Airtrain slugs Brisbane Airport workers with 114 per cent fare increase

Employees at Brisbane Airport will have to pay more than 10 times what it costs other south-east Queensland commuters to get to work when Airtrain fares more than double overnight next month.

As of February 10, a weekly Airtrain ticket for airport workers will jump from $21.50 to $46, as a trial of half-price fares comes to an end and Airtrain implements an additional increase.

When the Miles government introduced 50¢ fares last year, it negotiated half-price fares with Airtrain as part of a planned six-month trial of cheaper fares across the public transport network.

Brisbane Airport workers will have to pay 820 per cent more than any other commuter to get to and from work.

Bipartisan support for 50¢ fares meant they became permanent across the Translink network without the need for a trial, however the half-price Airtrain fares would only apply for six months.

As a result, regular Airtrain fares from city stations will now increase from $10.95 to $22.30 next month – 40¢ more than the pre-trial cost of $21.90 – while workers will pay $3 more than the pre-trial cost for their weekly tickets.

The normal 50¢ flat fare will still apply for Translink services connecting workers to the Airtrain, bringing their total public transport costs to $51 for a five-day working week.

That means some Brisbane Airport workers will pay more than 10 times what it costs other workers to use public transport for the daily commute.

Asked to justify the increase, an Airtrain spokesman said: “A standard annual CPI increase will apply to Airtrain airport staff’s weekly tickets from 10 February which are valid for travel between South Brisbane and the Domestic Airport.”

The increase on the pre-trial period is 7 per cent. On Wednesday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Australia’s consumer price index rose 2.4 per cent – the lowest inflation result since the March quarter of 2021.

Jason Lang, a United Workers Union delegate for airport cleaners, said the cost of getting to work was a clear disincentive for essential workers to seek employment at the airport.

“They’re really struggling for staff out here because they just can’t get people to come to the airport for work,” he said.

“If you drive out here, people have to go through tolls and fuel costs to get all the way out to the airport. Then, if you get the train, you’re paying exorbitant fees, so there’s really nothing that entices people.”

Lang said many minimum-wage airport workers were particularly exposed to cost-of-living pressures, which would only be exacerbated by Airtrain’s decision.

Opposition transport spokesman Bart Mellish, who served as minister in the Miles Labor government, accused Premier David Crisafulli of a broken promise to address cost-of-living pressures.

“He promised he would intervene on Airtrain costs for Brisbane Airport workers, and yet he once again hasn’t delivered on his promise,” he said.

“It’s not good enough to promise the world before the election and deliver nothing after it.”

The Airport Line was completed by the private sector in 2001 at a cost of $200 million ($371 million in today’s terms), with a 35-year exclusivity agreement that no other public transport be allowed to service the airport.

UK pension fund Universities Superannuation Scheme bought Airtrain in 2012 for $109 million.

This masthead revealed in 2022 that the former government was negotiating to bring Airtrain’s 35-year exclusivity agreement, signed by the Borbidge Liberal-National Coalition government in 1998, to a premature end. Those negotiations went nowhere.

Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg’s office was asked for his reaction to the fare increase, whether Airtrain’s decision was appropriate given cost-of-living pressures, and whether the LNP intended to go back to the negotiating table.

Mickelberg was unavailable on Wednesday, so his office forwarded the query to public servants at the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

A TMR spokeswoman said it would work with Airtrain to support affordable public transport to the airport and “enable a generational legacy for the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games”.

“A range of factors must be considered to determine the best course to achieve this outcome, including value-for-money to taxpayers,” she said.

The Airtrain spokesman said they would not comment on any discussions with the government.

Brisbane Airport spokesman Peter Doherty said the price rise showed why airport workers and travellers needed public transport alternatives.

“After clearly seeing the benefits of more passengers and more workers using Airtrain as a direct result of lower fares, it is disappointing to see these changes wind back the progress that has encouraged people to shift from their cars to public transport,” he said.

Brisbane City Council has proposed extending its Brisbane Metro rapid bus transit services to the airport, which would require a renegotiation – or termination – of Airtrain’s exclusivity agreement.

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