Translink Tracker Q1 2011-12 + Queensland Rail Passenger Load Survey Q3 2011

[david]

Just released today!

Translink Tracker -> http://translink.com.au/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/2011-12-quarterly-report-jul-to-sep.pdf

QR Passenger Load Survey -> http://translink.com.au/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/2011-q3-passenger-load-survey.pdf

Very surprised to see the PLS data released! Very interesting read. Darra up 42.6% in AM peak, despite Richlands opening. Richlands pax 1212 in AM peak. Whopping figure! If you build it, they will come...

[Fares_Fair]

Interesting that Sunshine Coast line growth from Elimbah to Nambour has gone backwards in the last reported quarter.
This is reflective of the increased costs and the significant loss of express services.

It is symbolic of the severe limitations of the single line track north of Beerburrum, that is driving long distance commuters away from public transport and into their cars.
The adverse socio-economic effects predicted in the 2007 Brisbane Cairns corridor strategy, are coming home to roost.
This was a part of the report under the Do Nothing Option.

Source:
Queensland Transport
Landsborough to Nambour
Initial Advice Statement
February 2007
Ove Arup Engineers.

QT is seeking the declaration of the future upgrade of the NCL between Landsborough and
Nambour by the Coordinator-General as a "significant project" requiring an EIS under
s26(1)(a) of the SDPWO Act.

This has since been declared by the Government, even though it will not occur for 20 years.

2.3.2.1 "Do nothing" Option
It is likely that the region would experience adverse socio-economic effects should the NCL
between Landsborough and Nambour not be upgraded. Increases in demand are likely to
significantly challenge the ability of the current infrastructure to support an acceptable level
of rail service in the future.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[david]

Gold Coast still going strong - up 14.1%. Caboolture to Virginia also up 9.9%. Once again, if you provide fast, frequent services, they will come.

Very surprised to see Gailes going strong with 203 pax boarding in AM peak. Up from 89 in the 2009 PLS.

Holmview at a dismal 55 pax. Rocklea with only 70 pax. Even worse for PM peak alightings (27 pax @ Holmview, 74 @ Rocklea) Perhaps further evidence to close down these stations?

[Stillwater]

Numbers will be affected again next month, when fares go up.  Travel time has lengthened already.  Treasury officials will puff their chests with satisfaction that they have successfully dampened customer satisfaction.  For the immediate future, the case for improving this line's alignment and capacity rests with its contribution to the state's freight task and the relative merits of Bruce Highway versus Sunshine Coast Line upgrades.

[david]

Media Release -> http://translink.com.au/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/media-releases/release/443

Peak train numbers up, crowding down

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Peak train use is up and overcrowding is down according the latest TransLink Tracker released today.

TransLink Acting CEO Matt Longland said the Queensland Rail peak boarding and alighting data showed the new timetable that started on June 6 – the biggest in more than 15 years – was driving positive change for train customers.

"Passenger numbers were counted in August and September 2011 and the data shows a 6.8 per cent growth in morning peak train boardings and a 4.1 per cent growth in afternoon peak use when compared to the same period in 2010," Mr Longland said.

"Some of the most significant growth occurred on our two busiest lines during the morning peak period with Ipswich/Richlands line growing by 7.3 per cent and the Caboolture line by 9.9 per cent.

"On one hand we are seeing growth, yet both of these busy lines have more than halved the number of crowded services as a result of the 11 additional peak services on the Ipswich/Richlands line and eight additional peak services on the Caboolture line.

"This is a terrific result brought about by strong customer feedback which helped Queensland Rail and TransLink plan and implement a timetable that is delivering excellent outcomes."

The June 6 changes added more than 150,000 additional weekly seats to these lines, and also allowed the new Richlands station to be fully incorporated into the timetable.

While peak patronage grew on bus and train, overall patronage was 0.8 per cent lower on the same quarter the previous year.

"We did see an overall softening of just under two per cent in the off-peak in July and August. This reverses strong off-peak growth we saw between March and May.

"To make off-peak travel more attractive TransLink added four new turn-up-and-go off-peak bus services in August and October and has provided more incentives as part of the scheduled 2012 fare package, including an increase in the off-peak discount to 20 per cent and a 10-journey-and-free weekly cap."

