Is SEQ headed #offtherails in four years? This piece
explains how a Public Transport disaster during the Commonwealth Games in 2018
can be averted, along with some future solutions as part of a greater legacy.
In 2012, this site had a remarkably successful piece, on how
difficult the task will be on awarding host broadcasting rights for the Gold
Coast Commonwealth Games, in 2018. And it got me thinking for the best part of
two years: What else is needed? Obviously, as we are officially on the road to
2018 as of today’s handover ceremony: surely, it’s time to start thinking about
how we are literally going to get there…
Accommodation supply:
The first major look has to be, simply: how much
accommodation, will be needed: especially in the higher tier, 4/5 star
accommodation. To really look at this: we have to look back to Expo 88 25 years
ago. Brisbane and the Gold Coast combined, in 1988 had six 4/5 star hotels: The
Sheraton above Central Station, the Hilton in the Wintergarden in Brisbane, and
Jupiters Casino in Broadbeach, Gold Coast International and the Ramada in
Surfers Paradise as well as the Sheraton Mirage at Main Beach. As we look to today:
Brisbane has twice as much hotel space as it had during Expo (including large
amounts of 5 star accommodation within 2km of the CBD, some major new
accommodation being planned (the new RNA Showgrounds hotel being a prime
example): as well as some large scale refurbishments e.g Lennons Queen St’s
transformation into NEXT Hotel Brisbane, as well as the Sebel King George
Square’s recent refurbishment as Pullman King George Square): which will be tested later
this year, and the Gold Coast has alone, seven five star hotels, within 20km of
the Commonwealth Games venues. The big factor is that Brisbane will need to
pick up the slack, for the Gold Coast if it runs out of space, when it comes to
accommodating the elite: as well as providing the needs for accommodation for
people who are going to the shooting/cycling at Chandler, which brings us to
the first key point: transport into SEQ.
Air Supply: How are the visitors actually going to
arrive.
It’s obvious, that the Gold Coast will not have the
capacity, at Coolangatta Airport, to handle roughly 8,000+ athletes, officials,
media etc. passing through, at a rapid pace: due to the lack of aerobridges,
but Brisbane Airport can also pick up this, due to it’s higher capacity, not
just for arrivals (including facilities for A380 aircraft.) but for
destinations: including direct access to New Zealand, and being at least a
stopover away, from the UK, India and most other Commonwealth nations. The same
will have to be said for domestic air travel to Queensland. There will need to
be implemented by 2018, increased coast to coast capacity, mainly serving the
Gold Coast, as it will not just be needed for domestic travellers from WA to
the Gold Coast during the Commonwealth Games, but for the African contingents:
which will likely come in via Perth, before crossing the country to get to
Queensland. It may also mean increasing the number of airlines, servicing coast
to coast from Coolangatta: as Jetstar currently is the only carrier offering
Gold Coast-Perth, which would be a win for consumers. The Sunshine Coast
Airport, will need to also take some of the slack, if Brisbane is congested,
during the Commonwealth Games, possibly even taking some long-haul flights.
Now, how is SEQ’s public transport system going to cope with the crush, during
the Commonwealth Games…
The Event Strategy:
We need to look at two key events in the last thirty
years, that formed the critical part of Brisbane’s event transport strategy.
The Commonwealth Games in 1982, is the first critical juncture. Brisbane’s rail
network wasn’t fully electrified, in 1982 (with only the Ipswich, Ferny Grove
and Shorncliffe lines fully electrified: the Beenleigh line was only
electrified to Kingston, along with one track on the Tennyson corridor: to
allow trains to run from Sunnybank-Ipswich): yet it pulled a stellar job,
alongside the BCC shuttles to QEII and Chandler. The second key event was World
Expo 88: where the full electrification of the suburban network was finished,
two months before the event with the Doomben line, and the opening of the first
interurban electric line to Nambour, with a fully realised fleet of over ninety
electric trains. Estimates were, that 50% of all Expo 88 visitors would be
using the Brisbane rail network: through South Brisbane Expo and Vulture St
Expo stations, along with a fairly strong coach backbone, from the Gold Coast,
and surrounding areas, as well as two ferries from the Gold Coast to Brisbane,
one highspeed catamaran, and one hovercraft. The big practical question will
be, how will the people staying on the coast get to Brisbane (esp. as two
sports are at Brisbane venues, track cycling and shooting: both reusing (and in
the case of track cycling, renewing, with a new indoor velodrome) 1982 venues),
and how people in Brisbane will be able to get to the Coast to their venues.
