Outer suburban travellers to be left behind under 50¢ fare scheme: council
By Tony Moore
Thousands of people living in Brisbane’s outer suburbs would be left behind by crowded buses when 50¢ fares are introduced, modelling released by the city council shows.
The LNP Brisbane City Council, which runs 224 bus routes, has stepped up its campaign for additional public transport money from the Labor state government before the Queensland election in October.
The impact of 50¢ fares is the latest flashpoint between the council – which has paid $1 billion for the Brisbane Metro megabus network – and a state government that says it is already paying inflation-level increases to Australia’s largest local government.
On Friday, City Hall set its demand at an additional $91 million a year for the next five years, to cope with population growth and the costs of meeting expected demand as lower fares from August 5 attracted new bus travellers.
According to its modelling, a 10 per increase in passengers would mean each weekday, more than 12,000 passengers would not fit on buses on more than half of Brisbane’s routes.
Council’s transport committee chair Ryan Murphy and deputy chair Danita Parry release modelling showing potential overcrowding on buses.Credit: Tony Moore
Worst affected would be route 66, which runs between UQ and QUT, and buses to the southern suburbs of Forest Lake, Parkinson and Browns Plains.
“Residents face the spectre of being left at busway stations [and] bus stops all around the city because there is not enough capacity in our bus network to cope with the demands,” the council’s transport committee chair Ryan Murphy said.
Public transport advocate Robert Dow from Rail Back on Track said he did not believe the over-crowding impact would be as widespread as the council predicted.
Dow said there was still capacity in the south-east Queensland bus network as patronage returned to pre-COVID levels.
“A 10 per cent increase is only going to give them as much as they had in 2019,” he said.
“I think those figures that Brisbane City Council have released need to be confirmed by [transport operator] Translink. They look a bit suspect to me.”
Rail Back on Track says patronage figures show there is room to cater for extra passengers.
Translink said there was between 11 per cent to 13 per cent surplus passenger capacity on SEQ’s public transport network.
The Queensland government had previously offered $50 million extra to the council to start Brisbane Metro in December.
In a statement on Friday, Transport Minister Bart Mellish said Queenslanders were excited for the 50¢ fare trial to begin.
“Commuters stand to save hundreds of dollars over this six-month period, and we expect the shift to help reduce congestion, particularly across south-east Queensland,” he said.
“Our government wants to continue to work co-operatively with all public transport operators, including Brisbane City Council, in the lead-up to August 5 and at all times.”
The council planned to begin the first two routes of its 60 Brisbane Metro megabus service in December, and argued for a share of $800 million over 10 years in extra fare revenue.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner will meet Premier Steven Miles on Monday, while the Queensland Bus Industry Council meets Transport Minister Bart Mellish on Tuesday to continue talks.