Other key public transport indicators for the July-to-September quarter show:

    a record 37.6 million go card trips taken for the quarter
    customer enquires topped 10 million for only the second time
    the average fare was $1.98 per trip
    the number of fixed fares dropped from three per cent to 2.4 per cent
    overall customer satisfaction increased for ferry services and remained the same for bus and train.

"We've also used the start of a new reporting year to release a long-term study into historic methods for calculating train patronage.

"In January 2011 we became one of the few networks in the world to switch to actual train boarding data, rather than rely on multipliers or assumption to calculate patronage.

"This has allowed TransLink to correct historic train patronage and provide a more accurate benchmark to measure future growth."

TransLink Tracker and Queensland Rail's Passenger Load Survey are available at translink.com.au.

Q2 Tracker will be available mid-March 2012.

[ozbob]

Thanks David.

[Fares_Fair]

Is the Sunshine Coast (Elimbah to Nambour) the only line to have a significant downturn in patronage?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

Is the Sunshine Coast (Elimbah to Nambour) the only line to have a significant downturn in patronage?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

No, more later,  off a small base the numbers can  easily twist ...

[Stillwater]

Quotes from the Arup Needs Assessment Study for the Caboolture-Landsborough Track Upgrade

"This 32 kilometre section of rail line is unique in Queensland because of the mix of traffic it carries. Services currently using the line include Citytrain, Traveltrain, Tilt train and freight train, all of which use different rolling stock with varying operating characteristics.

"Forecast population increases on the Sunshine Coast, general increases in tourism-related rail travel, and growing demand for rail freight, are all likely to increase the demand for services on this section of rail.

"These increases are likely to put pressure on the ability of train operations to perform at an acceptable level of service in the future.  The majority of the desired levels of service cannot be met with the existing rail infrastructure. Hence, an upgrade of the Caboolture to Landsborough section of the main north coast rail line is needed.

"Overall, the needs assessment found that an upgrade will:

improve the level of service for passenger and freight rail services in terms of service frequency, hours of service, seating capacity, freight capacity, reliability, and travel time;
allow for a progressive increase in rail services throughout the day and a consequent decrease in Railbus services in the corridor;
assist in achieving the IRTP public transport mode share targets."

[Arnz]

Is the Sunshine Coast (Elimbah to Nambour) the only line to have a significant downturn in patronage?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

Inbound from Nambour to Brisbane had a drop of 8%, outbound from Brisbane to Nambour had a 23% Increase   :conf

Once again it doesn't count Yandina-Gympie North, so we can assume it's about roughly 1950 boardings.. or roughly 1000 each way.. (counting the Yandina-Gympie folks) and growth has pretty much stiffled/slight decline (overall).

[Arnz]

Interesting that Corinda-Milton had a 4% drop inbound (Corinda-City), and no change (+0.3%) on the outbound leg (City-Corinda).

[HappyTrainGuy]

Petrie Represent! Take that Ferny Grove haha.

TiltTrain is part of the long distance TravelTrain network

[somebody]

Is the Sunshine Coast (Elimbah to Nambour) the only line to have a significant downturn in patronage?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

Beenleigh and Ipswich (excluding Richlands) also had patronage declines.

I think the increase at Darra is due to the express services - it has robbed Oxley and Corinda of pax.  It's busier in the AM than Indooroopilly now, but not the PM.  This is probably also the cause of the increase at Gailes - it's too hard to park at Darra now, I'm guessing.

[somebody]

Is Darra busier than Indooroopilly in the PM for outbound alightings or not?  Table of station ranks shows that it is, but the numbers show the exact opposite.  Must be some problem with collating/describing the data.

[Golliwog]

Petrie Represent! Take that Ferny Grove haha.

TiltTrain is part of the long distance TravelTrain network

Darra is beating Ferny Grove as well, so much for FG being the busiest station outside the CBD.

I'd be interested though to see the Q1 figures as well though, as there is a decent difference between the 2009 Q1 figures from the previously released report and the 2009 Q3 figures containted in this one. You could get a rough estimate by getting ratios between Q1/2009 and Q3/2009 and assume those stayed the same in 2011... might do that later.

[Cam]

Despite significant increases in the population of Ipswich over the last couple of years & a reduction in the unemployment rate to just 3.5%, there have been large declines in patronage figures for some outer Ipswich Line stations over the last 2 years - including Ipswich, Ebbw Vale, Redbank & Goodna. Also, despite the opening in February of the new section of the Dinmore car park which doubled its size, there was only a 7% increase in AM boarding & a drop in PM alighting figures compared to last year.

