15 minute frequency during a specified period, and then divide by the total number of rail stations (we will have to discuss whether lines like Tennyson/Rosewood/Doomben/anything north of Caboolture should be included or excluded) and then multiply by 100 to get a %.

[somebody]

It's not that bad TT.  Corinda trains extended to Richlands aren't included AIUI, only the ones which didn't previously exist or have been extended from Roma St (not sure if there are any of them).

[BrizCommuter]

This seats statistic is a smiley statistic.

If I have a 15 minute train service and I extend that existing service to one extra rail station- assuming 2 trains per hour extra for 8 hours, I can claim that I have added 2 trains/hour x 8 hours x 5 days/week x 2 directions x 900 seats/train = 144 000 weekly seats, and I can write a media release along the lines of "Amazing, service levels go through the roof!" when I have just added frequency to just ONE station on the network.

I propose an alternative RAIL BOT statistic called % frequent network coverage indicator.
There could be a number of classes of this too, to match different standards of frequency.

Its very simple. Count the number of stations that have 15 minute frequency during a specified period, and then divide by the total number of rail stations (we will have to discuss whether lines like Tennyson/Rosewood/Doomben/anything north of Caboolture should be included or excluded) and then multiply by 100 to get a %.

TransLink have a "place kilometres" statistic, which didn't show themselves in a good light last year.

[#Metro]

Brizcommuter, I agree (and I wonder what the place km are for Perth!).
I feel that, over time, the rail system should be re-branded at those stations which offer higher capacity.

In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that those rail stations on our QR CityTrain network which offer 15 minute service between 6am and 9pm be branded as metro stations to distinguish their higher frequency and scope of hours in the same way that we use BUZ to distinguish between a high frequency bus and a low frequency one.

[ozbob]

Media release 27 February 2011

SEQ: Go card fare structure is failing - urgent review needed

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters calls for an urgent review of the go card fare structure, and ticketing policy on the TransLink network.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The community of Queensland is reeling from the impact of weather events and run-away cost of living increases across food, utilities, rates, rents, health insurance, looming fuel price increases, and public transport fare increases."

"There is much unrest amongst the public transport commuter community with respect to the poor fare structure for the go card and the recent fare increases of 15% for go card fares, and the at least 30% fare increases for paper single tickets.  The loss of daily and periodical ticket options is causing a lot of public transport commuter angst."

"Long haul rail commuters have been particularly hard hit with the recent fare increases and the proposed 15% per annum increases for the next four years at least (1). This amounts to huge fare increases for these people with the loss of periodical ticketing.  Accordingly some of these commuters are organising a day of protest on the 17th March, in the form of a boycott of rail services due to the massive fare increases (2).  This is made worse by the lack of real improvements to services in terms of frequency and quality on most lines."

"There needs to be an urgent review of the present fare structure for public transport in south-east Queensland.  Pending that review the two journey daily fare cap presently enjoyed by Seniors and some pensioners needs to be immediately extended to all go card users. This could be implemented overnight.  Consideration then be given to the rapid introduction of daily cap and a periodical options for the go card, pending the outcome of the review. Off peak fares need to be extended from 7pm to 2am, to a 7pm - 7am window, as well as the present off peak daily window of 9am to 3.30pm (3). This would assist with peak congestion management."

References:

1.   http://www.translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/fares/planned-fares

2.   Proposed 1 Day Boycott of Rail Services (all Brisbane area lines) - 17 March   http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5472.0

3.   http://www.translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/fares/peak-and-off-peak-fares

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[dwb]

Its very simple. Count the number of stations that have 15 minute frequency during a specified period, and then divide by the total number of rail stations (we will have to discuss whether lines like Tennyson/Rosewood/Doomben/anything north of Caboolture should be included or excluded) and then multiply by 100 to get a %.

This implies that all rail stations should have 15min frequency which I don't think is really viable, nor desireable.

[dwb]

@Bob

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters calls for an urgent review of the go card fare structure, and ticketing policy on the TransLink network.

Agreed.

"Long haul rail commuters have been particularly hard hit with the recent fare increases and the proposed 15% per annum increases for the next four years at least (1). This amounts to huge fare increases for these people with the loss of periodical ticketing.  Accordingly some of these commuters are organising a day of protest on the 17th March, in the form of a boycott of rail services due to the massive fare increases (2).  This is made worse by the lack of real improvements to services in terms of frequency and quality on most lines."