The first key project that needs to be shovel ready now: is a project which
would deliver light rail to Parkwood, to connect with the Gold Coast interurban
railway line. But this project has a hitch. Improved rail services to the Gold
Coast, such as infill stations south of Helensvale can’t proceed, without the
duplication of the Coomera-Helensvale section of line, which includes a bridge
over the Coomera River, (that should have been duplicated when the
Coomera-Ormeau and the Helensvale-Robina sections of line were duplicated last
decade). A good idea to overcome this is to have the GC council, QLD and
federal governments, whatever the stripe, and the operator of the light rail,
GoldLinq, to come together and deliver this vital project, involving combining
connecting G:link light rail at a Parkwood heavy rail station (with provision
to extend to Westfield Helensvale (via the “Eastern Corridor” alignment), and
the theme parks at Oxenford) and duplicated heavy rail between Helensvale and
Coomera (linking two venues: one at Coomera, and one at Movie World at
Oxenford, which would also be fed by a bus shuttle from Helensvale.) and most
importantly, open up the way for a enhanced Gold Coast line, during the
Commonwealth Games.
The Enhanced Gold Coast Line:
During the Commonwealth Games, instead of the current
frequency of 30mins from Brisbane and the airport to the GC, there will need to
be baseline 15min frequency on the Gold Coast line. But it comes with a major
change: Beenleigh all-stoppers, would continue on to Varsity Lakes during the Games,
while Gold Coast services will stop with a different express pattern, from the
CBD, with lengthy stops at Park Rd, and Kuraby stations. An encouragement to
switch to PT during the Games will be that most northside lines (Kippa-Ring,
Caboolture and Shorncliffe) will have a couple of express services to Varsity
Lakes during morning peak, and also departing late at night. So, as much
rollingstock can be used as possible, no Doomben trains would run during the
Games, to free up Eagle Junction for transfers between Caboolture/Shorncliffe/Kippa-Ring
lines to Games services as well as all Sunshine Coast services (including
Gympie North) stopping at Eagle Junction. The theoretical operating pattern for
that period in 2018, would be as follows:
Caboolture-Ipswich (changing for Games services at Eagle
Junction, city stations and connecting with Ferny Grove via Park Rd from
Corinda)
Kippa-Ring-Springfield Central (changing for Games
services at Eagle Junction, city stations and connecting with Ferny Grove via
Park Rd from Corinda)
Shorncliffe-Cleveland (changing for Games services at
Eagle Junction, city stations, South Brisbane, South Bank and Park Rd stations)
Airport-Varsity Lakes (express from Eagle Junction to
Bowen Hills (which should be reinstated with Kippa-Ring opening, and extension
of 15min corridor to Petrie) and Park Rd to Beenleigh only stopping at Kuraby
(instead of Altandi) and Loganlea)
Ferny Grove-Coopers Plains (timing adjusted, with the
terminus being Corinda)
Ferny Grove-Beenleigh (timing adjusted, running all
stations to Varsity Lakes)
Doomben line (closed during the Games, replaced by
railbus to Eagle Junction)
Gympie North/Nambour-Roma St (changing for Games services
at Eagle Junction and city stations)
During the Commonwealth Games, to make the service more
legible, Ferny Grove and Beenleigh services would switch colours with
Ipswich-Caboolture changing from red to green and vice versa (with the
Airport-Varsity Lakes line retaining it’s gold colour). The enhanced service
would be promoted as the “Green and Gold Line”, in reference to Australia’s
traditional sporting colours, green and gold. Another factor that can come into
play, is the concept of resurrecting a ferry link, from Brisbane to the Gold
Coast, possibly either linking from Brisbane’s CBD to Broadwater Parklands at
Southport (the most logical option), or Carrara Stadium-Brisbane CBD via.
Cleveland (to connect to Chandler/Belmont venues) and Broadwater Parklands.
