The Transport Minister and Translink must cease issuing misleading statements

Minister Nolan and Translink continue to promote the line that
"every cent collected from the the increase in fares will go to funding
better transport services" when they know that this is misleading and
disingenuous.

In the Minister's statement on 15 October 2009 this is what she said -
"Ms Nolan said the fare strategy also aimed to return the State 
Government's per-trip subsidy from 75 per cent back to 70 per cent 
within five years. To help reach that goal fares will increase 15% a year 
from 2011 to 2014 – or around 40 cents to 60 cents a year for a typical 
two-zone ticket."

[Note the Minister's misleading use of the word "subsidy" at the same time
she is responsible for increasing the rate of public transport use in Cabinet.]

So let's test the truth of the "every cent" statement above by using actual figures.
If we use approximate but fair and understandable amounts, and using the 
Minister's percentages above, this statement is almost certainly false. 
Amounts in $ millions.
Current annual revenue from fares before fare increase =  250 [25%]
Current annual operating costs of services/funding        = 1000
If fare revenue rises by 25% overall, annual fare
revenue then becomes                                                 =  300
And if the "subsidy" is reduced from 75 to 70% then the
300 annual fares revenue equates to operating costs of   1000
Same amount of expenditure, so where are the better services?
Let's assume a more realistic increase in overall fare revenues
of 15%, so fare revenue then becomes annually            =  287
And if this is equal to 30% of total operating costs,
these are equal to                                                         =  956
or 44 million less than what is spent now.
So all of the fare increase goes into general revenue, and none
into more or better services.
Only if fare revenues increase by more than 25% overall ,will there
be any additional expenditure on transport services or infrastructure
that results from fare increases.
So Minister, let's do away with the spin and propaganda. Resolve 
to level with the 250,000 commuters in South East Qld who support 
the current deficient public transport system and SAVE the taxpayers
millions of dollars in road transport costs and all its connected
expenditure, like road accident trauma costs.
We all know that the State's Budget finances are in a desperate
condition due to poor management over many years, but don't
ask train and bus passengers to bear the burden of fixing the deficit.
They didn't cause it - the Beattie and Bligh Governments did.
Support the long-suffering but loyal commuters by telling the truth,
cancelling the fare increases and retaining paper tickets - or resign now.