QLD public transport fares for 50 cents: Only issue with bold move

There’s one potential issue with the Premier’s plan to make all public transport fares 50 cents. And it’s got nothing to do with the $150 million cost.

This column is this week casting its mind back almost six years ago, to June 13, 2018.

On that particular Wednesday your author’s weekly musings appeared under the headline: ‘Simple idea to ease M1 pressure that Brisbane won’t even try.’

It would be remiss of me not to return to the topic this week. For what, you may ask, was the ‘simple idea’ in question that the state government was showing no interest in? It was cutting the cost of taking the train to Brisbane to $10 each day.

The suggestion had not come out of thin air. A ‘Golden Age’ survey conducted by this newspaper had suggested 77 per cent of people who commuted to Brisbane would instead take the train if fares were cut to that level.

At the time, the weekly cost for someone travelling five days was $94.23 – comparable to the amount commuters would have paid in petrol for the same trip – while a $163 million project to duplicate train tracks between Coomera and Helensvale had recently been completed.

“The government should at least commission a study into the likely benefits of slashing fare prices,” this column wrote. “After all, why spend $163 million upgrading the capacity of the train line and then not try to get maximum use out of it? It is spending dollars and saving cents. It makes no sense.”

A piece from 2018 arguing that public transport needed to be cheaper.

Premier Steven Miles, a man on a mission ahead of the state election in October, at the weekend announced he would go even further, much further – cutting the weekly cost of that same journey to just $5 by making all public transport fares a mere 50 cents each way from August 5.

“For someone catching the train to work in Brisbane from Mango Hill it costs up to $96 a week,” Mr Miles said.

“And if you drive to work, you’re stuck in peak hour traffic every day and paying a lot more than that.

“It’s why I’m making all public transport fares a flat 50 cents – no matter where you live, your mode of travel, or how far you go.

“It’s as close to free as you can get.”

It’s a bold move. But if it looked like it would be worthwhile back in 2018, that is arguably even more true today.

Petrol prices have surged, our roads are considerably more clogged and, as multiple cost blow-outs show, the cost of building new transport infrastructure has ballooned.

If ever there was a time for making public transport more affordable, it’s surely now.

Premier Steven Miles at the Mango Hill Train Station with 50c. Picture: Annette Dew.

Among the many surprises in the Premier’s announcement was that his measure – to run initially for six months – was expected to cost $150 million. Amid surging inflation, and the state government’s overall budget, that appears a surprisingly low figure.

If the measure succeeds in encouraging less people to take to the M1 especially in their cars, then given the eye-watering cost of road upgrades, it’s not hard to see how the state could be ultimately better off.

And that’s before we also consider the potential savings for our stretched emergency services if, as would seem likely, less traffic also meant less call-outs to road traffic accidents.

Bus drivers may benefit too. This newspaper today reports how the lives of drivers have been made difficult by anti-social behaviour – much of it linked to far evasion.

With public transport as good as free, we can kiss that problem behind, just as robberies of bus drivers largely disappeared when they stopped accepting cash some years ago.

Unsurprisingly, the 50 cents fare initiative has been warmly welcomed by bus operators, represented by the Queensland Bus Industry Council (QBIC), whose only concern is catering for potential increased demand.

“We are confident that the 50 cent fare policy will significantly boost passenger numbers, supporting our ongoing efforts to enhance the efficiency and reach of bus services across the state,” QBIC Executive Director Jason O’Dwyer said.

“With the anticipated increase in passengers, QBIC is keenly aware of the need to expand services and ensure a high level of customer satisfaction.

“We look forward to working closely with the government to implement additional services and to recruit and retain more drivers.”

Public transport fares will be 50 cents from August 5. Picture: iStock.

If increased demand does indeed become an issue, the Premier’s initiative will be deemed to have been a success.

This column would only offer one minor caveat to Mr Miles’s plan. Six months seems a short time to test the idea and draw conclusions. Many of us are creatures of habit, and there is no greater habit than the daily commute.

In addition, transport decisions are often long term. If you’ve already bought the car, paid the rego and insurance, and secured that all-important car park at the office, you won’t be leaving all that behind in a hurry.

One hopes that whoever wins office in October gives the grand experiment a little more time.

It’s a good idea. A simple one. And potentially transformative for the Gold Coast and south east Queensland.

Consistent with past opinions expressed, this column can only commend the Premier for giving it a go.

An image from the Gold Coast Airport masterplan showing a tram near its entrance. Picture: Supplied.

SUPPORT FOR LIGHT RAIL

Revisiting a more recent column on the issue of public transport, last week’s piece about the prospects of light rail reaching the airport certainly evoked a strong response.

The mooted possibility that, in a worst-case scenario, the extension could cost as much as $7.6 billion has cast a pall over the whole project.

That has been grist to the mill for long-term opponents.

However it has sometimes been said there is a “silent majority” who strongly support light rail, and this column has uncovered some evidence that this may be true.

A poll in last week’s piece asked a simple question: Given a choice, would readers rather light rail or heavy rail was extended to the airport?

Of the more than 600 readers minded to respond, 54 per cent chose light rail over its heavy rail counterpart.

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Originally published as QLD public transport fares for 50 cents: Only issue with bold move