When you consider the large increase in patronage figures for Gailes, Darra & Indooroopilly over the last couple of years & 1200 commuters now using Richlands station that previously didn't, there is a clear picture that commuters are choosing to drive closer to their destinations rather than parking at their local station or catching a bus to their local station. Some commuters from Ipswich may also be driving to Brisbane suburbs & using other modes of transport to their destination e.g. bus, cycling or even walking.

[Golliwog]

Is Darra busier than Indooroopilly in the PM for outbound alightings or not?  Table of station ranks shows that it is, but the numbers show the exact opposite.  Must be some problem with collating/describing the data.

I noticed that as well for Ferny Grove vs. Darra, the physical numbers say Darra has more in the AM than FG, but the ranking table has that reversed.

[Fares_Fair]

Despite significant increases in the population of Ipswich over the last couple of years & a reduction in the unemployment rate to just 3.5%, there have been large declines in patronage figures for some outer Ipswich Line stations over the last 2 years - including Ipswich, Ebbw Vale, Redbank & Goodna. Also, despite the opening in February of the new section of the Dinmore car park which doubled its size, there was only a 7% increase in AM boarding & a drop in PM alighting figures compared to last year.

When you consider the large increase in patronage figures for Gailes, Darra & Indooroopilly over the last couple of years & 1200 commuters now using Richlands station that previously didn't, there is a clear picture that commuters are choosing to drive closer to their destinations rather than parking at their local station or catching a bus to their local station. Some commuters from Ipswich may also be driving to Brisbane suburbs & using other modes of transport to their destination e.g. bus, cycling or even walking.

That, dare I say it is due to the costs of travel and convenience of the car.
I know that some on the Sunshine Coast line now drive to Caboolture where there are:
a) more services.
b) it costs less.
c) it saves travel time.


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[somebody]

But still, these figures seem to show that peak hour patronage is still growing with the fare hikes, just at a reduced rate.

Given that train patronage overall is reported to be flat, that must mean that off peak patronage is declining.

[colinw]

Unsurprising. First thing to go is discretionary travel. Last thing to go will be the "core" commuters doing the CBD 9 to 5 thing.

[ozbob]

Is the Sunshine Coast (Elimbah to Nambour) the only line to have a significant downturn in patronage?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

Beenleigh and Ipswich (excluding Richlands) also had patronage declines.

I think the increase at Darra is due to the express services - it has robbed Oxley and Corinda of pax.  It's busier in the AM than Indooroopilly now, but not the PM.  This is probably also the cause of the increase at Gailes - it's too hard to park at Darra now, I'm guessing.

Spot on Simon. There has been a shift of pax to Darra and Richlands.  Particularly Darra, with its gold frequency at peak and off peak ..

[colinw]

Looks like a big shift of people away from using Corinda as well. Is that the loss of the via Tennyson peak services?

[HappyTrainGuy]

Travelling along the Caboolture line patronage hasn't looked like its decreased in off peak although the jumpy looking people when the train applies the brakes into stations has increased

A little. When I caught it counter peak it was just empty. Peak direction always had school kids that never heard of deodorant.

[somebody]

Looks like a big shift of people away from using Corinda as well. Is that the loss of the via Tennyson peak services?

I'd have said the loss of the express services, but perhaps that is a bigger factor.  They were certainly reasonably well patronised between them.

[Arnz]

Is the Sunshine Coast (Elimbah to Nambour) the only line to have a significant downturn in patronage?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

Beenleigh and Ipswich (excluding Richlands) also had patronage declines.

I think the increase at Darra is due to the express services - it has robbed Oxley and Corinda of pax.  It's busier in the AM than Indooroopilly now, but not the PM.  This is probably also the cause of the increase at Gailes - it's too hard to park at Darra now, I'm guessing.

Oxley-Ipswich had a 1.4% increase in morning peak boardings to slightly alleviate the 8% drop in afternoon peak alightings, whilst Elimbah-Nambour had a whopping 23% increase in afternoon alightings to offset the 8% drop in morning peak boardings.

Adding them up, overall patronage has either stiffled or only increased slightly in the peak periods.  I'm guessing people get a lift into work, and get the train home in the afternoons.

