Gold Coast Light Rail

[SurfRail]

My view on it (which is something I raised with GCCC) is that if you are going to build a southern interchange at Elanora, then you want it as a branchline along Sarawak and Thrower.  Having it continue south means you will need to have the station in a less than optimum location, whereas a terminating branch can end up "facing" north immediately adjacent to The Pines and the proposed station.  What they are proposing means a long stretch with only limited patronage generation - maybe a park'n'ride site at the Stewart Rd M1 interchange, but no station at Currumbin or Tugun.

Just have 2 services - one going full length from the north down to Coolangatta, and one doing exactly the same (or maybe originating at Griffith Uni) and turning "right" at Palm Beach.  If need be, you can run a third one from Elanora to Coolangatta directly, which would give every station access to every other station and a headway of say one tram every 5 minutes (10 minute headway per individual pattern).

[Golliwog]

I agree, and think thinking of it as if theres only ever going to be the one line (which while it is true for now, and probably for a while yet) isn't good planning for the future. I think the LRT and heavy rail should both meet at the airport. The heavy rail should be built so that it can be extended further south relatively easy, and LRT should be looked at as you suggested. Sure you might not get the benefit when you first extend the LRT south, but that's hardly the end of the world, and it's better (IMO anyway) to not get a good thing for a bit longer, than to get it half arsed and stuff the alignment fairly permanently.

[achiruel]

The Bulletin -> Switch of rail plans for track out to airport

A spokesman for Mr Emerson said money was still a big issue.

"While we fully support stage 1 we have made it clear that due to the poor state of Queensland's finances we are not currently in a position to contribute funding to future stages," he said.

Code for "we don't give a rat's arse about public transport"

Yet they plan on pouring $billions into roads.

[colinw]

I think we need to start referring to Mr Emerson as the Minister for Cars or the Minister for Congestion.

[Gazza]

Yet they plan on pouring $billions into roads.

Devils advocate here, but which ones lol? Toowoomba Bypass might get up, but at the same time Cross River Rail would be getting built too.

[Golliwog]

Yet they plan on pouring $billions into roads.

Devils advocate here, but which ones lol? Toowoomba Bypass might get up, but at the same time Cross River Rail would be getting built too.

It'll be interesting to see whats in the plans for the cut price CRR though. You only get to do the tunnel once so hopefully they don't botch the station design by trying to cut costs too much.

[huddo45]

According to my spy on the Gold Coast, Richard, who came along on our visit to GCLR, the first rails are being delivered to Queen St. Southport on Monday night.

[SurfRail]

^ The information I have been given is that they won't be going in immediately - they will be moved and stockpiled closer to the route.

There will be a spike-driving type ceremony, which I have tentatively been invited to.  The exact date is TBC but it will be within less than a month.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

There will be a spike-driving type ceremony

Te sooner, the better: to drive a spike into NIMBY-ism!

[achiruel]

Yet they plan on pouring $billions into roads.

Devils advocate here, but which ones lol? Toowoomba Bypass might get up, but at the same time Cross River Rail would be getting built too.

Didn't Can Do promise to pour $1bn into the Bruce Hwy? Or was that just federal funds he was pretending to contribute?

[Golliwog]

Yet they plan on pouring $billions into roads.

Devils advocate here, but which ones lol? Toowoomba Bypass might get up, but at the same time Cross River Rail would be getting built too.

Didn't Can Do promise to pour $1bn into the Bruce Hwy? Or was that just federal funds he was pretending to contribute?

I think he did, but then it was like for like? So for him to put in $1bn, the feds had to as well.

[frereOP]

4 - Perhaps the line should go into Tweed, ignoring state borders.

That is just SOOOOOO logical which is why it has a snowflakes chance in hell of actually happening!  Do you know how convoluted the Surfside Bus fare structure is for cross boarder and wholly-within NSW journeys is, simply because of the boarder? FFS

[SurfRail]

^ Ironically, there were no such issues before TransLink.  Route 11 (the precursor to the old 765 and the current 761/765) ran from Robina to Kingscliff with through-ticketing onto the train, the old 7 ran from Pacific Fair to West Tweed via Everywhere, and the old 8 shadowed the 7 from The Pines to West Tweed.

(Not that I would ever suggest going back.)

