Australia
Translink state on their website that “public transport is a convenient and cost effective way to travel around South East Queensland“.
In comparison to other Australian states however, we believe that the cost of Brisbane’s public transport is: extortionate, at best.
Here’s the proof:
In Brisbane, a bus fare costs for the following (sourced from translink.gov.au):
|
Zones travelled |
Adult |
Concession |
||||
|
Single paper ticket |
go card |
go card |
Single paper ticket |
go card |
go card |
|
| 1 | $3.90 | $2.65 | $2.26 | $2.00 | $1.33 | $1.13 |
| 2 | $4.60 | $3.11 | $2.65 | $2.30 | $1.56 | $1.33 |
| 3 | $5.40 | $3.68 | $3.13 | $2.70 | $1.84 | $1.57 |
In Sydney, for buses, the costs are as follows (figures courtesy of 131500.com.au):
| Ticket |
MyBus1 |
MyBus2 |
MyBus3 |
| Adult Single |
$2.00 |
$3.30 |
$4.30 |
| Concession Single |
$1.00 |
$1.60 |
$2.10 |
The ‘mybus3‘ ticket covers a vast distance (65km and up, as stated), and the NSW transport website even states that it is ‘cheaper to travel longer distances‘.
As the case is in Brisbane, travelling longer distances costs more and more, the further you travel. This certainly doesnt encourage people to use the service (especially in the faraway outer suburbs, where the services are regularly infrequent and unreliable).
NB: before taking the distance covered by each zone into consideration, some of the fares in Sydney may seem more expensive, comparing the two tables. However: ‘mybus2′ (as an example) covers a distance from Liverpool to the city – approx 35km, whereas zone 3 in Brisbane, as an example (not zone 2) is only around 10km from the CBD! - an example of just how much more expensive it is!
The translink website is also very ambiguous in terms of revealing this information – if it does reveal it at all. A comparative distance in Brisbane (30km) would require you to travel to zone 8 (to Helidon, near Ipswich, for example), at a cost of $2.64 – and this is calculated using Translink’s cheapest possible rate! – still more expensive than Sydney. This is not to mention the time it would take to travel this distance!
If we investigate Translink’s normal rates, the margin in price is even greater still.
In Melbourne, the costs are as follows (courtesy of metlink):
| Zone 1 | Zone 2 | Zone 1 + 2 | |
| Full fare | $3.70 | $2.46 | $5.72 |
| Concession | $1.85 | $1.23 | $2.86 |
(the same as above applies to these fares – with zone 2 in Melbourne reaching as far as Belgrave, around 35km from the CBD. Clearly, Brisbane doesnt come close to matching these fare prices!)
Melbourne’s new myki system (adopted from Qld’s gocard system) means that these fares come down even further in price again!
What else is Brisbane missing out on?
Sydney has some excellent offers on multi-use tickets:
A day pass for all zones costs $20 for an adult, $10 for a concession. These tickets “provide unlimited travel for the period covered by the ticket on trains, buses, light rail and government ferry services” (courtesy of 131500.com.au). There are also 10 trip passes available for purchase.
Also, a 10 trip ‘mymulti2′ (for example), covering zones 1-5 – the same distance for the ‘mybus2′ (around 35km) described above – costs only $8 for a concession, $16 for an adult.
These particular tickets (and others) are vastly cheaper than anywhere else, and not even an available option at all in Brisbane under the Brisbane City Council”s (BCC) shiny new pseudo-environmentally, pseudo traffic-friendly, pseudo user-friendly system.
These are just a few of the best examples of the incentives they use in Sydney to encourage people to use public transport, with more to be clearly found on their transport authority’s website
- Brisbane simply has: none (apart from their shiny new air-conditioned buses and ferries, and millions of dollars worth of special roads, tunnels and other infrastructure for the empty buses to roll around on) – or fails to make them even minutely clear.
It really is a case of the BCC paying lip service to the environment (and its supporters), as they attempt to pull the wool over all of our eyes and lull us into a false sense of ‘we are green’, ‘we care about the environment’. Their ‘action’ is really much more akin to a slick, deceitful marketing campaign...
Train travel in Sydney is cheap also.
Here’s a good comparison: To travel to the gold coast (Coolangatta), a gocard will charge you $5.48. In this example, we have used the cheapest possible option available (travelling off-peak, with a concession card). A comparative journey in Sydney will cost you: $3.90 (you can get a return outside of peak times for $5.40 – still cheaper than Brisbane’s one way, and you’ll get back home too!)
Sydney also offers monthly, quarterly and yearly tickets (not available in Brisbane) which allow unlimited use within the time period purchased, providing considerable further discounts on their already cheaper fares.
Melbourne has some great deals too:
offering 10 trip early bird tickets at no cost (clearly stating that it is a ‘no cost ticket’ – clearly encouraging people to catch public transport to work!), and a ‘sunday saver’ ticket, offering unlimited travel in Melbourne’s zones 1 and 2, at a cost of $3.20 for an adult, and nothing ($0) for a concession card holder!
They also offer weekly tickets throughout the metlink network (with unlimited travel for the week in the zones purchased), that work out to about the same cost for around 5 trips (only) on a gocard in Brisbane (for a comparative distance).
As can be seen, Melbourne offers another great range of incentives to catch public transport for any activity, from any area – something that Translink is clearly failing to do!
The Brisbane City Council and Translink is definitely falling far short of their statement offering “a convenient and cost effective way to travel around South East Queensland“! ..
Some international comparisons coming soon!
