‘Give it a try’: Brisbane public transport plea as traffic chaos wreaks havoc

Amid worsening traffic conditions in Brisbane, patronage levels across the TransLink network are still well below pre-Covid levels. See the latest figures.

Public transport patronage is still sitting at well below pre-Covid levels, as commuter numbers slowly rise in the wake of the pandemic.

Amid worsening traffic conditions in Brisbane, TransLink patronage levels – excluding ferries – reached about 68.4 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in the week ending May 22.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey has insisted the trajectory for public transport numbers are “looking good”, as he acknowledged it had been a challenging time for commuters with the rain and floods.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

In the 12 months to March 27 this year, there were about 112 million trips taken on the TransLink network, but this was only a 10 per cent increase from the previous year.

The trips taken in the year to March 27 – which included recent floods and the Omicron wave – was also only about 60 per cent of the roughly 184 million trips taken between April 1, 2019 and March 29, 2020.

“In early 2020, patronage dropped to as low as 20 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and we saw this happen again during the peak of the Omicron wave in January and February,” Mr Bailey said on Thursday.

“Combine the pandemic, with floods in February and March, and recent heavy rainfalls, it’s been a challenging time for commuters.

“However, in the week ending on May 22, patronage returned to 68.4 per cent of pre-Covid levels (excluding ferries).”

Heavy rail patronage in the week ending May 27 was 62 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

In the week ending May 27 this year, there were 1.787 million bus trips – which is 70.5 per cent of the trips taken during the same period in 2019 before Covid struck the state.

Light rail patronage over the same period was at 77.6 per cent of pre-pandemic levels while heavy rail patronage was at 62 per cent of pre-Covid levels.

“The trajectory is looking good and we’ll continue to see this number rise as we learn to live with Covid in the community and return to life as normal,” Mr Bailey said.

The Minister urged Queenslanders to give public transport “a try”.

“Public transport is a great way to travel to work, to events, to the pub and to the shops so I would encourage every Queenslander to check out their local services,” he said.

“Especially if you are having a drink or two, it’s much safer to have someone else doing the driving – be that on the bus or train.”