The original fares for long distance were inappropriately subsidised. Long haul fares still contain a relative price reduction than short haul passengers.

"There needs to be an urgent review of the present fare structure for public transport in south-east Queensland.  Pending that review the two journey daily fare cap presently enjoyed by Seniors and some pensioners needs to be immediately extended to all go card users. This could be implemented overnight.  Consideration then be given to the rapid introduction of daily cap and a periodical options for the go card, pending the outcome of the review. Off peak fares need to be extended from 7pm to 2am, to a 7pm - 7am window, as well as the present off peak daily window of 9am to 3.30pm (3). This would assist with peak congestion management."

I couldn't disagree more with extending the two journey cap to all Go cards. Those who do use more than three are probably reasonably rare given the flexibility in transfer on the go card, however this shouldn't been seen as a reason to extend something free to everyone. We need to strongly educate the community that there is cost involved and that users need to contribute to that cost. On buses and trains as much as in cars.

[#Metro]

Which stations should have lower frequency? (there are obvious ones of course- Tennyson etc)
and why?  

It's a bit weird to have places like Coorparoo, so close to the city, on 30 min timetable.

Is there any indicator you would recommend to compare across systems?

[#Metro]

I couldn't disagree more with extending the two journey cap to all Go cards. Those who do use more than three are probably reasonably rare given the flexibility in transfer on the go card, however this shouldn't been seen as a reason to extend something free to everyone. We need to strongly educate the community that there is cost involved and that users need to contribute to that cost. On buses and trains as much as in cars.

I guess the community have asked for it, we are just passing that on...
I personally don't mind paying more for a better service, and I have said that often. Problem is, I am paying more and my service is THE SAME ROTTEN APPLES!!!

And I think that's what's really sparked off the annoyance up north. They have awful services but they might get a worse timetable and pay more for it too. So it is no surprise IMHO that they are annoyed. On the other hand, fare increases are a fact of life. The old paper ticket system let you travel as much as you wanted once you had bought a daily/weekly/monthly... I guess we will see how that will pan out.

[ozbob]

The community feedback is overwhelming, they really want capping and periodical options.  Extending the two journey daily cap is a simple thing to do pending a review.   As individuals we all have own views and that is fine and welcome.  Capping algorithms will encourage more public transport use and I would suggest much better use overall and fare box.  

Anecdotal evidence is already accumulating that since the fare increases patronage has fallen ..  roads seem a lot worse this year already ..

[dwb]

Which stations should have lower frequency? (there are obvious ones of course- Tennyson etc)
and why? 

It's a bit weird to have places like Coorparoo, so close to the city, on 30 min timetable.

Is there any indicator you would recommend to compare across systems?

North coast line would be a good example. I'd think you'd need to look at the land use of the stations/lines.  Eg, some lines would have BUZ level frequency with express services... ie so some stations would miss buzz. I've seen stats that indicate that there are many rail stations that perform worse than my local bus stop and wouldn't support 15min frequency.

The community feedback is overwhelming, they really want capping and periodical options.  Extending the two journey daily cap is a simple thing to do pending a review.   As individuals we all have own views and that is fine and welcome.  Capping algorithms will encourage more public transport use and I would suggest much better use overall and fare box. 

Anecdotal evidence is already accumulating that since the fare increases patronage has fallen ..  roads seem a lot worse this year already ..

When a fat kid asks for a Big Mac, does a good parent give it to them, and does the family GP tell them that is the best course of action. No.

[somebody]

Which stations should have lower frequency? ...

North coast line would be a good example.

I don't think anyone meant a 15 minute frequency to Gympie North.  But a 15 minute frequency to Petrie or Caboolture is easily achievable.  They just don't want to.

The original fares for long distance were inappropriately subsidised. Long haul fares still contain a relative price reduction than short haul passengers.

Wow, we agree!

I couldn't disagree more with extending the two journey cap to all Go cards. Those who do use more than three are probably reasonably rare given the flexibility in transfer on the go card, however this shouldn't been seen as a reason to extend something free to everyone. We need to strongly educate the community that there is cost involved and that users need to contribute to that cost. On buses and trains as much as in cars.

