Transport Discrimination

[Mozz]

I am sorry about the frustration that you are experiencing and hope things turn positive soon.

While I am sure there is a significant component of transport discrimination in the issues you are encountering, I would suggest there may well be another type of filtering in play.

In my experience, employers sometimes also use having a current license and a vehicle (car/motorbike etc) as considerations in their employee choice for reasons of indicators of past activities/reliability/quasi criminal history in their determinations.

Your choice of not having a license and thus no vehicle is your choice, however in many other cases this may well indicate past poor traffic or criminal history which has resulted in no valid drivers license. No vehicle may also flag other issues in the potential employees current lifestyle situation which could potentially bleed over into the workplace should they be employed.

I am not saying this is fair or even legislatively appropriate, however where there are more available workers than there are positions available, there will always be degrees of filtering.

[#Metro]

I take your point Mozz.

Great, now potential employers are going to make baseless assumptions about my character because I ride the bus.
Disgusting.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Aren't you just doing the exact same thing by making baseless assumptions about their character? There could be many reasons why they ask if you have a drivers licence.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

Employers sometimes also use having a current license and a vehicle ... as considerations in their employee choice for reasons of indicators of past activities/reliability/quasi criminal history in their determinations

WHAT? How on earth is there any connection? For all they know, you've lived in Continental Europe for several years, for instance. On the other hand, an applicant could be using their car to deliver illegal drugs, and the employer would be none the wiser. As for whether or not you have a criminal history: if you do, you'll most likely have a criminal record! I had no idea there was that much bigotry. Since it is unfair and irrelevant, just shrugging our shoulders and saying "that's just the way it is" does not cut it.

[#Metro]

Yes, but people will make assumptions anyway. Many of these blue collar industries locate at freeway junctions or some other inaccessible place as well. I would have no problem if a busway ran parallel to the logan motorway or if there were frequent cross towns on the arterials that went ACROSS the city rather than just to/from. Yes, most jobs are in the CBD but there is a market for orbital travel as well as has been shown in Perth (Circleroute) and Melbourne (Smartbus) and to a lesser extent in Sydney (Metrobus)

The GCL frequency has not been improved since 1983...

[longboi]

Employers sometimes also use having a current license and a vehicle ... as considerations in their employee choice for reasons of indicators of past activities/reliability/quasi criminal history in their determinations

WHAT? How on earth is there any connection? For all they know, you've lived in Continental Europe for several years, for instance. On the other hand, an applicant could be using their car to deliver illegal drugs, and the employer would be none the wiser. As for whether or not you have a criminal history: if you do, you'll most likely have a criminal record! I had no idea there was that much bigotry. Since it is unfair and irrelevant, just shrugging our shoulders and saying "that's just the way it is" does not cut it.

I find it's actually more to do with age, if anything. Some employers do ask applicants to have an open licence (not that there is necessarily a driving component) as a means of filtering out those who are < 21.

[Mozz]

Employers sometimes also use having a current license and a vehicle ... as considerations in their employee choice for reasons of indicators of past activities/reliability/quasi criminal history in their determinations

WHAT? How on earth is there any connection? For all they know, you've lived in Continental Europe for several years, for instance. On the other hand, an applicant could be using their car to deliver illegal drugs, and the employer would be none the wiser. As for whether or not you have a criminal history: if you do, you'll most likely have a criminal record! I had no idea there was that much bigotry. Since it is unfair and irrelevant, just shrugging our shoulders and saying "that's just the way it is" does not cut it.

Brent - the intention of my post was to highlight the real world reality, from my first hand knowledge, of the challenges facing Lapdog in his quest for future employment ... the perspective I have presented is real, I can assure you ... 

[#Metro]

Mozz is right... filling out another form and guess where the driver's licence question is grouped with?

[cartoonbirdhaus]

The intention of my post was to highlight the real world reality, from my first hand knowledge, of the challenges facing Lapdog in his quest for future employment ... the perspective I have presented is real, I can assure you ...

I wasn't doubting that to be the reality; far from it.

[#Metro]

Nice to see that PT users / non-drivers are up there with illegal workers and criminals... 

Part of me thinks this would be a nice Today Tonight or ACA story, when you think about it, all the high paying jobs are in the CBD - and these are people who can afford to drive to the CBD and pay for all day parking...

[kazzac]

Went for a ride on the bus as a 'trial run', it is doable by PT, but have to walk to make the connection.

Applying for job today... filling out the internet form and come across this question.



