Ozbob's Fare System (for an example)

[Gazza]

Roughly, and for the sake of comparison, the fare subsidy for SC rail users is $11,000 a day.  The fare subsidy for just FG rail users is $37,000 daily ( +++ the other lines!), but, yep, some believe those Sunny Coast people are a bunch of bludgers.

How do you figure? Are you just multiplying the number of pax by that per trip subsidy figure from QR/TL?

Or is this a per passenger kilometer type thing?

[Stillwater]

Bottom line?  The SCL and Ipswich line make a profit.  Other lines don't.

[Mr X]

Bottom line?  The SCL and Ipswich line make a profit.  Other lines don't.

Got a source?

[Arnz]

I think Stillwater was talking about Freight (The money QR makes off track access fees by the freight operators Aurizon and Pacific National that operate on the Ipswich and NCL).  Which on that note, parts of the Cleveland line makes a "profit" too (Fisherman Island branch). 

Passenger services on both lines (Ipswich/NCL) run at a loss obviously.

[Gazza]

Why are we talking about Ips/SC line freight? Can we keep it to the cost of running pax services?

[Stillwater]

Investment in the SC Line duplication will lead to efficiencies that will generate far more revenue that if every passenger who travels north of Landsborough had their fare doubled.  Even if Caboolture-Gympie North passengers paid three times the fares they pay now, who honestly believes that will result in a manna from heaven turning point for the revenue box?

[Gazza]

But lets get back to the $11000 versus $37000 figure?

[Stillwater]

To further consider the $11,000 and the $37,000 figures (it is not a case of one versus the other), one must ponder why it is better that someone posting a letter from Beenleigh to Petrie at 65c should, in fact, pay the actual cost, say 20c.  Why should someone posting a standard letter from Beenleigh to Petrie pay the same to post a standard letter as a person sending a standard letter to Alice Springs?  Just image all the extra staff you will need, and all the extra post offices required to weigh the standard letters and determine postage by distance.  What should be the focus is that a service is provided.  That someone requiring an ambulance to convey them to the nearest hospital should pay far less that someone with a series illness who must be conveyed to a tertiary hospital in a distant city is the argument put by some.  Let's strip high-earning commuters from the Coasts and have them live in Brisbane say others.  Still more say let's abandon the concept of vertical fiscal imbalance and have all the GST revenue collected in one state spent in that state.  It is an ideology that does not deserve oxygen.  The very point is the irrelevancy of the $11,000 and $37,000 figures in the overall scheme of things.

[Gazza]

You're avoiding the question
Which document did you get it from that it costs $11,000 to run the SC line per day versus $37,000 anyway, thats what im interested in.

And what is the figure based around? Passenger kilometers? Cost of running that days services?

[Golliwog]

To further consider the $11,000 and the $37,000 figures (it is not a case of one versus the other), one must ponder why it is better that someone posting a letter from Beenleigh to Petrie at 65c should, in fact, pay the actual cost, say 20c.  Why should someone posting a standard letter from Beenleigh to Petrie pay the same to post a standard letter as a person sending a standard letter to Alice Springs?  Just image all the extra staff you will need, and all the extra post offices required to weigh the standard letters and determine postage by distance.  What should be the focus is that a service is provided. 

While I'll agree there realistically would be differences in price based on destination, I'm fairly sure that a large part of the cost is simply due to the sorting process and maintaining the machines that help do the sorting. I know for a fact that mail from the Sunshine and Gold Coasts is sorted at Northgate (even though the large majority of that mail is to somewhere within the same region), and while I'm not privy to the decision making process, I have no doubt it's not because transport costs were their main concern.

Yes I'm well aware this is waaaaay off topic. Just something I found interesting when I worked at the mail sorting center.

[ozbob]

Please respect others opinions. 

I take it that the proposed fare system, what this thread is actually about  is bloody marvellous!   

The other thing is it is understood infants/children <5 travel free (as for now) and touch on for off peak moved from 2am to possibly 5.30am. 

It is easy to understand why 2am was chosen, but maybe a better option to encourage some earlier travel would be a zonal trip length off peak morning time.  Eg. 15-23 5am, 10-14 5.30am. 5-9 6am, 1-4 6.30am ...  so someone taking a 3 zone journey on Gold Coast would have the same benefit as someone taking a 3 zone journey in Brisbane.

Would prefer a system wide touch off at 7am but I don't think that is achievable on the present system.

[somebody]

<Mod Hat On>
Can we please get back to the topic?  On other forums, posts from reply 24 through 49 would be deleted just for being off topic.  I've got a mind that they should be anyway, but I'm keeping my powder dry.

We've had the Sunshine Coast paying too much/not enough flamefest before.  I don't see what value is added by having it again.
<end>

[Gazza]

<Mod Hat On>
Can we please get back to the topic?  On other forums, posts from reply 24 through 49 would be deleted just for being off topic.

Not really. On other forums youd just split the offtopic posts with a common theme into a separate thread.

[somebody]

<Mod Hat On>
Can we please get back to the topic?  On other forums, posts from reply 24 through 49 would be deleted just for being off topic.

Not really. On other forums youd just split the offtopic posts with a common theme into a separate thread.

Ok, on some other forums.  And that's a fact.