Premier Statement: Premier welcomes public's say on new transit authority

[ozbob]

Premier
The Honourable Anna Bligh
11/05/2008

Premier welcomes public's say on new transit authority

THE Premier has welcomed the public's suggestions on the role of the new South East Queensland Transit Authority.

Online consultation on the new authority closed this week after an eight week period.
Respondents asked for better connections, greater frequency of services, better services to outer areas and increased reliability in public transport services.

Suggestions for new options such as light rail and underground rail for Brisbane and even the odd request to bring back trams were among submissions.

"I can't promise to bring back the trams but my government is spending $1.6 million every hour of every day building and re-building infrastructure in Queensland,'' said Premier Anna Bligh.

"We are determined to encourage more people to use public transport to beat congestion in our cities and the way to make that happen is to listen to what people want.

"Right now we are building billions of dollars of new public transport infrastr ucture and we want to make sure that the new Transit Authority understands what the public needs."
The TransLink Transit Authority will be operational from 1 July, 2008.

"The new authority's main mission will be to improve services for the public and for that reason this input is invaluable," said the Premier.

Of the respondents 66% listed their most important expectation of the new authority as improving and expanding public transport services in the region.

Another 22% said the task of integrating public transport services across the region was most important.

"These are both tasks that will be earmarked as among the top priorities of the TransLink Transit Authority," said the Premier.

"The new authority will have greater control over service delivery, with the power and flexibility to improve services, convenience and reliability.

"It will also be a one-stop shop for public transport services, customer service and feedba ck.

"The authority will have the freedom and power to co-ordinate services, redeploy resources such as buses based on demand, and ensure the smooth introduction of new technology across the network."

Around 400 people were asked to nominate what mode of public transport, or combination of modes, they usually used.

There was an almost equal split between bus (45.45%) and train (44.16%), with 10.39% identifying themselves as ferry travelers.

The typical respondent was a male (67.71%) between 36-50 years of age (35.42%) or 26-35 years of age (30.21%).

The new authority will become the one point of contact for the 17 different train, bus and ferry operators in the region.

Commuters will be able to ring the 13 12 30 information number 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always with the option of speaking to a person.

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[ozbob]

The consultation process was indeed most welcome.

Of concern is whether or not any notice will be taken of the feedback.  If Translink's track record is anything to go by this is not an unreasonable point to make.

The fact that the TTA will the sole point of contact means that the feedback and response systems must be timely, accurate and meaningful.  Again people who have the knowledge of the bus systems, the rail systems, the river systems must be part of this response team.  The sometimes inaccurate and nonsensical responses oft received from Translink we hope are soon a distant memory!