It's clear. If you catch public transport, and you don't drive, employers DON'T want to know you!!

is isn't fair I know,I have  had my driver's licence for  a long time now, the silliest thing I ever did was not having a car for more than a year and using PT to commute to/from work everyday ,never again!
If I live closer to my work then I would walk or use PT

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[#Metro]

So only one of the employers replied - to tell me that I was not successful with my job app. Anyway, I did my first driving lesson today. No waiting half an hour for trains (a ridiculous and unacceptable third world inconvenience), buses, huge TransLink fares each day are more than enough to fill up the car's tank, rego and that costs will be less than yearly taxi costs to chase missed connections and getting late into work etc.

Brisbane Transport can keep it's high cost welfare centric bus service. It's not rocket science to see that people don't want to be charged luxury prices for rubbish services. Also 50% faster than PT. Instant frequency and span. 100% coverage everywhere. Sure the price of oil and petrol might go up, but nowhere near as fast as the price of TransLink tickets! When was the last time petrol prices went up 15%?

If you want PT fixed, first step is to get it (i.e. buses) out of government hands (keep TL regulating it though). At this stage, they couldn't run a BBQ!!

[kazzac]

Moving closer to work is not an option for me,and I would be crazy if quit my job???where I have worked for 20 years this year to find a job closer to home,Comlslie,Hemnant etc,and there is no guarantee that I would find another job:-[
I will  have to keep my car so I am always able to arrive on time for work everyday ,I do pay less for fuel each week then I used to pay for PT fares and travel to/from work in less then half the time,no more missed connections and cab fares

[#Metro]

I just rang up the RACQ and took out membership 

This whole urban villages TOD stuff is great but my workplace could be anywhere in the city and I need to put food on the table. It also costs money to move house. Moving can easily cost $1000 for a small move.

This is the real world...

[ozbob]

The best place I ever lived was Windsor Melbourne.   It is interesting that in many eyes the best City livability is in areas built before the car was the determinant of place.

Windsor is inner Melbourne, on the Sandringham line.  Trams in Chapel St.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor,_Victoria

Historically it is interesting to note there was  a short lived line Windsor to St Kilda.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St_Kilda_%E2%80%93_Windsor_railway_line

There endeth the lesson for today!   

[petey3801]

So only one of the employers replied - to tell me that I was not successful with my job app. Anyway, I did my first driving lesson today. No waiting half an hour for trains (a ridiculous and unacceptable third world inconvenience), buses, huge TransLink fares each day are more than enough to fill up the car's tank, rego and that costs will be less than yearly taxi costs to chase missed connections and getting late into work etc.

Brisbane Transport can keep it's high cost welfare centric bus service. It's not rocket science to see that people don't want to be charged luxury prices for rubbish services. Also 50% faster than PT. Instant frequency and span. 100% coverage everywhere. Sure the price of oil and petrol might go up, but nowhere near as fast as the price of TransLink tickets! When was the last time petrol prices went up 15%?

If you want PT fixed, first step is to get it (i.e. buses) out of government hands (keep TL regulating it though). At this stage, they couldn't run a BBQ!!

Just to be a stirrer, petrol prices go up >20% all the time ;-) (end of cheap part of cycle, spike to start the cycle again) But your point is still certainly valid that prices have gone up way too much way too quick!

[#Metro]

I took my second driving lesson today

A few things I noticed:

1. There are bus stops and buses everywhere. But they were all low frequency and windy (while my car went straight where I wanted to go)
2. I seem to cover a huge area in just a short time (10 mins) so my mobility has increased massively
3. I am no longer waiting 30 minutes for the bus + 30 minutes for the ride + walking and whatever

It is very clear that the design of the bus network is purely for welfare purposes / political symbolic value and not actually serious about providing decent alternatives. And the train station isn't that far in a car, entirely logical to want to park your car there and demand car parks when feeder bus services are highly expensive, infrequent, illegible and inconvenient.

If you want to know why people drive, its simply because it's cheaper, faster, eats up less of your day. That's not to say PT is inherently bad, but without serious changes (the kind of change that makes the mayor concerned) then people will continue to stay in their cars.

It's not rocket science.

[#Metro]

Oh, and what a waste Maroon CityGlider is! Every time I see that maroon box in the suburbs, I look at it, barely anybody on board. Complete and utter waste of funds.

[Golliwog]

The problem is that Council only wants to provide residents with what they ask for, not what they really need. With some improvements to the frequency and span of some key local routes, and a supportive fare structure PT would be much more competitive with travelling by car.

I went to Paniyiri (or however you spell it, the Greek festival) at South Bank/West End over the weekend and while free travel because I commute M-F made the 30 minute train frequency bearable, getting anywhere not directly on the train line is a bit of a hassle. Luckily for me, my mates place where we went afterwards is also along the same line, though it was still annoying having to make sure I left his place with ample time to make the train as that half hour wait is killer.