Expanding G:link:
The major factor that needs to be looked at now, is extending
the light rail system past Broadbeach. The first thing I expect, is that the
public opinion on light rail will change dramatically, the longer the system is
open to commuters. Thus the question that will be looked at now, is not if it
will expand south, but when. The simplest move, is to extend the line along the
Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh Heads (which will likely be completed faster
than stage one, and stages past Burleigh Heads, due to the route not requiring
large bridges (like Sundale, where a new bridge was required) but still
requiring utility relocations), and fast track construction, so the extension
can be finished as close as possible to the 2018 Commonwealth Games, opening up
another mode of transport to accommodation providers south of Broadbeach.
Extensions south, and west to destinations other than Parkwood, will need to be
heavily looking at having detailed plans ready after 2018, particularly
extensions to Coolangatta: which would require two major bridges (Tallebudgera
and Currumbin creeks), and feasibility on extending to Tweed Heads South/Banora
Point/Kingscliff in conjunction with the NSW government.
Cross-Border Transport:
There is another factor that comes into play: Surfside’s
NSW network, which runs from Tweed Heads to Kingscliff, Pottsville and
Murwillumbah, which currently uses a different fare system to Surfside’s QLD
routes. There needs to be a move, prior to 2018, between Transport For NSW and QLD’s
Translink to allow Surfside’s NSW network to convert to accepting Go Card for
fleet operation simplification purposes (also allowing direct services from
Tweed Heads locations other than the town centre, to various Gold Coast
destinations, as well as drastically cheaper fares (while retaining the NSW
network’s access to certain concessions), instead of NSW’s Opal standard, nor
the expensive costs of catering for both Go Card and Opal. A closer partnership
would also open up new doors for transport: including looking at reserving a
corridor for a standard gauge extension from Murwillumbah: which won’t be
needed for 2018, that would allow NSW TrainLink services, and potentially high
speed rail to service the Gold Coast directly in the future along a modernized
Murwillumbah corridor: after all, the Gold Coast is Australia’s largest city
not served directly by standard gauge rail. However, a interim solution (but
still will need the restoration of the line) can be found, by returning XPT
service to Murwillumbah, along with coordinated coach connections to Surfers
Paradise (via Broadbeach light rail terminus), Brisbane as well as Queensland Rail’s
heavy rail terminus or Robina.
Renumbering Queensland, Alphanumeric Routes:
Wayfinding in Queensland will also need to change by 2018
to match the southern states, as Queensland is the only state on the eastern
seaboard still using the state/national route system, albeit alongside a
limited alphanumeric offer. However, the craziness of transport planners in
Queensland has seen the duplication of route numbers both old and new: with
duplicate A3, A5 and A7 routes (in both Brisbane and regional areas) for
example in the alphanumeric network, as well as in the existing state route
system (with unconnected routes, hundreds of km apart). The time has come to
completely redo the route system in this state and it has to have two key
factors:
1: Preventing duplication, with the greater rollout of
the A/B routing system: with the A system containing 100 routes (with the “1”
series (e.g. A11, A21 etc.) mostly being exclusive to bypassed sections of M/A1,
with the Gold Coast Hwy becoming A11 extending from South Tweed Heads to
Helensvale, A100, reserved for Gympie Rd between Bald Hills and Petrie, as well
as Anzac Avenue between Petrie and Redcliffe, A21 being Steve Irwin Way, A31
being the route from Eumundi-Nambour, A41 reserved for Gympie, A51 reserved for
Rockhampton, A61 reserved for Mackay and A81 reserved for Townsville.) as well
as the current single digit A routes outside SEQ returning to their former
numbers: (A3 regional from Yarraman north becoming A17, and southern end
becomes A42, A4 and northern A2 becoming A66, A5 becoming A39, southern A2 to
Charleville becomes A54, A6 becoming A78) and national route 13, becoming A91,
extending the Summerland Way route to Brisbane via the Mt Lindsey Hwy. While,
there would be room for 1000 B routes (replacing the entire state route system
outside SEQ, and limited routes added in SEQ), with B71 (until Charleville,
where it’d become A71) and B55 reserved for continuations of their NSW routes,
instead of the current bump up to A71 and A55 when crossing into QLD, while
introducing three digit route numbering with a prefix based on location (No
prefix (B1-B99): Brisbane, B1XX: Gold Coast, B2XX: Sunshine Coast, B3XX: Wide
Bay/Bundaberg, B4XX: Capricornia, B5XX: Mackay/Townsville B6XX: Cairns/Cape
York and B700-B999 Outback). Also, three
new M routes would be added: M8 Sunshine Motorway (M9 reserved for future Kawana-Beerwah
motorway corridor) and M10 Southport Link Motorway (formerly Smith St Mwy).