[achiruel]

Simple solution - Tweed & Byron Shires can become part of Qld

To be fair, In return we can give them Wallangarra.  After all, IIRC, most of the people their would access Tenterfield as their main town, hospital etc anyway.

[huddo45]

^ The information I have been given is that they won't be going in immediately - they will be moved and stockpiled closer to the route.

Your info was incorrect, SR, this time anyway. Not that you'll mind about that
About 12 lengths of rail were delivered on site last night and they've started welding them together already.

Here is a photo taken by Richard today. For those who might like to grab their cameras and head down there, please note that he was told off by GoldlinQ management for standing on the roadway even, so discretion is required.

[ozbob]

 

[SurfRail]

I'm quite happy to be wrong!

[colinw]

First rails in Southport since the 1960s.  A 48 year old mistake is set to be corrected.

[huddo45]

According to the latest Works Update from the GoldlinQ website, tracklaying is to commence at a second location on the Gold Coast Highway. Rail is to be delivered to the site at Paradise Waters (NIMBY HQ) on thursday night.

http://tinyurl.com/dy2t98r

Suck it up, NIMBYS !    

[SurfRail]

You know what the truly depressing thing is?  With some proper advocacy, they could have secured a station at Paradise Waters without throwing out the average spacing too much.  Now, god only knows how you get there once the system starts running.  Walk from Main Beach or the Golden Gate I guess.

It's the future residents of the suburb that will really suffer, and the supreme irony is the efforts of current residents have likely ensured they will see bugger all return on property values due to the lack of a walkable station.  All the inconvenience with none of the sweeteners.  Karma is indeed a bitch...

[colinw]

Same thing happened with the Springfield Line, which ozbob informs me was originally meant to branch at Oxley and have a station somewhat more convenient to Forest Lake.

NIMBYs are their own worst enemy a lot of the time.

[colinw]

The Bulletin -> Plans to expand Coast TAFE institute

AN "education village" is set to open in the heart of Southport, cementing the suburb as the "education hub of the city".

The Gold Coast City Council yesterday confirmed it would begin negotiations to sell the Mal Burke carpark in Hicks Street to the Gold Coast Institute of TAFE for it to redevelop.

The deal could also include a land swap with the TAFE in Ridgeway Avenue, Southport.

Confidential talks have been under way for the past six months.

None of Mal Burke's 320 car parking spaces are expected to be lost long-term because part of the redevelopment will include a carpark on site.

Gold Coast Institute of TAFE boss Aaron Devine said details of the development had to be kept under wraps while talks were still happening.

But he said it would allow the TAFE to expand, offer new courses and include retail spaces.

He said there would also be the potential for student accommodation on site.

"We're excited about the opportunities but it's not a fait accompli yet," he said.

"We're working with the council to secure additional space to establish an education village.

"It will create more of an urban buzz in the community. We want to see increased economic activity in Southport."

He said it would also take advantage of nearby light rail stations.

"There's real advantages in the light rail and linking it to our colleagues at Griffith University and the hospital," Mr Devine said.

GCIT had proposed a land swap so the city would take the Ridgeway Avenue campus in place of Mal Burke carpark.

"The council has expressed interest in turning (Ridgeway Ave) campus into a park ... the council can secure it for community use," he said.

A council report shows that as part of any deal GCIT will be required to include a public carpark with at least 320 spaces so there is no loss of parking in Southport.

Southport councillor Dawn Crichlow said she strongly supported the development.

"It cements Southport as an education precinct and we're already a legal precinct and medical precinct," she said.

"I want it to happen straight away.

"The economic value to Southport is enormous."

[somebody]

Same thing happened with the Springfield Line, which ozbob informs me was originally meant to branch at Oxley and have a station somewhat more convenient to Forest Lake.

NIMBYs are their own worst enemy a lot of the time.

Not sure how that would have worked in practice.  An alignment along Rosemary St?  Perhaps this is referring to before that area being nearly as built up.  Although I agree, with the benefit of hindsight it would have been good.

[colinw]

The Bulletin -> Light rail work threatens to close kindy

SOUTHPORT'S Trinity Kindergarten has been taking care of children on the Gold Coast for 39 years.

But the centre could soon be forced to close its doors as parents increasingly avoid Southport because of the light rail works, under way in front of the childcare facility on Queen Street.

Centre co-ordinator Jane Ward said some parents have remained loyal to the not-for-profit kindergarten but next year's enrolments were dwindling.

