Union fears in fares rise

UNION officials claim Queensland Rail’s passenger fares will continue to rise this year to make up for the revenue it will lose after its coal and freight operations are privatised.
Electrical Trades Union state secretary Peter Simpson said in the wake of recent fare increases, which had paper tickets increase by 40 per cent and go cards by 20 per cent, ticket prices would continue to rise.
“It is exactly the same as what occurred in the retail electricity market. Since it was privatised electricity prices have escalated dramatically, now rail fares are doing the same thing,” Mr Simpson said.
“With cross-subsidisation going, commuters have to pick up the slack through increased fares or the State Government faces a big subsidy bill each year for passenger services.
“Commuters have seen which option the State Government has chosen and it is going to slug commuters.”
The claims were strongly denied by Transport Minister Rachel Nolan, who said union officials had no understanding of how QR was funded.

Source: The Queensland Times

15 reasons why public transport users should continue to use paper tickets

1.  PAPER tickets that offer daily, weekly or monthly travel require only one
     purchase, and display when entering a bus or ferry, or passing though a.city station.
     CARD holders must remember to touch on - and off - at every station, bus or ferry.
2.  PAPER ticket holders do not risk any extra penalties or charges as long as they display
     their tickets as necessary.
     CARD holders must remember to touch on and off each time they travel or 
     be liable to penalties and charges. And to be sure to do it correctly.
3.  PAPER tickets do not cost anything other than the cost of the ticket itself.
     CARD holders need to pay an upfront $5 to purchase a card, before loading it with credit.
4.  PAPER ticket users cannot be overcharged.
     CARD holders can be, and have been, overcharged by the electronic system. They must check
     after each trip to ensure that the correct fare has been charged - if they know what that is.
5.  PAPER ticker user knows the cost of his/her trip upfront, or the maximum cost of all of the
     daily, weekly, or monthly trips.
     CARD holders may make trips without knowing upfront the total cost of their single or multiple trips.
6.  PAPER ticket users can use their ticket to make a trip immediately after purchase.
     CARD holders may in some cases need to wait to travel for up to 24 hours after topping up their card.
7.  PAPER tickets can be lost or stolen - if so, the loss is limited to the cost of the ticket.
     CARD holders also lose their cards, and all of the unused credit if the card is not registered.
8.  PAPER tickets users do not need to access, or know how to use, a computer to get a ticket.
     CARD holders need to access the Internet if they want to register their card, or check usage records.
9.  PAPER ticket holders cannot travel on credit.
     CARD holders can travel using cards that have been funded by a credit card.
10. PAPER tickets users who travel only occasionally, pay as they go.
      CARD holders who travel occasionally need to recall how much credit remains on the card. There is
      the potential for a user's funds to remain unused for several weeks or months, and Translink doesn't pay
      interest on usused credit.
11. PAPER tickets for many users, occasional or frequent alike, remain cheaper on a weekly basis than
      CARDS. Even after the 40% hike in fares from 4 January.
12. For daily, weekly or monthly PAPER tickets users, there is no limit on the number of trips that can be     
      taken within the time period.
      CARD holders pay for each and every trip that they make, no matter how many.
13. PAPER tickets therefore encourage most regular users to use public transport more often.
      CARD holders who pay for every trip are discouraged from making more trips.
14. Visitors to the area for a short time, who need to travel can just pay cash at bus or ferry entry
      or obtain a PAPER ticket at the station for daily or weekly use. They do not want to purchase
      a CARD and load it with an uncertain amount of credit that may never be used or refunded.
15. Yes, purchasing a PAPER ticket on a bus with cash takes time. That's why most bus services should be
      converted to prepaid services, an essential step still not yet widely implemented. What does take
      time in a bus are the frequent delays that occur when the CARD machines are not working.

New electronic petitions calling for Government to change policy on fares and services - now open

The totally unjustified and appalling action by the State

Transport Minister and Translink to increase fares for

public transport users on January 4 by between 20% -

for plastic card holders - and 40% for paper ticket holders,

has resulted in a storm of protest from public transport

commuters. For more details and outcomes about this

outrageous decision, see other posts on this site.

Two electronic petitions have now been created to give

all public transport users an opportunity to lodge their protest

with the State Minister and the Parliament.

While the text of each petition does not include all of the issues

involved in the fares and ticketing debacle created by Translink,

and could have been much better drafted, CAST urges all public

transport users to consider signing the petitions before the

deadlines next month. We have not initiated these petitions. 

To access and sign either petition, they can be read by going
here and also to here. There is no cost involved.

Car tunnels and air quality

Car tunnel users and residents living in suburbs surrounding tunnel exhaust stacks can expect greater exposure to fine particle and air toxic pollution once the Clem Jones (North South Bypass) Tunnel comes online in Brisbane.

Tunnel users need to hold their breath and wind up their windows as they pay $4 to drive through the Clem Jones “Gas Chamber”.

And don’t expect it to be a quick ride in and out of the tunnel. Sydney commuters sit in stop start traffic in car tunnels everyday. Tunnels are just another four lane road, and like any other road they clog up with traffic.

The impact statements for the Brisbane tunnels also show that there will be greater congestion on arterial roads leading to the car tunnels, which will create even more air pollution.

It’s almost impossible to have a cigarette in a pub now, due to the dangers of passive smoking, but the exhaust chimneys emitting fumes from the tunnel will be like giant smoking cigarettes in our suburbs.

The solution is not even more roads, but to build a public transport system for Brisbane that offers people an effective alternative to the car.