Examples of costs of travel with Go Card and paper integrated ticketing

[ozbob]

Examples of the  impact of Go Card frequent user fare scheme on commuters costs

1.  Typical tertiary student

This example is a university student who lives in zone 4.  Attends university in zone 1 (eg. QUT) and works part time in a shop in zone 3.

Goes to university Mon Tue Wed and Thu.  Works Wed Thu Sat.  This is a typical profile for a university student.

If using a Go Card:

Home zone 4  Uni zone 1 Work Zone 3.

Mon  2 single trips a $1.80  = $3.60
Tue  2 single trips @ $1.80  = $3.60

Wed  1 single to uni @ $1.80 = $1.80
Wed  1 single uni to work @ $1.60 = $1.60   Note 6 trip threshold reached - 50% after 6 trips.
Wed  1 single work to home 1 @ $0.70 =$0.70

Thu  1 single to uni @ $0.90  = $0.90
Thu  1 single uni to work @ $0.80 = $0.80
Thu 1 single work to home 1 @ $0.70

Friday night out in the city
2 single trips @ $0.90 = $1.80

Sat 2 single trips @ $0.90 = $1.80

Total if using Go Card $17.70 compared to Weekly ticket cost $14.40

Increase if using Go Card 23%

If using the weekly the student also has the option of using the ticket for Sunday travel in zones for no cost.  Also should extra trips be necessary during the week if using the weekly ticket no additional cost, on the Go Card additional expenditure.  This highlights why the Go Card should be capped to daily fare limits as most in other jurisdictions are.



2.  High use

To further highlight the cost of using the Go Card for high use commuters;

Consider a commuter who does 2 round trips a day outside transfer time limit (one hour) say Zones 1 to 3, 7 days a week (and a number do, eg. part time uni students who work full time, people who work a number of part time jobs and so forth) cost on card is 4 x $1.60 (50% discount) x 7 = $44.80 + the 6 x $1.60 = $54.40

Go Card cost of travel $54.40 compared to weekly $25.60 that is a 112% increase if they use the Go Card.

Should our hapless commuters forget to tag off or on with the Go Card then further penalties additional to fare costs to pay too.



3.  High zone

High zone weeklies are about 3.5 times a daily fare cost.

The Go Card means that even people who do exactly 10 trips per week high zone (> zone 10) will be facing an increase should they use card.

Take a zone 20 commuter, Mon to Fri commute.  Go Card Cost ($15.50 x 6) + ($7.75 x 4) = $124

Cost of a paper weekly ticket is $100.80

This is 23% increase in cost of travel if the commuter uses the Go Card and doesn't even consider extra trips which would be free if user had a weekly!



4.  Shift workers

The Go Card FU (frequent user) fare scheme operates on a Monday to Sunday basis.

So a person who works five days a week, say Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Monday and Tuesday does not receive the 50% discount on their Go Card as the counter resets each Monday.

So for example consider a zone 7 worker.

Cost of Go Card Travel is 10 x $5 = $50.

Weekly cost $40.

Go Card costs 25% more!!

Note: If the worker stays on the same shift  in the following week they will receive the FU  discount on the Sat Sun  and then approximate a weekly, as the Mon Tue and Fri will be full fare.  The problem for shift workers is that they are often moving days worked so they will need to consider these effects.  For many a weekly ticket would be a better option, particularly if greater than ten zones.

[ozbob]

Feedback received, thanks!

I have done my sums and on a "normal" week ie. to work (Caboolture to Carseldine), gym and shopping (both at Morayfield = 1 zone trip), my total fares on the GoCard will be $40.35 compared to my weekly of $32.80 (shopping and gym trips are basically free on my weekly ticket)

On those weeks when I go to the city for nails or basketball on the Friday and/or Saturday night, my total fares will be $43.30 compared to the weekly of $32.80 + $3.20 when I can use the 2hr transfer which will now disappear with the GoCard (or $5.10 off-peak for Saturday).

I will definitely be sticking to the paper tickets as long as I can and just paying the extra when needed as it is still decidedly cheaper.  I was lucky enough to get a free card at Caboolture station yesterday which for the time being I will keep as I know the paper tickets will disappear in the future and I point blank refuse to pay $10 upfront at the time when I will have no "choice"

Thanks for your updates they have helped make my decision on the GoCard and that is - NO GO.

[ozbob]

See http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=456.0   

[ozbob]

From Sunshine Coast Daily click here!

GoCard adds $900 a year to bill

GoCard adds $900 a year to bill

11:23a.m. 5 February 2008

Sunshine Coast commuters have blasted the new fee structure under the GoCard with it adding $900 a year to some train travellers costs between here and Brisbane.

"Translink are using the introduction of the GoCard to increase regular commuter train travel prices up to a staggering 23.08%,'' regular commuter Jeffrey Addison said.

"Compare your paper ticket weekly price against the Translink price list and you will find that commuters north of Glasshouse Mountains are worse off under their new scheme. This is after the claimed ?discount?,'' he said.

The Palmwoods commuter, who travels to Brisbane to work five days a week, has even drawn up a table which he is handing out to fellow commuters to highlight the fee changes.

Mr Addison said under the changes Glasshouse Mountains gets a 6.57 % increase, Beerwah cops a 14.29% increase, while Landsborough and beyond get a massive 23% hike.

The same increase will apply to commuters to the south, west and east of Brisbane city according to the zone system.

The current Consumer Price Index is approximately 3-4%. How can they justify such an astonishing increase?,'' Mr Addison asked.

He warned authorities would make it harder to purchase paper tickets or increase prices in July to push commuters onto the GoCard.

Mr Addison said he had written to Translink to voice his disapproval of the new fees but just got a reply praising the new system.

When he pressed further on the issue, he was given a reply saying it would take 10 working days to get a response.

Terry Cullen, who has been lobbying for a better deal for Coast commuters for years, shared the frustration.

"I have found getting any, let alone relevant or even coherent, answers from Translink very frustrating,'' Mr Cullen told thedaily.com.au.

"And it doesn?t surprise me that something as blindly obviously unfavourable and unacceptable to public transport users as increased fares would be claimed as praiseworthy.

"But the underlying assumption that this passenger rail service ? for which the cost to use is to be increased ? is adequate or even good is an insult.

"It is a mish mash of a timetable and a mish mash of a system and every effort is made at every opportunity by the spin merchants at Translink to peddle it to us and the responsible Minister as a qualtiy service.

"The contrasts with the rest of the QR Citytrain network - and particularly the Gold Coast line with its week-round minimum half-hourly full express service ? are stark indeed.

"I think Translink and its parent, Queensland Transport, need a serious reality check,'' Mr Cullen said.

The figures below are based upon a regular 5 day working week (10 trips)