I don't think it makes much difference either way.  As you say, these people are in the minority.

I think fares levels need a heavy review.  It's not so much the fare structure.

[#Metro]

One thing that really unsettles me is trying to predict the future based on current "trends".

On one hand you can just extend the past into the future and use that as a projection (Jonno would probably attack this as a self-fulfilling prophecy/self-perpetuating cycle based on an 'initial state' of bad affairs such that future 'states' were also projected as bad, leading to bad supply and low demand), the alternative is to make a change so that better frequency, better connectivity, you might get a different result altogether.

And this is the basis for the Mohring effect:

The Mohring effect is a technical property of transit systems demonstrating increasing returns.

In brief, as transit frequencies increase, wait times decrease, demand increases, and transit frequencies can increase again. This is because transit schedules occur over time. If there is one bus an hour, the average wait from the desired time of departure (or schedule delay) is 30 minutes, if there are two buses an hour, the schedule delay drops to 15 minutes and so on. So the presence of an additional user increases the likelihood of additional service being provided.

The effect was named for University of Minnesota economist Herbert Mohring, who identified this property in a 1972 paper.

This is why frequency and connectivity are important. Frequency reduces the cost of the waiting time, connectivity brings in "the presence of an additional user".

In brief, I like to sum this up as: if you sell rotten apples, don't expect many customers!

On the other hand, we can't afford to BUZify everything- and I agree with you - some areas will respond better than others simply due to location near population (land use etc). The north coast line could probably take more services IMHO, but it would be more worthwhile if the single track capacity constraint were removed and the line brought closer to the people to make it faster to get to (CAMCOS) so at this stage there are others higher up in priority.

When a fat kid asks for a Big Mac, does a good parent give it to them, and does the family GP tell them that is the best course of action. No.

The funny thing is- what would this be if this analogy was translated to transportation planning? If the subject is actually the road system congested to the gunwales, would the 'doctor' plot the amount of vehicles over time, project forward "our projections show that this kid will just get fatter and fatter over time- so they need more food/bigger clothes" and then prescribe supersized road upgrades to help accommodate this 'inevitable' growth?

Jonno often says that there isn't a city that has built its way out of congestion. But is there a city that has stopped building roads, let congestion stew and achieved no change or improvement to travel times? Vancouver?

[dwb]

The funny thing is- what would this be if this analogy was translated to transportation planning? If the subject is actually the road system congested to the gunwales, would the 'doctor' plot the amount of vehicles over time, project forward "our projections show that this kid will just get fatter and fatter over time- so they need more food/bigger clothes" and then prescribe supersized road upgrades to help accommodate this 'inevitable' growth?

No argument from me there, my argument was with the benefit that one would get from using your proposed statistic.. that is number of stations with 15min or greater frequency/ total stations... I was simply implying this statistic could have game playing and under performance reporting. Ie it means very little to run frequency to places that won't use it... ie the railway to no-where arguement.

[dwb]

@somebody

I think fares levels need a heavy review.  It's not so much the fare structure.

I agree, more or less. But what exactly are your proposing is 'reviewed'? The government needs to change its perspective about subsidy level before anything else helpful will occur.

I would tend to think that other sources of revenue are more viable (dare I say road user charging?).

I also think the neatness of 2004 Translink fares would work well today... at least for offpeak fares, with say a 30% peak "loading"... or perhaps a $1-2 peak "loading" ie per journey, not zonally based as 30% on $18 is quite an increase while 30% on $2 is completely acceptable!

[#Metro]

No argument from me there, my argument was with the benefit that one would get from using your proposed statistic.. that is number of stations with 15min or greater frequency/ total stations... I was simply implying this statistic could have game playing and under performance reporting. Ie it means very little to run frequency to places that won't use it... ie the railway to no-where arguement

Abstractly, Is it possible to devise a metric to capture and allow comparison of the utility/coverage/access/mobility of two identical cities with everything the same except City X having 15 minute train frequency at all of its stations and identical City Y one having 30 minute frequency at all of its stations?

% city population with access to 15 minute train frequency?
Could that differentiate between the utility of 15 minute frequency at Gympie North vs 15 minute frequency at Coorparoo?

[somebody]

@somebody

I think fares levels need a heavy review.  It's not so much the fare structure.

