22 Mar 2013: SEQ: Bus Review: Call for Transport Minister to resign

[ozbob]

Media release 22 March 2013

SEQ: Bus Review: Call for Transport Minister to resign


Image: Part of Auckland's Frequent Network; Auckland, NZ bus review reached the same conclusions that TransLink did.
http://i998.photobucket.com/albums/af104/tramtrain/AKT_FN_zpsd92d963d.jpg

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 calls for the Transport Minister to resign after effectively abolishing the functions of his own department yesterday. A snap poll of RAIL Back On Track Members' supports this call (see http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9749.0).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Last year, TransLink and Auckland Transport, Auckland NZ were both given identical tasks - to fix up their bus systems. Both TransLink and Auckland Transport have reached near identical conclusions and recommendations - Redeploy service, make the system simpler, introduce connections and create a frequent network. The NZ bus review enjoys good public support. The same cannot be said for Brisbane."

"Commuters will ultimately lose. The return of 15% and 20 % fare rises or even greater for the same old system are coming now that inefficiencies cannot be reduced."

Losses:

Centenary Suburbs- Centenary high frequency BUZ service cancelled. Centenary residents will have to make do with choosing between 10 different low frequency and indirect bus routes. Western Suburbs commuters will lose access to express trains at Indooroopilly which only take 8 minutes to the CBD and are congestion-free.

Yeronga - Yeronga high frequency BUZ service cancelled. Yeronga residents will have to make do with the indirect hourly route 105.

Northwestern suburbs - Albany Creek high frequency BUZ service cancelled. Residents will have to make do with hourly services.

Bulimba - improvements to weekday and weekend frequency cancelled. Residents will have to make do with indirect, slow and infrequent services such as 232 Cannon Hill and large gaps on weekends and evenings.

Super stops - who hasn't waited for ever for this to happen?

All services from a region using same stop with best in/out CBD access. eg inner north/west buses into KGS rather than surface running.

Frequent, highly legible, better spaced, better routed, trunk routes.

Transfers to the train network for far outer routes to avoid congestion, reduce bus salaries, reduce competing modes, improve reliability

New frequent routes to areas that currently miss out.

Redesigned secondary routes with the promise of constant review and tweaking of such routes even after the review was implemented.

Cutting of air routes, freeing up resources for areas without decent services.

Better cross town routes.

Improving Cultural Centre Bus mess without super expensive concrete based solutions.

Splitting of the Great Circle line.


"The most damning statistic that was revealed was that the bus network, with it's 75% taxpayer subsidies and annual 20% and 15% fare rises, was that the bus network is transporting 50% air. Air!"

"The next fare rise must not be higher than inflation. Passengers will simply refuse to pay."

"The Minister for Transport should consider handing in his resignation over this scandal. Brisbane City Council clearly is a transport failure,  tells the regulator what to do ( i.e. TransLink), and can do whatever it likes with funds, route planning, timetabling, creating routes at will, while passengers pay more and more and more."

"The Transport Minister has totally, completely and spectacularly lost control of his own departmental responsibilities."

"What is going to occur in other regions of SEQ such as Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich,  Redlands, Moreton Bay?  Are these regions now to have ongoing mediocre services as a consequent of propping up BCC's failed bus network?"

"Queensland Rail now should be given back full control for SEQ rail in terms of planning and timetabling.  The Minister has made TransLink redundant.  Brisbane City Council sees rail as a competitor, not as part of an integrated public transport network.  What a perverse outcome the Minister has created."

"It is also clear that whatever network plans or costings TransLink does means absolutely nothing now. Brisbane City Council, has all the power and none of the responsibility or accountability as demonstrated with the Maroon CityGlider fiasco and our discovery of  'Paris Hilton' rocket bus services. The Lord Mayor, Graham Quirk summed it up nicely when it was reported:  'He said while ultimately it was TransLink's responsibility, they were pleased to be taking over the process.'"

References:

1. "Transferring" can be good for you, and good for your city http://www.humantransit.org/2009/04/why-transferring-is-good-for-you-and-good-for-your-city.html

2. Controversial changes to the bus network across Brisbane have been scrapped http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/central/controversial-changes-to-the-bus-network-across-brisbane-have-been-scrapped/story-fn8m0qb4-1226602783644

3. Paris Hilton Rocket 161 http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9045.msg122020;topicseen#msg122020

Contact:

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

[ozbob]

Discussion thread --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=9045.msg122508#msg122508

[ozbob]

4BC News has followed up, thanks for the interest ...