Meanwhile, many other kindergartens across the city have 12-month waiting lists.

"We are very concerned for the future," Ms Ward said.

"I know many businesses have closed or suffered during the works and will continue to, but there are community centres hurting too.

"It seems everyone just wants to avoid Southport at the moment, which is understandable but there needs to be a campaign to bring people back to the area."

Ms Ward said she was afraid that without adequate enrolments the centre would have to close.

"We are a traditional kindergarten, open from 8am until 3pm, we cater for people who may not be working, but want their children to interact with their peers," she said.

"We are one of the only old-fashioned kindies left and I would hate for us to close our doors.

"It would be great to see GoldLinQ actively promoting Southport and trying to get people back, but if not then locals need to continue to support local business and community centres.

"I'm sure we will all benefit from the light rail once it is done but it is a tough slog right now."

A GoldLinQ spokeswoman said the company would liaise with all stakeholders, including Trinity Kindergarten, before work began.

"GoldLinQ has not started working in this area. Government-funded early enabling works have been completed to prepare the corridor for GoldLinQ track laying," she said.

"In preparation for the track laying, our community team will liaise directly with all stakeholders along this section of the corridor and ensure the delivery of the light rail will be integrated with their needs."

[SurfRail]

Cue Helen Lovejoy.

[HappyTrainGuy]

[SurfRail]

^ We have a winner!  +10 free trips to you sir.

[aldonius]

Shannon Willoughby (Gold Coast News):

LIGHT rail will connect to heavy rail at Parkwood and Robina and extend north to The Spit, east to Bundall and south to Coolangatta under a proposed council transport strategy.

The multibillion-dollar, 20-year plan drafted in consultation with the State Government would see a major overhaul of the current transport plan which is now 14 years old.

Transport Strategy 2031 reveals a "ladder" system, with heavy rail connecting with light rail at Parkwood and at Robina, and a rapid bus system linking east and west routes.

It is estimated that by 2031, 800,000 people will live on the Gold Coast, while congestion costs in Australian capital cities will reach $20 billion by 2020.

Only 3.1 per cent of the city's population uses public transport daily, a target well shy of the 7 per cent the city was meant to hit last year.

This plan reveals targets of 12 per cent of the population on public transport each day by 2031, 8 per cent of people walking daily and 6 per cent cycling.

While the report is stretched over 20 years, the most immediate part of the plan is to see the light rail extended to Parkwood via Smith Street and another station added to the heavy rail line by 2018, before the Commonwealth Games.

The Parkwood heavy and light rail stations would also have a park-and-ride facility for workers heading east or to Brisbane.

It is understood GoldLinQ is already looking for investors to fund further stages of the line's expansion.

Council planning chairman Cameron Caldwell said this model would help encourage people out of cars and on to a more streamlined public transport system.

"We want to create a more liveable city and at the heart of good liveable cities are proper public transport plans," Cr Caldwell said.

"We are trying to encourage behaviour changes so more people think to use their cars less often.

"We have linked these plans into some of the city's proposed major projects, like the arts district, casinos and cultural precincts and cruise ship terminals," he said.

He said the decision to extend the light rail to the airport was made based on population and density along the coastal strip.

There are long-term plans for it to connect with heavy rail but it would need the support of the NSW Government, he said.

The plan also includes major upgrades to footpaths and cycle ways, initiatives to encourage children to walk or take public transport to school, building green bridges from Chevron Island to Bundall, Chevron Island to Surfers Paradise and one from Benowa to Carrara

Picture also, but low resolution.

[SurfRail]

This is a slightly reworked version of what I discussed with them   Better than what they had before, but I am still concerned about a few things (eg Coolangatta missing, the whole idea of a Bundall spur etc)

[SurfRail]

A bit more detail on this.

My feedback to the GCCC planning guys on the plan appearing on the GCB article above was that they should consider a network that looks like this in the long term, which is a compromise on what they put in front of me and what I thought would be a bit more legible.



Looking at the earlier versions I would say they have taken some of my notions to heart, particularly the treatment of the Elanora connection and some of the throughrouting.  I've met the mayor previously (before he got elected) and from what I could tell, and what GCCC tells me, he is reasonably supportive of what I have been saying.

