Bart Mellish reveals council weren’t consulted on 50c fares for public transport

Transport Minister Bart Mellish has revealed the Brisbane City Council was not consulted prior to the Queensland Government’s decision to implement 50c fares for public transport.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish has revealed the Brisbane City Council was not consulted prior to the Queensland Government’s decision to implement 50c fares for public transport.

In an interview with 4BC on Saturday morning, Mr Mellish was pressed by radio host Peter Fegan on whether the state government consulted BCC on 50c flat rate fares for public transport from August 5.

Asked three times, Mr Mellish eventually confirmed the Miles Government did not consult council, responding to Mr Fegan’s questioning with a simple “no”.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish revealed the Brisbane City Council was not consulted on the state government 50c fares push on 4BC radio on Saturday morning. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

“So Brisbane City Council do run buses within the Brisbane council area. We have other bus operators that operate around Moreton Bay, Gold Coast, Logan, and other areas in southeast Queensland and right across the state,” Mr Mellish told 4BC when asked why the council was not consulted.

“I’m having really positive, really constructive discussions with a range of our operators, I’d really encourage Brisbane City Council to come to the table and let’s work this through.

“We’ve got additional buses ready to go … (we’re) monitoring this 24/7, we’re looking at additional parking options, and we’re looking at what else we can do to get more people back on public transport to make this a success.”

Opposition transport spokesman Steve Minnikin has lashed out at the Miles Government for not consulting the council on the implementation of 50c fares.

“Because Labor is so desperate, they will say and do anything to cling to power, including making announcements without the forward planning or stakeholder consultation needed to deliver Queenslanders the true cost of living relief they deserve,” he said.

“It’s clear this was all about the next four months for Labor, not about delivering the public transport Queensland needs for the next four years and beyond.”

The Brisbane City Council criticised the state government’s decision to implement public transport fare cuts without injecting more funding into the sector.

Brisbane Transport Chair Ryan Murphy warned the state government additional funding if needed for the public transport sector for the 50c fare initiative to work in August. Picture: Lachie Millard

Brisbane Transport Chair Ryan Murphy confirmed on Saturday afternoon that the Brisbane City Council and Queensland Government were continuing to work towards reaching an agreement for more public transport services to support the 50c fare initiative.

“We want 50c fares to be a success and for more people to leave the car at home and use public transport,” Mr Murphy said.

“Council and the State Government are now working together and we are confident we can reach an agreement for more services for when 50c fares launches in August.”

Two weeks ago however, Mr Murphy had warned if its state counterparts did not agree to additional funding, the implementation of 50c fares in August would be a “50c fail”.

Mr Mellish acknowledged the Brisbane City Council’s concerns with cost pressures that may arise from implementing slashed public transport fares.

“I know council have got some issues with the cost pressures on the metro project in particular, we’re in negotiations with them,” Mr Mellish said.

“We’re close to getting an agreement, but we really want to work productively with council and all our public transport partners.”

Originally published as Bart Mellish reveals council weren’t consulted on 50c fares for public transport