[kazzac]

Oh, and what a waste Maroon CityGlider is! Every time I see that maroon box in the suburbs, I look at it, barely anybody on board. Complete and utter waste of funds.

Yes I agree,I usually see  The Maroon CItyGLiders around Langlands PArk busway stn on my way home along OC Road every arvo,Waste on Wheels!!


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[techblitz]

At this stage the maroon gliders see most of thier patronage between ashrove and cc. Way too much duplication after that.Hopefully the powers that be can come to thier senses earlier rather than later and shuffle some of the inner city busway routes to see it getting more patronage up to stones corner

Ps: currently on a 100 buz inbound at inala....and bus chockablock with standees! Id say majority of pax out this way are glad it is being retained
     

[ozbob]

The 100 was being retained.  Good that it is being used today, often is on Saturdays, lots on today in town.  Passed an outbound 100 in the road fester on the highway last evening early, about 5 on board.  Sadly the mess on the highway is getting worse day by day ...

[somebody]

The 100 was being retained. 

On an unspecified reduced frequency.

[techblitz]

the proposed frequent route by translink in todays scenario (trackwork) would have been feeding into rail buses 
100 buz thankyou....Fast and direct inbound service!

[ozbob]

the proposed frequent route by translink in todays scenario (trackwork) would have been feeding into rail buses 
100 buz thankyou....Fast and direct inbound service!

Obviously today ....   

As the traffic mess worsens I think rail will be a vastly superior option particularly in the peaks ...

and the load data supports that ..

There is a massive problem looming on the Ipswich Highway.  The upgrade from Dinmore through to the Centenary Highway is dropping a lot of traffic quickly onto the section Darra in.  This is locking up every morning now, the buses are just caught in the car park.  Opposite in the PM.

If and when it is upgraded there is going to very serious delays as was for the other upgrade further out.  And the end result will just shift the the car park further in from Rocklea.  To be honest, the 100 bus in peak would be better off going down Oxley Road and up Sherwood Road ... and the reverse in the PM peak.

[#Metro]

the proposed frequent route by translink in todays scenario (trackwork) would have been feeding into rail buses   
100 buz thankyou....Fast and direct inbound service!

A BUZ to rail is justified in it's own right ex Inala as there are Western destinations from there. Also, train would have been more than able to carry the bus' load.

Finally there is no reason IMHO why extra 100 services could not be put on in the event of track work if they decided so.

[ozbob]

I think the 100 carries good loads but mainly inner sections.   TransLink have the data and that informed the changes.  The route parts where the 100 carries the most pax would have been well covered.  I think people out at Inala and Forest Lake will progressively abandon the 100 particularly on weekdays due to the time takes now and will take.  The HF 25 was well thought out and supported by the data and the fact that the 100 as is  increasingly unreliable.  For those who wanted to continue to use the 100 it was still going to be there.

[newbris]

At this stage the maroon gliders see most of thier patronage between ashrove and cc. Way too much duplication after that.Hopefully the powers that be can come to thier senses earlier rather than later and shuffle some of the inner city busway routes to see it getting more patronage up to stones corner

Ps: currently on a 100 buz inbound at inala....and bus chockablock with standees! Id say majority of pax out this way are glad it is being retained
     

Yes, I get the maroon glider off peak from Ashgrove and it is quite busy up our end...talking to the drivers they say it can have significant loads even late at night.

I hope it isn't taken away now that the bcc review is changing the 379/380/381 Waterworks buses travelling through Ashgrove/Red Hill to hourly off peak...it seems the horse people on the way to Moggill provide enough off peak demand for a buz service but the extremely dense Ashgrove/Red Hill corridor with houses jammed together full of students needs to be downgraded to 20-30 min gaps, rather than upgraded to buz...contrary to the translink review which recommended 2 buz like services, the F6 and F7, for this corridor which they rated as heavy load and very high value.


The glider will also soon have to take the whole 385 load in Paddington as the 385 is being changed by the bcc review to bypass Paddington express isn't it?

[ozbob]

Urban form doesn't really matter to BCC.  It is all about political favours ...

[Mr X]

Political parties shouldn't be in local government.

[James]

Yes, I get the maroon glider off peak from Ashgrove and it is quite busy up our end...talking to the drivers they say it can have significant loads even late at night.

I hope it isn't taken away now that the bcc review is changing the 379/380/381 Waterworks buses travelling through Ashgrove/Red Hill to hourly off peak...it seems the horse people on the way to Moggill provide enough off peak demand for a buz service but the extremely dense Ashgrove/Red Hill corridor with houses jammed together full of students needs to be downgraded to 20-30 min gaps, rather than upgraded to buz...contrary to the translink review which recommended 2 buz like services, the F6 and F7, for this corridor which they rated as heavy load and very high value.