[Stillwater]

RailBOT should also call upon the Minister to reveal the cost of his ill-fated bus review.  How many wasted person-hours went into this exercise.  Didn't Mr Newman say he was going to cut down on waste.  Not only do we have the waste continuing within the bus network, but also the many thousands of hours of wasted work devising a new system.  Welcome to Queensland, Mr Scales.

[ozbob]

4KQ News has followed up, thanks for the interest.

Also did an interview on Phoenix Radio ( http://www.usq.edu.au/phoenixradio )

[Fares_Fair]

Quickly, does TransLink pay BCC for all of these services?

[ozbob]

Quickly, does TransLink pay BCC for all of these services?

BCC puts in around $130 PA I understand, rest from TransLink ..

[Fares_Fair]

Cheers. 

[Fares_Fair]

Quickly, does TransLink pay BCC for all of these services?

BCC puts in around $130 PA I understand, rest from TransLink ..

$130k per annum?

[ozbob]

Sorry millions ...

[Fares_Fair]

Got it.

[Fares_Fair]

Translinks input, any idea on that?

[ozbob]

Around $450M

[somebody]

Here are official figures from a few years ago: http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/Id/75109

2009/10 Council kicked in $65.6 million.  Around their dead running cost.

Around $450M

Is that for all operators or just BT?

[Fares_Fair]

 

[ozbob]

Yes, $450M is all operators ..

[DanDickie]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

[SurfRail]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

Well you obviously don't care about commuters in Albany Creek, Jindalee, Taigum or Morningside who won't be getting upgraded services now.

[Fares_Fair]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

Did you know that the route 180 touted as being cut, will actually become 3 high frequency bus services?
Or that the buses were to be timed to co-incide with trains at Indooroopilly for example, saving over half an hour total travel time from the western suburbs.

There are many examples of benefits in a rearrangement of the system, yes there are issues and these were to be studied, addressed and tweaked as the rollout progressed.
It isn't perfect for everyone, however 19 high frequency routes were to be replaced by 26 high frequency routes.

We do care about commuters, be they bus, train, bicycle or ferry.

52% of ALL services carry 7 or less passengers, 6.15% of those carry 0 or 1 passenger!
Value for money there?
No.

Having said that it is not always about money either, there are the social aspects of providing services to those who currently have none.

[somebody]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

Well you obviously don't care about commuters in Albany Creek, Jindalee, Taigum or Morningside who won't be getting upgraded services now.

By the same token, people in Tarragindi, Kenmore, Moggill and even Aspley, Chermside and Bracken Ridge were facing cutbacks in service.

I feel some relief.

[ozbob]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

Many might have been supportive of the changes ... 

By the way Dan BCC are going to do their own review now, let us know what your routes of interest are ...

[techblitz]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

Well you obviously don't care about commuters in Albany Creek, Jindalee, Taigum or Morningside who won't be getting upgraded services now.

By the same token, people in Tarragindi, Kenmore, Moggill and even Aspley, Chermside and Bracken Ridge were facing cutbacks in service.

I feel some relief.

you missed out rocklea......who had already been kicked in the gutz with plummeting house prices due to flooding......pulling of services from sherwwod rd was the icing on the cake for them.....im sure they will be breathing a little easier now.Seriously did translink even consider that people from rocklea do thier shopping at sherwood central?
Guess not.....

[ozbob]

Sherwood Road would have been serviced in the end.  I think a lot of those sort of issues was partly due to the non-involvement of Brisbane Transport. 

[Mr X]

Stick with the train set Robert Dow!
This group obviously has no idea about public transport when 16000 submissions have been recieved by Translink against the bus cuts.
Obviously this group cares little about the commuter.

Many were against the changes (for me, the 192), but many were positive (think of all the people who would have had better services under this review?).
Oh and some of the review's suggested changes had been supported by previous rbot media releases.

[#Metro]

Funny thing to hear Graham Quirk saying his bus network should be except from review as it had strong patronage growth. Yes Mr Quirk it did, BUZ is great, that's the whole purpose of the review- to get MORE BUZ. Doh! Auckland also runs busways and their patronage has gone berserk also.

[Golliwog]

Sherwood Road would have been serviced in the end.  I think a lot of those sort of issues was partly due to the non-involvement of Brisbane Transport.

That just took the cake for me really. Translink did the review and every operator bar BT was involved in the process.  Is it any wonder BCC had no idea what was proposed or the rationale behind it? A bunch of fools the lot of them.