Push to allow Gold Coast health workers travel for free on trams

A Gold Coast councillor has put forward a radical idea to offer free travel on trams for some workers. But transport bosses are not so sure. WHAT DO YOU THINK? VOTE IN OUR POLL

A Gold Coast councillor has called for free tram travel to be offered to frontline health workers – but the Department of Transport and Main Roads says it doesn’t support free travel.

Division 2 councillor William Owen Jones said that after reading a Bulletin report about the lack of use of the light rail park and ride facility at Parkwood Station he had spoken to a staff member at nearby Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH).

Cr Owen Jones said the cost of tram fares was raised as a major issue.

“The conversation I had with the nurse was literally, it’s sixes and threes for staff because of the cost of the light rail,” Cr Owen Jones said.

“I think that they can park all day at the hospital for $10.

“So she’s saying, if you take into account the time and the cost of the tram, it’s kind of sixes and threes.

“Whereas you kind of go, how good would it be if we could just allow our five or six hundred nurses to travel for free?”

Vehicles lined up waiting to enter the Gold Coast University Hospital car park in December last year. Picture: Keith Woods.

Tickets for the short journey between Parkwood Station and GCUH are $3.45 each way for adults using a Go Card, or $2.76 off peak.

It means staff members using the tram from Parkwood would pay between $27.60 and $34.50 if working a five day week.

Cr Owen Jones said that was money hardworking health staff who were dealing with cost of living pressures could do without spending.

“We had Transport Minister Mark Bailey saying recently how much the Gold Coast just loved their trams over the GC500 weekend. And he’s right,” Cr Owen Jones said.

“The tram fare was free of charge as part of the GC500.

The park and ride car park at the Parkwood light rail station at 9am on Monday October 17, 2022. Picture: Keith Woods.

“And then the Premier rightfully saying cost of living pressures are a big thing for frontline workers, particularly in regions.
“And I thought well if there’s ever a region that suffers from making sure we’ve got some CPI type of relief for our frontline workers it’s the Gold Coast.”

Cr Owen Jones added that it was also important to find new ways to encourage better use of public transport.

“I’d also be allowing people to use their bike and put it on the light rail as well,” he said.

“If we want to move the Gold Coast forward, we must try to move people into economical ways to move them around the city.”

Divisions 2 councillor William Owen-Jones. Picture: Jerad Williams.

The proposal received a cautious welcome from the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union Secretary Beth Mohle, who said the union was “keen to explore all options”.

“Parking remains one of a number of ongoing issues for many health workers. As part of continued planning around this issue, the QNMU is keen to continue to explore all options available, including free or subsidised public transport for nurses, midwives and all frontline health staff as well as free or subsided carparking,” Ms Mohle said.

“However, when considering any option it is essential to note nurses and midwives work 24/7 and their personal safety must be paramount when travelling to and from work.”

The Bulletin sent questions to Minister Bailey asking whether Cr Owen Jones’s suggestion was something he could support in light of the effort put in by frontline health workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the demand on roads and carparking at GCUH and Robina hospitals.

Questions were referred to the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), with a spokesperson saying public transport in Queensland was already “heavily subsidised” and it did not support free travel.

“The priority of TMR’s TransLink Division is to provide accessible, efficient, customer-focused services for the people of South East Queensland,” the spokesperson said.

“There are a number of costs that go into running a public transport network, including new vehicles, drivers wages, fuel, insurance and overheads. These costs are continually rising and fare revenue helps to pay for these costs and keep the network running.

“ … As a matter of policy, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) does not support free travel, to ensure a focus on fairness and the sustainability of public transport services for all Queenslanders.”

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