I agree, more or less. But what exactly are your proposing is 'reviewed'?

1) High flagfall
2) Low off peak discount
3) Overall high fare levels.  In Sydney, the lowest Adult fare is $1.60 on a Travel Ten.  In Brisbane it is $2.65 in peak or $2.26 off peak on a Go Card.  This also doesn't go very far.  Brisbane fare levels are also above Perth levels, and Melbourne is technically more expensive for a ticket on the inner part of the network, but this goes quite a deal further.

[ozbob]

When a fat kid asks for a Big Mac, does a good parent give it to them, and does the family GP tell them that is the best course of action. No.

It can argued that excessive big macs is not a healthy outcome, good use of public transport is ...  there is a difference .. 

[ozbob]

Some feedback received, thanks ..

Robert,

Recently I spent a few days holiday on the near north coast.

Major development of highways to allow/encourage more cars into the area.

What a shambles.  Tourists travelling to the area are beset with the problem of finding suitable parking yet the North Coast Line development has fallen foul of money being diverted to "other" projects.

This was very similar to a recent visit to Newcastle where it was almost impossible to find a car park.

Nambour still has cane lines in and around it. These are no longer used for sugar and could with some imagination be converted to tourist travel purposes.  Similar work for the kilometres of now defunct track around other areas of the North Coast

The Nambour trains could without much problem be continued to Yandina and further to allow tourists to go to the Ginger Factory  and the markets at Eumundi.

Translink currently helps with sporting events in Brisbane by providing free travel for ticket holders.  Why not even allowing those returning from one of the many tourist attractions to have free travel on production of proof of a visit to an attraction.

Years ago I attended a seminar where the development of the southern busway was discussed and found to my dismay that many of their plans to move people involved multiple changes from one bus to another and to another and so on and on.

This type of planning in many ways discourages people from using public transport.

The increases in the Go (away) Card costs, the poor travel times and the unreliability also dissuade the public from using public transport.

We have seen the fall in the liveability of Brisbane. I feel this is in part due to the extra road congestion due to the lack of growth and improvement of public transport.

What can be done?

I am pleased that you are still keeping up the fight.

and ..

Hi Robert

A daily fare cap is definitely needed after one journey.

[Gazza]

Years ago I attended a seminar where the development of the southern busway was discussed and found to my dismay that many of their plans to move people involved multiple changes from one bus to another and to another and so on and on.

[dwb]

@somebody
these are good points. But what will be reviewed, ie what policy would change??

@tramtrain

% city population with access to 15 minute train frequency?

better. But I don't care for one mode so much over another, so perhaps it should be % of population residentially/workwise, with access to transit at a frequency greater than 15min but also within a 40min commute of a basketfull of traditional venues?

[somebody]

Years ago I attended a seminar where the development of the southern busway was discussed and found to my dismay that many of their plans to move people involved multiple changes from one bus to another and to another and so on and on.

Do you enjoy doing transfers?

[somebody]

@somebody
these are good points. But what will be reviewed, ie what policy would change??

I'm unsure what you want me to add to what I have already posted, but we did say this recently: http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5314.0

Media release 24 January 2011

SEQ: Current fare strategy is not the answer

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has called for the Queensland Government to reconsider its fare strategy. Increasing fares alone does not guarantee reduced subsidy.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The Government's stated aim is to reduce the subsidy per trip from 75% to 70% (1).  RAIL Back on Track believes this is unlikely to be achieved by simply putting up the price.  A number of people will return to driving, and in fact a number of rail commuters appear to have been doing precisely this.  Of concern is that TransLink's own figures show that the subsidy per trip has in fact been increasing (2).  The problem is that rail patronage is stagnating and actually contracted in the middle two quarters of 2009/10.  Another aspect is the Northern Busway delays which were still occurring in the second quarter 09/10, when the highest amount of subsidy per trip was recorded."

"RAIL Back on Track believes the only thing which will reduce the level of subsidy significantly is improved service levels on rail, and particularly the service levels in the off peak periods.  All systems with high fare-box recovery ratios have good off peak frequency.  Examples include London Underground, MTR (Hong Kong), Japan Rail as well as a number of Canadian systems.  Even cities such as Boston and Atlanta show better cost recovery despite having urban densities below that of Brisbane (5). Properly using the rail system would get the best value out of the fixed costs incurred, which are largely unavoidable.  These costs also dominate public transport expenditure.  Why not actually get value for money from the investment?  There are also advantages from increased rail patronage of reduced road trauma and a reduced need for road building as well as congestion reduction."