The only substantive infrastructure differences between this and what I was proposing are:
- The line to the south only goes as far as the Airport and not to Coolangatta proper
- The Bundall spur they want
- The Harbour Town route does not extend to Helensvale or towards Paradise Point
- I had assumed heavy rail would eventually extend to the airport, but I suspect they are ignoring it on the basis that with LRT in place and with other things needing funding, it would not be needed or feasible until after the life of the plan (ie 2031+).

Of these only the Bundall spur is actually different to my suggestion, as opposed to just "omitted but still possible".  They still want to push ahead with this Bundall/Evandale idea, which I don't think is going to be necessary, but then again with that kind of movement capacity they can actually do something with the turf club (eg especially now the Gold Coast Show and other major events will be held there) and move some more employment in around the area generally.  My main objection really is imposing a forced transfer on people around 2km from Surfers.  (Although, the idea under this system is that people going to Surfers from the north would catch the train to Parkwood and transfer to a tram there, so it would only put out people actually needing to use the cross-town route and not large numbers of daytrippers.)

[colinw]

Comment submitted to The Bulletin: "Attention Gold Coast whingers: track is in the ground, it is too late to cancel it, so accept it and get onboard!"   

The Bulletin -> First tracks for Gold Coast light rail laid

Pictures: Track work begins for Gold Coast light rail


NOW that the Gold Coast light rail tracks are being laid, it's the clearest sign that the project is a step closer to reality.

Concrete was used to secure the steel tracks in place yesterday as the rollout started along Queen Street in Southport.

But it means later this year centre-street parking in Nerang Street, Southport, already hit hard by light rail construction, will be dug up to make way for the tracks.

Spokesman for contractor GoldLinQ Jason Ward said the track would be laid at 30m a day when construction reached its peak in 2013.

"GoldLinQ has been laying pits and conduits in the area during the past few weeks, and lengths of rail have been delivered at night to Queen St," he said. "The 18m sections of rail will be welded together on-site and will be laid in the ground."

He said track-laying would continue along Queen Street until Christmas.

"In coming weeks, more track-laying work will begin on a section on the eastern side of the Gold Coast Highway at Paradise Waters before the GC600 V8 event," Mr Ward said.

"Work will then move to the median area of Broadbeach. Elements of track-laying work will continue up until the testing and commissioning phase of the project in early 2014."

The $1.2 billion light rail project is expected to be up and running by June 2014, when empty trams will test the system before passengers are allowed on board.

[colinw]

A bit more detail on this.

My feedback to the GCCC planning guys on the plan appearing on the GCB article above was that they should consider a network that looks like this in the long term, which is a compromise on what they put in front of me and what I thought would be a bit more legible.

...

At least they are listening, but I still think that not going to Coolangatta/Tweed with the LRT is stupid!  The heavy rail only going to Elanora for now is fine as long as an Airport & Northern NSW corridor is preserved, particularly if the eminently sensible Elanora spur & interchange is part of the vision.

If an Elanora spur is built, I think it should have a triangular connection to the main LRT line along the Gold Coast Hwy, so that Elanora <-> Coolangatta services can run. That would provide convenient connections between the Elanora heavy rail terminus, Currumbin Sanctuary, Gold Coast Airport and Coolangatta/Tweed heads if the line goes that far.

I am also supportive of a Robina spur, but definitely not Bundall.

I'm also unsure about the idea of two connections to the heavy rail beyond Southport, surely one is sufficient. It is also imperative that Harbour Town is added to the system, so if the Parkwood connection to QR is chosen there should still be a line along Olsen Ave at least as far as Harbour Town.

Over all I would prefer to see the currently planned Stage 2 to Helensvale via Harbour Town go ahead, and this Parkwood idea left on the backburner, although I admit the Parkwood route would probably give a faster connection from the heavy rail to Southport & Surfers.

Hmmm....

[#Metro]

Fix up the blue line - do that first
No spurs - tram track costs around $40 - 50 million per kilometre.

Spend 50 million on rapid bus connections and bus lanes and bus priority and you can have your ladder up and running in no time.

[SurfRail]

^ Colin - you should have seen what was proposed for Elanora originally.  All LRT deviating off the highway corridor to Elanora and then back again...

My suggestions to GCCC were explicitly that there should be a triangle at Gold Coast Hwy / Thrower Drive so a direct Elanora to Coolangatta service could be possible if that was desired.