Edit: Meanwhile on another note, Thomas Street - Rosewood has a 15% increase in boardings, and a huge 66% increase in alightings.  Although most Rosewood line stations have lower patronage to get those kind of figures for the increase.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Parts of the Rosewood line had 300+% increase in patronage... although that's only an extra 2-3 people... 

[Arnz]

Parts of the Rosewood line had 300+% increase in patronage... although that's only an extra 2-3 people...  

That would be Karrabin Station. 10 extra outbound alightings in 2011 as opposed to 3 outbound alightings in 2010 = 333% increase 

On another note at the same station. Karrabin Station boardings dropped from 11 in 2010 to only 2 in 2011.  A huge 81% decrease  

[Stillwater]

Usually, people have to be at work precisely for the opening of business.  Some public agencies have a more liberal working day, allowing staff to start as early as 7am, or some workers start at 7am (coffee shops).  The point is that more people have to be precise about starting work at a given time, and can trickle home from 3am in the afternoon.  (Some people might not work an eight-hour day.)  It is interesting that the Sunshine Coast Regional Council has noticed a growing practice of people carpooling in the morning especially and has begun to look at establishing a number of 'park and ride' locations across the Coast to bring order to the haphazard parking arrangements that are developing.  Has the council stumbled on a shift away from people catching the train?  Some of the proposed car park locations will be adjacent to the bus network.  Or is it the case that more people are discovering that car pooling and the drive to Brisbane is the way to find work?  As the PT fares go up, is it cheaper for two or three people to car pool and share costs; those costs, per person, being lower than the PT fare.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Gold Coast commuters feel the squeeze

Gold Coast commuters feel the squeeze
Tony Moore
December 13, 2011 - 5:31PM

Gold Coast trains are becoming more crowded, while Ipswich and Caboolture line trains are busier, but less crowded, Translink's latest survey shows.

Morning train commuters have increased by 7.3 per cent on the Ipswich/Richlands line and by 9.9 per cent on the Caboolture line.

However, this has not translated into people standing in the carriages because extra services have been added to these lines.

Eleven new services were added to the Ipswich line, including services out to the Richlands station and eight extra train services were added to the Caboolture line.

On the Gold Coast line, the trains are becoming more crowded and more passengers are standing because no extra morning peak services had been added in the past 12 months.

The percentage of morning peak hour carriages on the Gold Coast line where passengers are stand for more than 20 minutes increased from 50 per cent in 2010 to 83 per cent in 2011.

For morning peak Gold Coast-only trains, the proportion of carriages where passengers stood for longer than 20 minutes increased from 38 to 63 per cent.

On all rail lines, the number of train passengers increased by 6.8 per cent in the morning peak and by 4.1 per cent in the afternoon peak, but has dropped overall by 0.8 per cent.

Outside peak hours, rail passengers dropped by two per cent in July and August.

Translink counted passengers in August and September 2011 as part of their annual passenger research.

Acting Translink chief executive Matt Longland said extra services added to the Ipswich and Caboolture lines in the new timetable launched in June were having an impact.

"On one hand we are seeing growth, yet both of these busy lines have more than halved the number of crowded services as a result of the additional peak services on the Ipswich/Richlands line and the Caboolture line," Mr Longland said.

While there are also 12 new rail services coming in from Richlands, there are no new services on the Gold Coast line.

The number of passengers on the Caboolture to Virginia section has increased by 9.9 per cent between 2010 and 2011, after increasing only 1.4 per cent the previous year.

There has also been a 14.1 per cent increase in passengers between the Gold Coast station at Varsity Lakes and Ormeau, but a slight drop (0.8 per cent) in the number of people catching the train from Beenleigh to Moorooka.

Passenger numbers also dropped from Corinda to Milton.

A Translink spokesman said they understood some passengers who first drove to Beenleigh, instead now caught the train from Varsity Lakes.

LNP public transport spokesman Scott Emerson said the overcrowding on the Gold Coast line was embarrassing.

"That's why they call it the Bombay Express. There's not too much relief there for anybody is there," he said.

"And don't forget they are going to be paying an extra 15 per cent for their fares in two weeks time."

Mr Emerson said the latest Translink data showed that train patronage outside peak hours was starting to fall dramatically.

He said the number of train trips in the July-September quarter had decreased to 14.1 million in the latest Translink Tracker, compared to 16.3 million recorded in the Translink Tracker for the same quarter in 2010, with bus and ferry patronage also down. 