2: Promote the change to full alphanumeric routes
heavily, as well done as NSW did in 2013, and stagger the roll out, with
priority given to the SE corner, as well as currently duplicated state routes.
Cross-town links: Brisbane, and Gold Coast.
Brisbane’s cross-town solution, to serve Belmont and
Chandler Velodrome from the Green/Gold line, involves the redirection of some
resources, along with the development of a “operator” which would offer these
services, via a BOT arrangement between Brisbane City Council (or any
privatised operator), and the QLD Government, that simply would build new buses
(to replace the first low floor BCC buses built in the late 1990s-early 2000’s),
operate them during the Games, and transfer to the operator after the end of
the 2018 games. The potential services would run in two strands:
Line A: UQ-Belmont/Chandler express via Boggo Rd Busway
and Langlands Park: meeting every G/G line train at Boggo Rd/Park Rd.
Line B: Kuraby-Belmont/Chandler express via Garden City
interchange and Carindale interchange, meeting every G/G line train at Kuraby.
These new buses would be designed with real-time
information, much more advanced than today: including train departure
information, and would be designed to be the model bus for other Translink
operators.
Meanwhile, the Gold Coast’s cross-town solution is more
intricate. Building on the high frequency network from the recent Translink bus
review, and changes with the arrival of GC Light Rail, there is indeed a need
to connect venues, not just with each other: but to the light rail or heavy
rail networks. Some solutions are easy: Broadwater Parklands at Southport,
would only need a temporary bus interchange, as it is close to the light rail:
and Broadbeach can have a loop linking it’s two venues: but other venues need
to be linked up. The most critical of these links is a connection from Robina
Station (and nearby stadium) to Broadbeach Light Rail terminus via Cararra
Stadium.
Others include:
- Southport-Movie World via Gold Coast Hockey Centre, Runaway
Bay Sports Centre, Harbour Town and Helensvale station.
- Modified theme park services, to act as high capacity
feeders from the southern end of the Gold Coast: with TX1 modified to run
express to Coomera venue, via theme parks, light rail terminus and Cararra
Stadium, TX2 modified to run from Elanora (so a direct connection is there for
road race cycling events), and routed via Cararra Stadium to Coomera venue and
TX5 running a shuttle between Westfield Helensvale and Coomera venue via Movie
World venue.
- Hinze Dam venue, would need to be 40% public transport
reliant.
- the acquisition of a solely double decker fleet for the
theme park services by 2018, in preparation for their Games role, along with
examining the feasibility of implementing a deeper real-time system for buses,
including adding train and light rail departure information.
Another key role will be the streamlining of the current
Gold Coast hotel/airport shuttles, with a move to see it integrated with the
Airtrain Connect system (that links hotels to the Gold Coast rail line, with
connections to Brisbane Airport) under one brand. Progress also needs to be
made, towards removing Surfside-specific, and Airtrain/Surfside-specific
ticketing, now, to encourage wider integrated usage of the system, with the
expansion of the SEEQ card, to include options for domestic and some overseas visitors
(such as concession and senior ticketing, with Airtrain ticketing to eventually
reflect the network: with concession ticketing, and a reformed Airtrain fare
structure to match: such as charging station access fees, instead of insane
amounts of money ($26 from zone 6 to Brisbane Domestic Airport one way for a
adult (compared to $18 from Parramatta to Sydney Domestic Airport for a adult,
a similar distance, but has to change in the CBD, as opposed to a suburban
station): let alone from the airport to the Gold Coast ($33.60 from Nerang to
Brisbane Domestic for a adult (compared to $21.20 for a adult from either
Dapto, Ourimbah, Faulconbridge or Bargo stations to Sydney Domestic, involving
various changes) as well as looking at other potential solutions.