^ TT - I would be very surprised if extensions to the network cost anywhere near that much.  The start-up costs are always going to be much greater (here they are around $85m per km, including a depot which will be good for 3-4 times the number of vehicles being bought initially, setting up the traction grid, working around services/businesses/people/traffic in the densest parts of town etc).  Does anybody have the Adelaide figures for the North Terrace to Bowden extension?

The benefit would likely be commensurate with cost for the routes they are looking at, if (as they have said they are doing) zoning around the LRT routes in places like Labrador and Varsity Lakes is redesigned to allow densification so new properties aren't restricted to places like Upper Coomera or the other extremities of the city.

[#Metro]

Yes, but a bus only costs about $1 million max for the vehicle , and almost nothing to acquire the alignment. Even if it only cost $10 million per kilometer (dreaming) bus would still be better value for those rung sections.

I just don't understand why people want spurs all the time. Branching dilutes frequency, and none of these sections really need as much capacity to justify LRT. Spend the money on the North-South coastal section and buses - lots of buses to penetrate into the suburbs, and make them super frequent and decent span. Building spurs just means that same money is not available for comprehensive BUZ feeder services.

Spend less on concrete and more on services.

[Gazza]

Branching dilutes frequency

That's a good thing in this case.
It means the service level matches the demand, whilst avoiding all the eggs in one basket of only one terminus.

Eg with lines to Harbour Town and to a new Parkwood Station the frequency splits from a tram every 7.5 minutes to one every 15 minutes.

When you consider that at best the GC line is probably only ever gonna have services every 15 mins in the future anyway this makes sense.
Why feed a 15 min rail service every 7.5 minutes?

[SurfRail]

^Robina and Varsity Lakes will justify an LRT connection with so much of the land still yet to be developed (and all of it for medium and high density).  This is a 20 year and beyond plan.

The Elanora one is a very short link over to the railway's likely southern terminus for many years. 

The Seaworld one is actually to replace what is already a very frequent bus service and which will be even more frequent by the time LRT is needed (and will address possible intensification of use on The Spit).

The Paradise Point one I was proposing is intended to be a spine route for the entire north east to replace several bus routes and allow for greater densities along Oxley Drive and nearby roads. 

The Parkwood one creates a much faster travel time than the Helensvale leg, which travels through basically low density wetlands and industrial estates for several kilometres (so does the Parkwood link but it is shorter and closer in), but Helensvale itself is probably worth doing too in the long run.

The only one I find a bit wierd is the Bundall one.  Forced transfer 2km from Surfers will go down like a ton of bricks with passengers.

Branching is not an important consideration really.  The passenger density required on the legs will be somewhat lower than the highway corridor from Griffith Uni to Mermaid Beach, and with a service every 10 minutes or so on each leg the core will have sufficient frequency (eg every 5 minutes at Palm Beach, every 3 minutes at Pac Fair).  Connecting the major town centres like this also frees up even more bus resources for better local feeders and cross-town routes off the main corridors.

Keep in mind that Surfside does not have unlimited depot capacity - they can maybe store another 100 buses to bring the fleet to around 500 buses before needing to build more depots, none of which come cheaply.  They will need a lot more buses than that to get high frequency bus services to more than just a few select locations.

[#Metro]

That's a good thing in this case.
It means the service level matches the demand, whilst avoiding all the eggs in one basket of only one terminus.

I'm not sure what the problem is with this...

Eg with lines to Harbour Town and to a new Parkwood Station the frequency splits from a tram every 7.5 minutes to one every 15 minutes.

When you consider that at best the GC line is probably only ever gonna have services every 15 mins in the future anyway this makes sense.
Why feed a 15 min rail service every 7.5 minutes?

There's more than just a train line at Helensvale, there's also a westfield there. People might want to go to that as well train station or not. Counter peak services are also operating so with a train every 15 minutes, that's actually a train every 7.5 minutes...

Keep in mind that Surfside does not have unlimited depot capacity - they can maybe store another 100 buses to bring the fleet to around 500 buses before needing to build more depots, none of which come cheaply.  They will need a lot more buses than that to get high frequency bus services to more than just a few select locations.

This is true, but trams also need depot and stabling facilities and these also need to be relatively close to the line. I can see some merit in the robina one, but definetly not on the spit. Most of the spit is conservation area and parks! And the buses to seaworld have heaps of capacity for frequency improvement.