"Unless the fare strategy is improved and service frequency increased we fear that there will be a vicious cycle of service cuts, which will actually do very little to save money as the rail system's costs are largely fixed costs based on the capacity required in peak hour.  The worsening cost recovery may well be lead to even more drastic cuts (4).  Cost recovery appears to be not really a function of density, which is similar to what Dr Paul Mees has found regarding density (6, 7)."

"It would be one thing if the increased fares occurred with a significantly improving service, but 305 000 extra weekly seats is little more than the growth which was previously occurring.  Growth of 7.4% p.a. was occurring in the year to 2008/09, and the average growth from 2003/04 was higher than this (.  This growth on a base of 181 million trips works out at an extra 258 000 weekly trips.  Also 44 000 (14%) have been wasted on bus route P88 which would not have been required if sensible city stop locations had not been broken on the opening of King George Square Bus Station."

[#Metro]

It can argued that excessive big macs is not a healthy outcome, good use of public transport is ...  there is a difference .. 

Does Paris have TransApex style road bypasses?

[Gazza]

Years ago I attended a seminar where the development of the southern busway was discussed and found to my dismay that many of their plans to move people involved multiple changes from one bus to another and to another and so on and on.

Do you enjoy doing transfers?

So long as they are reliable and timely (Eg 5 mins or so)

[somebody]

Years ago I attended a seminar where the development of the southern busway was discussed and found to my dismay that many of their plans to move people involved multiple changes from one bus to another and to another and so on and on.

Do you enjoy doing transfers?

So long as they are reliable and timely (Eg 5 mins or so)

I think this is about right.  Transferring to a BUZ service means an average wait of 7.5mins.  That's a long way from a worst wait of 5 minutes and still not there for an average wait.  At least an 8tph frequency would get the average wait to within the benchmark for one leg of the journey.

[#Metro]

Its a bit of a chicken and egg problem IMHO. If you cannot schedule a "random" transfer, then you could schedule one that is a timed transfer. This works for services that have lower frequency, and as I understand it many routes would be maybe on a 30 or 15 minute cycle, so these could well be timed to transfer- so 8tph is a "nice to have" but not essential IMHO.

[Gazza]

With respect to the Busway example though, it's not that unfathomable to have an 8bph flagship service that people transfer onto is it?

[#Metro]

If there were arctic buses every 5 minutes or 3 minutes on the busway with Bogota style transferring.
I wouldn't mind transferring at all.

The vehicles would not carry so much air either.
Problem is though- the busway hasn't been designed with interchange aprons- so it would be interesting how a trunk and feeder model would work here.

[somebody]

With respect to the Busway example though, it's not that unfathomable to have an 8bph flagship service that people transfer onto is it?

pre-KGSBS this was already provided during 160 operating hours.

Problem is though- the busway hasn't been designed with interchange aprons- so it would be interesting how a trunk and feeder model would work here.

The busway should have been rail if they wanted an interchange system.

[Gazza]

^It should have actually. It means GC trains could have run down their instead, and they need not have spent money triplicating the poor Beenleigh line alignment, but its what we're stuck with now.

[somebody]

^It should have actually. It means GC trains could have run down their instead, and they need not have spent money triplicating the poor Beenleigh line alignment, but its what we're stuck with now.

Whatever you think on this point, it is done now.  So those who think like you lost that battle, and I would rather that you all moved on.  :conf

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Fares are fair, TransLink boss insists

Fares are fair, TransLink boss insists
March 3, 2011 - 5:13AM

The recent 15 per cent hike in public transport fares in southeast Queensland, combined with the scrapping of popular daily, weekly and monthly saver tickets, have angered many commuters. Some are even talking about a one-day rail network boycott.

Amid renewed calls for a better Go Card fare structure, including daily caps for all commuters, we asked TransLink chief executive officer Peter Strachan to justify the current system.

I believe it is fair and reasonable that TransLink's 10,000 square kilometre public transport network be compared to other networks around the world.