The glider will also soon have to take the whole 385 load in Paddington as the 385 is being changed by the bcc review to bypass Paddington express isn't it?

444 is not so much about Moggill, it is about intermediate stops. The only other route in the west (which doesn't go to the Centenary Suburbs) is the 425, and it misses key parts of Moggill Road. The rest of the routes are either too circuitous, don't serve a broad enough area or already have stuff all patronage. But downgrade of Waterworks Road buses is a mistake.

What's happened with Maroon Glider is simple. Ashgrove got a HF service and now everybody uses it (I've found it is a big hit with Uni students), while on the other end there is already a HF service so nobody uses it. Aside from a Stones Corner - Wooloongabba connection, the route does nothing past Wooloongabba. With the 66 going away from Wooloongabba, there is more hope for Maroon Glider, but either send it somewhere useful after that or terminate it there.

[#Metro]

Maroon Wasteglider should be terminated at Cultural Centre / Turned around at GOMA.

Use the $$$ releases (estimate 4 million p.a.) to upgrade other routes

[minbrisbane]

Could it continue to Bulimba Oxford Street?

[somebody]

444 is not so much about Moggill, it is about intermediate stops. The only other route in the west (which doesn't go to the Centenary Suburbs) is the 425,

You missed out 430, 435, 433, 445

[James]

444 is not so much about Moggill, it is about intermediate stops. The only other route in the west (which doesn't go to the Centenary Suburbs) is the 425,

You missed out 430, 435, 433, 445

I should have been more specific, but I aimed to cover all those routes here:

The rest of the routes are either too circuitous, don't serve a broad enough area or already have stuff all patronage.

I meant to say that the only other decent route is the 425.

430 goes on urban safari and is mostly duplicated (it's "express bus" status saves not much time), 432/433 are both all-stops routes, just heading to different places, 435 just duplicates the 444 most of the way and gets little patronage in the Brookfield area, and the 445 has overlap with the 430. And of course, all the above routes are hourly off-peak. Useless, especially considering the number of routes could be halved while keeping decent coverage and boosting frequency. But all cuts are bad, remember. 

The 444 is a prime candidate for BUZ because it goes down a main arterial road, connects various points of interest along Moggill Road and provides a reliable frequent route. Without the 444, the entire western suburbs of Brisbane are a public transport black hole. 425 at least has half-hourly weekday off-peak frequency, and if BCC put a steam iron through it (and increased its reliability), the route could do quite well. The worst part about it is the suburb itself - terribly designed for PT access with a park that splits the suburb in two.

[somebody]

Huh?  430 follows the 444 as far as Kenmore Rd/Moggill Rd.  425 doesn't have a common stop with the 444 after Indooroopilly school, same as the Centenary buses.

[SurfRail]

I throught TransLink's strategy was to "demain" the 444, create a BUZ to the much more logical place to send it (Centenary suburbs) and run 2 half-hourly coordinated routes to Kenmore, which then split into half-hourly legs.  That would have preserved 15 minute headways where they are actually needed, which is inbound of Kenmore.

[#Metro]

There is another job going in the Sumner Industrial Park. Not helpful that the BUZ slated for Centenary Suburbs is now not going ahead! I blame Graham Quirk and Peter Matic for killing the bus review. Thank you. NOT!!

So many problems if you want to get a decent job in this city and are car-free! Some jobs have a rotating shift (start different hours) so planning that by PT if it is not a BUZ would be utter hell.

I often wonder how many academics have done an analysis of jobs on websites to see just how problematic this really is.

Took my fourth driving lesson today and also signed on to the RACQ. I have also signed up for the dole. The extraordinarily low fortnightly payments (approx 500 per fortnight) and reporting requirements (have to do diary apparently and apply for a set number of jobs per fortnight / interviews) combined with the lack of actual health care card discount plus extreme fares plus crappy bus network that doesn't connect the outer suburbs properly is just the biggest welfare trap ever and something I am NOT looking forward to. Hopefully I will get a job before then.

I'm lucky though, I still have savings so next stop is passing my licence test and then perhaps getting a dodgy car for $1000 or so (still probably cheaper than translink fares in a year).

[#Metro]

Just found this on Google

http://www.qcoss.org.au/sites/default/files/Jenson%20et%20al%202006%20-%20making%20them%20pay%20report.pdf

[newbris]

Could it continue to Bulimba Oxford Street?

Yes please Though would it make the route too long/unreliable?