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/gold-coast-commuters-feel-the-squeeze-20111213-1osu9.htm

[ozbob]

4BC News ran some bytes. Thanks for the interest 4BC, I stressed the importance of overall network frequency ... lol

[ozbob]

Patronage has not fallen at all Mr Emerson. It is because of the odd statistical basis they used to use.

In fact, patronage has increased overall by 4% or so.  Get a grip ..

[BrizCommuter]

Is this a transparency breakthrough?
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2011/12/passenger-load-survey-transparency.html

[ozbob]

Media release 19 October 2011

SEQ: Call for transparency with public transport performance and load data

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers has called for the routine public release of detailed and accurate, performance and load data for public transport, as in other states of Australia (1,2,3).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Detailed load and performance data for public transport in south-east Queensland is not made publicly available as in other states.  This suggests that the authorities are more interested in maintaining a cloak of secrecy and non-transparency, and covering up failure."

"We call on TransLink to make publicly available timely and accurate performance data for all railway lines, bus and ferry routes."

"Why is necessary to resort to Right To Information requests for data that is made readily available in other states?  Is there something to hide?"

"Taxpayers and the public transport community are tired of being treated with contempt!"

References:

1. http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/pt/facts-and-figures/track-record/track-record-monthly-performance-bulletin-trains-metropolitan

2. http://www.transport.vic.gov.au/pt/facts-and-figures/track-record/track-record-monthly-performance-bulletin-trams

3. http://www.pta.wa.gov.au/NewsandMedia/TransperthPatronage/tabid/218/Default.aspx

Contact:

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

[ozbob]

Yep

[david]

I feel the urge to strangle the next person that calls the Gold Coast line "the Bombay Express". Seriously, the people standing on the service are usually those hopping on at Beenleigh. I'm sorry, but from my observations, the train NEVER EVER gets to the sardine state. Sure, a couple of people standing here and there, but nothing to be terribly concerned about, especially since numerous members in this forum have identified enough capacity on such services to increase the number of stations served in the Inner South area.

[Arnz]

I feel the urge to strangle the next person that calls the Gold Coast line "the Bombay Express". Seriously, the people standing on the service are usually those hopping on at Beenleigh. I'm sorry, but from my observations, the train NEVER EVER gets to the sardine state. Sure, a couple of people standing here and there, but nothing to be terribly concerned about, especially since numerous members in this forum have identified enough capacity on such services to increase the number of stations served in the Inner South area.

+1.  There are also a few services that also stop at Loganlea during peak.

[colinw]

Whoever came up with that term has never been to Mumbai (Bombay), or anywhere else with crowded trains.



I've experienced worse crowding on a branch line DMU in England than anything I've seen in Brisbane.  One time I copped an absolute crush load on a DMU from Bath to Bradford-on-Avon (the cross country Cardiff to Portsmouth Harbour service).

[david]

Further information from the PLS to indicate that the Gold Coast Line is NOT the "Bombay Express":

Looking at Line Capacity - Standing (Loading is greater than seating + standing capacity) (p.32)

Gold Coast - GRAND TOTAL OF 0 (ZERO) services above 100% in AM and PM peak (only 1 service above 90% capacity before getting to Beenleigh Station in PM peak)

[Fares_Fair]

Further information from the PLS to indicate that the Gold Coast Line is NOT the "Bombay Express":

Looking at Line Capacity - Standing (Loading is greater than seating + standing capacity) (p.32)

Gold Coast - GRAND TOTAL OF 0 (ZERO) services above 100% in AM and PM peak (only 1 service above 90% capacity before getting to Beenleigh Station in PM peak)

The mX ran a headline story today about the Gold Coast, but how does it compare to the Sunshine Coast where pax are standing until Burpengary, the best part of an hour.
Number of standees ranges widely from 30 to 60, with an average on my train carriage of around 40.
A 20 minute stand is chicken feed.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[david]

It's a bit of a shame that the Gold Coast Line receives all the limelight, while Sunshine Coast passengers continue to suffer. I think the problem for Sunshine Coast commuters is exacerbated with those boarding/alighting between Caboolture and Petrie taking up those seats (these stations experienced some of the biggest patronage growth too).

Just as a clarification, I'm not denying the fact there are some standees on the Gold Coast express services, I just hate that they think that the situation is comparable to the "Bombay Express"