The face of the network:
It is a known fact that there will be a volunteer army,
recruited to assist at the venues. However, there needs to also be a separate
group working, alongside Translink, to assist in smooth running of the
transport network, for the visitors that will be coming to Queensland. There is
another group of people, that will also be working for the benefit and comfort
of passengers, on the light rail system. I’m predicting that very quickly, Gold
Coast residents won’t refer to the G:Link CSO’s (Customer Service Officers) as
CSO’s. They will likely simply refer to them as “conductor” by 2018, much like
Melbourne (where they are still referred to as “the soul of the tram network”
and although the city switched to driver-only trams in 1998, with steep
opposition: there are many commuters in that city who want a conductor return),
Adelaide and Sydney have for many years. There needs to be a major education
campaign throughout SEQ about the term “conductor” (after all, this will be the
first tram line to open in SEQ since Brisbane’s network shut in 1969), and
light rail in general. But it won’t just be light rail that can benefit from
more human interaction: Brisbane’s City Gliders, can also benefit from
CBD/Valley stops as well as termini being manned by ticket sellers, to increase
patronage on these specific prepaid services. Same goes with implementing the
CBD bus stop reorganization that the recent Translink bus review suggested: once
again, with a ticket seller facility, alongside fare machines.
Ramping up Real Time information:
Transport information in SEQ has come a long way from the
need to have a timetable handy, at all times. The first major evolution for the
rail network was the implementation of limited LCD timetable information on
platforms, at innercity stations in the late eighties, usually only featuring
the next train: around the same time Brisbane first gained onboard
announcements on trains, via a VA (voice announcement, as opposed to drivers
announcing stops) system. The second major evolution, was the arrival of second
generation LCD signs outside the CBD, and the first generation of video
timetables (via CRT screens): which not just went to the CBD stations, but to
the newer outposts of the network: with the original terminus for the Gold
Coast Line, Robina being equipped with video screens, in the mid 1990’s, and
finally the expansion of timetable information in the 2000’s, to refurbished
stations with third generation LCD signage, and the installation of flatscreen
timetable information on platforms: replacing the CRTs, beginning with the
refurbished Fortitude Valley station, in 2008, eventually extending to other
stations, including replacing 2nd generation LCD signage at some
stations. However, the time has now come, to seriously look at ramping up the
information travellers see not just, on the platform, but in their hand. The
concept I am talking about is a rail version of Trip Tracker (currently in use
for Clarks Logan City, and the BCC’s Blue CityGlider): called, Train Tracker.
Train Tracker, is a evolution, of the current system for rail, that will
revolutionise the information we get. It would begin with the use of existing
LCD screens, with more detail: adding details not just for 3 car trains, but
for WiFi and toilets too (as well as adding features for the Traveltrain
network with similar details, e.g. sleepers, food etc.). Train Tracker’s second use has already been
seen as part of the G:link launch, information of bus services that use nearby
stops to the station. For QR use, it would be expanded, to include real-time
information on bus departures at exit points to stations that have nearby
stops/interchanges. The second phase of rollout would be the addition of free
wifi, on all inner city platforms (Exhibition, Central, Bowen Hills, South
Bank, South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Roma St, Toowong, Auchenflower and
Milton) and at major junctions and termini (Ipswich, Sandgate, Cleveland,
Beenleigh, Petrie, Eagle Junction, Darra, as well as all stations on the Gold
Coast Line past Beenleigh, all Springfield Line stations past Darra, all
Kippa-Ring Line stations past Petrie as well as all Sunshine Coast Line
stations past Caboolture) to allow for Train Tracker checking on the go. The
third phase of rollout, would be the introduction of live video from suburban
trains, even possibly cameras on the side of trains (fitted initially to next
generation rollingstock): similar to what is used on Sydney Trains’s Waratah
fleet for security and for guard operation. And there is then the 4th
generation rollingstock, due to be introduced in 2015. The rollout of the first
6 car sets (not 3+3), needs to have enough weight, so all GC-Brisbane services
are using “UMU” (short for Unified Multiple Unit) sets during the Games, with
EMU withdrawal, postponed until after the Commonwealth Games (to allow every
available unit to be used), and ICE (trains originally designed for long
distance travel) withdrawn before the Commonwealth Games.
