Decision to slash public transport fares to 50¢ contradicted panel’s reform advice

The decision to slash public transport fares to 50¢ contradicted reform work that had been under way for months, newly released documents reveal.

The state LNP government has vowed to retain 50¢ fares, which were introduced in August by the then Labor government across all modes, including the delayed Metro service, and with half-price fares on the Airtrain.

The new, cheaper flat fares were originally meant to be trialled for six months, to enable their impact on the network and traffic to be studied. But they proved so popular ahead of the election they were made permanent– ostensibly as a cost-of-living measure.

Documents detailing the work of the Public Transport Fares Advisory Panel have been released under the Right to Information Act.

Documents obtained under the Right to Information Act show that, behind the scenes, government-commissioned experts and departmental officials had been working on a more nuanced and layered suite of reforms.

Their work, through the Public Transport Fares Advisory Panel, was intended to boost patronage, deliver targeted financial support to consumers, and pave the way for further network changes ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. They even settled on a shortlist of reforms to trial in 2025.

But that work appears to have been shelved by the former government, as the Crisafulli administration prepares to reconsider public transport infrastructure as part of its 100-day Games review.

The former government established the panel in 2019 in response to a recommendation from the SEQ Fare Review Taskforce. Headed by KPMG partner Paul Low, it was tasked with providing independent, expert advice to government, including on how to leverage the rollout of smart ticketing to influence consumer behaviour.

According to the documents, an official from the Translink division of the Department of Transport briefed the panel on a proposed five-year Fares Modernisation Plan, noting that to be successful, reforms could not revolve around cheaper prices alone.

“Fares play an important role in supporting customer growth,” states one of the slides presented to the meeting.

“However, patronage is historically more responsive to improved service quality than reduced fares. Improvements to fares and incentives when coupled with more frequent, reliable and accessible public transport will drive real customer behaviour change.”

A proposal from the Greens to make public transport free had previously been rejected, and the network is still a work in progress, as shown by this week’s debate over the Metro “preview”.

Rather than a cheaper, flat fare arrangement, the panel discussed how to use pricing to boost patronage during periods in which the network could support it – to avoid overcrowding and under-utilisation – while also driving long-term behavioural change to help deal with population growth in south-east Queensland.

The shortlisted options included:

• A daily cap, with free travel after the first two paid journeys;
• Half-price travel after the first six paid journeys in a week;
• A weekend daily cap with no zone restrictions, for example $8 for all-day Saturday travel;
• A monthly pass or subscription, for example $100 for unlimited 2 zone journeys;
• An annual pass, for example $1000 a year for unlimited 2 zone journeys.

The officials and experts also discussed tourist pricing, family and corporate rates, and off-peak discounts.

But they agreed any proposed incentives should be modelled, trialled, and thoroughly researched – decisions “are complex and require careful consideration of the impacts on customers and the costs to government” – before being implemented as a permanent measure.

“We will also consider, from a fares and ticketing perspective, integration of some regional services into SEQ, planning for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and readiness for Mobility as a Service [a centralised transport planning and booking system],” the documents state.

The panel was set to meet during the first six months of this year to finalise a blueprint to brief the minister and seek government approval for reforms.

However, the meeting never went ahead and, before the rollout of smart ticketing had been completed, Labor’s announcement of 50¢ fares changed everything.

A Translink spokesman said the appointment of each panel member expired on June 30.

“With the introduction of 50¢ fares, Translink continues to consider the best approach for the Fares Advisory Panel moving forward,” the spokesman said.

It remains to be seen whether the government, under Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg, will revisit any of the reform work.

His department had also told the panel that price was only one of the reasons people avoided public transport, that complementary policies, such as congestion charging, “won’t happen any time soon”, and people working from home had caused a lasting shift in behaviour that would be difficult to address.

The panel also discussed previous Productivity Commission research that supported the argument that “reducing fares would be an ineffectual way of increasing patronage and reducing congestion because public transport demand is relatively unresponsive to fare decreases”.

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