There are aspects of our network, such as the busways and river services, that are already world class, and it won't be too long before the Go Card ticketing system is also rated alongside the best in the world.

While comparisons can be useful, the challenge of many networks, including TransLink's, is meeting the rapidly increasing demand for public transport while maintaining affordability.

We've responded to customer feedback by providing new Go Card ticketing products, such as the two-trip daily cap for seniors, pensioners and veterans and the half-price cap after 10 trips in a week.

As I travel around the network the point is often made that frequency and reliability of services are regarded above all else. This is confirmed by TransLink's own quarterly customer satisfaction research.

Go Card tells us exactly where people are travelling and where service frequency and reliability could be improved. The old practice of having to guess how many trips a person might take on a single, daily, weekly, monthly or annual paper ticket and where they were travelling to and from was simply not best practice.

What sort of things did Go Card tell us in 2010?

It told us 33 per cent of people travelled two zones and 80 per cent travelled one, two or three zones. It told us about 49.5 per cent of customers were adults and about 15.5 were primary or secondary school age. It told us that up to 35,000 people a week took more than 10 trips and the same number made one trip a week.

It told us seniors and pensioners travelled mostly on two or three days of the week, rather than the five days a week of the working commuter. It told us 17.5 per cent of customers transfer onto another TransLink service within an hour of touching off.

Most importantly Go Card allows legislators at all levels of government to have confidence that they are spending taxpayers' money in response to both customer feedback and real information.

Go Card is already considered the best public transport smart card ticketing system in Australia which is a significant feat given it is spread across one of the largest geographical networks in the world – from Gympie to the NSW border and west to Helidon. Without doubt its success to date has been due to the ability of southeast Queenslanders to embrace a new technology.

While the success of Go Card has been outstanding, we recognise that this journey has only just started and the future will include an expanded ticket range, more ticket machines, fare gates, better informed planning and roll out of services.

Customers will continue to have influence over future ticketing products, but the future fare structure must continue to deliver a program of more frequent and reliable services. What TransLink now has is a ticketing system that can accurately measure and factor the cost and benefits of those products into the continued delivery of frequency and reliability.

In other words, Go Card is delivering a simple and transparent way of measuring public transport revenue and costs.

Go Card and the fare structure must strike the right balance between the cost to customers and taxpayers, and making public transport attractive in terms in frequency and reliability.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert_Dow
 
4BC 1116 News Talk, discussion on go card fares after 7am this morning @4BC
5 minutes ago via web

[dwb]

half-price cap after 10 trips in a week.

That's hardly a "cap" now is it.

Also his use of journey and trip seems convoluted... so the stats don't mean much. ie >35k take more than 10 trips...? And are those passenger proportional splits per trip or per registered cards?

[Cam]

Milly makes some good points in response to the TransLink CEO: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/fares-are-fair-translink-boss-insists-20110302-1beqg.html?comments=23#comments

Dear Mr Strachan, here are the facts from my world:

    1. People's pay packets are not increasing to accommodate your rises;

    2. At this point petrol is cheaper per week for the majority of commuters than the cost of train fare;

    3. The number of road users has markedly increased since the last fare increase in January;

    4. I arrive home 30 minutes earlier minimum each night when I drive. I get to work on time every time. I don't have to stand up to 45 minutes of my 55 minutes journey and I am rarely delayed by signal failures, track faults, cancelled services etc.

    The bottom line is, Mr Strachan, the increased traffic volume evidence from the very day you increased fares tells me that you are losing business and instead of being smugly self-congratulatory and telling us essentially that we should be grateful to have such a service, try addressing the obvious problem or do your stakeholders enjoy the same head-in-sand view of things as you do?
   
Milly | Cleveland - March 03, 2011, 6:30AM

[#Metro]

God dont get me started. I mean you wouldnt mind paying the increases if you could see some improvement to the service in a reasonable timeframe. I catch the train from the Sunshine coast which takes 1 hour and 40 min each way. Its a shocker. This service has not improved since about 1986. To catch a metropolitain train where you have to sit bolt upright or on the dirty floor for almost 2 hrs is painful for the commuter to say the least. Great service for 30% increase in price.

Andes - March 03, 2011, 8:57AM

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/fares-are-fair-translink-boss-insists-20110302-1beqg.html?comments=33#comments