Article: Go slow: paper ticket scrapping 'should be delayed'

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Go slow: paper ticket scrapping 'should be delayed'

Go slow: paper ticket scrapping 'should be delayed'
Daniel Hurst
October 8, 2010 - 5:00AM

A plan to scrap paper transport tickets in south-east Queensland by the end of the year should be put on hold unless an alternative is rolled out urgently, the state opposition says.

The Queensland government plans to phase out conventional paper tickets in less than three months but is yet to release its alternative Go Card 'lite', a limited-use smartcard tailored for tourists and occasional transport users.

Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek last night joined tourism and transport groups in questioning the plan to abolish paper tickets by the end of December, with Go Card fares also due to rise by 15 per cent at the same time.

Mr Langbroek told brisbanetimes.com.au an education campaign explaining the system for tourists and occasional users was needed well in advance of the loss of paper tickets.

If the limited-use product was not rolled out soon, people would be lost for options and fare evasion would increase, he said.

"Something that should have been top of mind and well prepared for hasn't been done," Mr Langbroek said.

He said the end-of-December deadline for scrapping paper tickets should be delayed if the tourist-friendly option was not revealed soon.

"Certainly at this time you'd say yes [to delaying the removal of paper tickets] because the alternative is unfair to tourists and commuters," he said.

"I think there's a significant concern when you've got 40 per cent of commuters that aren't using Go Cards, you'll have more evasion, more people who'll have fines, and a loss of confidence in the system."

He also said the lack of a solution for occasional users would reflect poorly on the region's tourist appeal.

Mr Langbroek said the fact there was nothing in the public domain yet was a poor reflection on Transport Minister Rachel Nolan, who had already come under fire this week over government-funded advertising featuring Labor MPs.

Last month, when brisbanetimes.com.au highlighted the lack of an option for tourists and occasional users, Ms Nolan's staff refused to say if the existing paper phase-out deadline would still be met.

Ms Nolan last night issued a written response attacking the opposition's Go Card negativity, but again did not answer a question on the ticket removal timeframe.

She repeated her comments that the plan for occasional and infrequent travellers would be "communicated well in advance to the public by Translink".

"The government will soon be making announcements in that regard," she said in her statement.

Translink did not directly answer questions last month, but pointed to its previously announced five-year fare plan which showed conventional tickets would no longer be sold in January 2011.

Robert Dow, from commuter lobby group Rail Back on Track, last night questioned whether the paper phase-out deadline and the accompanying 15 per cent increase in Go Card fares were still going ahead as planned.

"We've been told paper will be phased out at the end of the year and I think it's time the travelling public were told what the new arrangements will be for tourists and occasional public transport users," he said.

Mr Dow said his group was concerned about the phase-out timeframes because a limited-use product should be in place for tourists well before paper tickets were removed.

He said all-hours vending machines may be needed at transport hubs to distribute the proposed Go Card lite when ticket offices were closed.

Bus drivers may also need to carry the occasional-use cards for sale for tourists who boarded public transport without a smartcard, he said.

"We think there needs to be an education campaign starting in the next few weeks to have the new system embedded in the minds of the public," Mr Dow said.

"At the moment we've had 63 per cent of trips using Go Cards and that's taken three years effectively [to achieve]."

He said the community would 'switch off' around the middle of December as Christmas approached so people needed to be made well aware of the new product option by that time.

Although Go Card usage has increased dramatically over the past year, the cards require a $5 deposit and $5 issuing fee and are not considered ideal for tourists or occasional users.

The special limited-life Go Card is expected to be deposit-free but the fare structure has not yet been released.

In January, Translink told brisbanetimes.com.au it was working with tourism and business organisations to develop "the most appropriate product" for occasional transport users.

But the public transport authority insisted the product would be rolled out "well in advance" of the paperless changeover.

Two weeks ago, Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said he had not yet heard any details or been consulted about the proposed tourist-friendly Go Card Lite.

Mr Gschwind voiced concern about why an announcement was yet to be made, saying the public transport system needed to be accessible to the 900,000 international and four million domestic visitors who stayed in Brisbane every year.