I would only think about spurs when
(a) the north-south axis is complete
(b) service frequency on the feeders is approaching a bus every 5 minutes all day, and they're coming to close to being full

I'm very skeptical about branching. Branching is about coverage, not intensity - and I think much of this coverage can be done with bus. Remember that in general, the simple replacement of a bus route with a rail line is not generally a mobility improvement.

350 pax tram every 15 minutes  = 350 x 4 trams = 1400 pphd (low!)

Bus equivalent, assume 80 pax carried in the bus

1400 / 80 = 18 buses per hour

60 minutes in one hour / 18 buses per hour = a bus every three minutes (Coronation Drive currently)

[SurfRail]

^ It probably would be in the case of the Robina extension because the route they are looking at is off-road and crosses waterways in several places (eg at Bond Uni).

I agree that Seaworld is not a priority.  Airport (ideally Coolangatta but I can live with the airport only) and Parkwood should be equal first, followed by Harbour Town, then Elanora (hopefully at or around the same time as the railway). 

Other links can be considered after that, firstly Robina and then other extensions which are aimed mainly at being corridor routes to replace frequent buses.

[colinw]

The Bulletin -> click here

WILLOUGHBY: Get on train to future

TOMORROW council will vote to move ahead with the city's Transport Strategy 2031.

My bet is they all will support it. Well, the majority of them.

Even though most of them probably haven't caught a bus for a while (our BMW-driving mayor excluded; my sources tell me he jumped on one the night before the election), they would know that what we have, is well, pretty rubbish.

As a lover of talking about all things infrastructure -- except for maybe wastewater pipes and treatment plants -- when I saw the transport plan I became a little excited.

Some people like Star Wars, Fifty Shades of Grey and that vampire show. I get a kick out of transport strategies. Especially this one. It's not just focused on more buses and wider roads for more cars.

It embraces infrastructure such as more foot and bike paths, more heavy and light rail connections and lines, and all the pretty links between.

Today buses arrive two at a time or they don't arrive at all and they swerve in and out of traffic in a rush to get ahead of the bus behind, which is also running late.

We then have the "Bombay Express", our train that takes hordes of workers to Brisvegas every day.

Having been to Bombay -- I mean Mumbai -- via train, the coined term is not a bad analogy. Maybe we should start selling samosas and chai on board to calm the angry travellers? Just a thought.

Then, of course, there is the appalling state of the city's footpaths (note to self: do not mention the Oceanway. Give up, Shannon.)

They are cracked and uneven, littered with bins, bikes and bottles. In my neighbourhood, anyway. Elsewhere in the city there aren't any.

We pride ourselves on being a healthy city, embracing our beaches and open air, yet I took a bike ride to Burleigh on the weekend and was nearly bowled over by cars and lycra-wearing cyclists on Hedges Avenue.

The car would have been safer ... except it's at the panelbeaters (not my fault, BTW).

Anyway, when I opened the transport document last week, I was a little happier about living on the Gold Coast. It was like looking at New York City's subway map. There were yellow lines connecting to red and blue dotting to black, and they stretched from one end of the Coast to the other as well as east to west.

Under the plan, light rail would connect to heavy rail at Parkwood and Robina and extend north to The Spit, east to Bundall and south to Coolangatta.

There is light rail to the airport. Yup, that's not a typo. We could, one day, hopefully in my lifetime, have a decent public transport system linking to our aviation hub.

The plan also includes major upgrades to footpaths and cycleways and initiatives to encourage children to walk or take public transport to school, a move that could substantially reduce road traffic in peak school times.

There's also talk of building green bridges from Chevron Island to Bundall, Chevron Island to Surfers Paradise and one from Benowa to Carrara to encourage people to walk or ride bikes instead of using the car.

Importantly, it's a strategy that recognises these plans are not all about infrastructure.

The success of the infrastructure is based on behavioural shifts.

It is estimated that 800,000 people will live on the Gold Coast by 2031 and congestion costs in Australian capital cities will reach $20 billion by 2020.

Now, just 3.1 per cent of the city's population uses public transport daily, a target well shy of the 7 per cent the city was meant to hit last year.

It really is time the council, with the help of the state, provided a decent public transport system to get the Gold Coast out of its car.