But, now you’ve heard of the rail future, now what will
it be like when you turn up at the station?
Park and ride facilities will be pushed to the limit in
2018, especially with Brisbane commuter loads on top of spectators heading to
the Gold Coast: thus the need is there for a comprehensive park and ride plan,
that can be utilized post-Games. One has to remember back to Expo 88, when
Brisbane was encouraged to “Go Easy to Expo”, as well as constructing expanded
park and ride facilities across the suburban rail network, as well as some
temporary facilities (which were usually unsealed, despite the nature, these parking
areas lasted well past Expo, to the point some sites were eventually sealed
with bitumen). In 1988, Brisbane’s park and ride network was at 12,000 spaces,
with few stations properly accessible. Today it’s approaching 17,000 spaces in
the Brisbane suburban area (helped by 1300 new spaces coming online with the
Springfield extension), and most stations are DDA-compliant (latest stations to
go DDA: Sandgate and Geebung, with four others (Alderley, Newmarket, Graceville
and Dinmore) in the pipeline), with the QR wooden footbridge built for
electrification (the same kind people used in 1982 at Banoon to access services
to QEII) are slowly becoming a thing of the past. But: Brisbane’s park and ride
capacity today, and even after Moreton Bay Rail: (after all, 2500 spaces are
already committed for Moreton Bay Rail) would not cope with both peak hour, and
Commonwealth Games patrons, and for a city our size: the number of rail park
and ride spaces are less than Perth, in WA (20,000 spaces, and they also pay to
park).
This is where the options divide: whether the QLD
Government is to invest in park and ride (along with updating current
infrastructure) or increase the number of stations fed by feeder buses
(currently in the existing Brisbane Transport service area, only proper
rail-bus interchanges (i.e. with bus stabling) exist at Carseldine, Sandgate,
Ferny Grove, Mitchelton, Oxley, Park Rd (bus stabling is at UQ) and Richlands
rail stations (as well as a underutilized Enoggera interchange, currently used
by three regular bus services, built in 1980), while partial ones exist at
Buranda, South Bank, South Brisbane and Roma St.) to avoid a parking
catastrophe.
A: Invest in Park And Ride:
Investing in park and ride, for rail in Brisbane will
need to happen eventually. With the lack of connectivity to the rail network by
Brisbane Transport, steeped in a historical point of view (where even before
TL, Brisbane Transport’s buses competed with rail, not fed into it: resulting
in the development of expensive bus infrastructure) and the lack of decent
feeders for rail (particularly at weekends), at some major stations: e.g.
Beenleigh (eight Translink bus “services” servicing the station before 8am, 10
“services” if you count Beenleigh-Ormeau services: M-F, with no services pre
8am Sat/Sun), Petrie (29 Translink bus “services” servicing the station before
8am M-F: with two services pre 8am Saturday, and no services pre 8am on Sunday),
Caboolture (18 Translink bus “services” servicing the station before 8am M-F
with 3 “services” pre 8am Saturday, and no services pre 8am Sunday) and Ferny
Grove (11 Translink bus “services” pre 8am M-F, no services pre 8am Sat/Sun).
Hence: the need for a ramped up park and ride program for rail. I am seeing
today, places like the afore mentioned Petrie station: where carparking that
had been increased in the last few years (130 added on the eastern side, that
will be shut when MBRL works begin) where people are again parking in local
streets, like they were before carpark upgrades happened.
Thus, the strategy that needs to happen is a simple one:
roll out more park and ride space along the suburban network: and it needs to
happen before 2018. I honestly believe there is a need for 4000-5000 spaces to
be built by 2018: just to handle the GC-bound loads, any less and you’d be
risking commuter rage, as precious park and ride spaces for citybound commuters
would be taken up by GC-bound commuters, who would be leaving in the pre-8am
period. The reward in the end, would be the increased usage of rail stations,
once any future third river crossing for rail opens.
The candidates for the park and ride upgrades should be:
-Station needs DDA facilities (e.g. lifts, new
footbridges).
-Station has large catchments that can’t be served by a
feeder bus strategy.
-Station has room for resumptions to build a multi-story
carpark, either underground or above ground capable of handling 500 cars max.
-Station has valuable space in existing park and ride,
that can be integrated into a TOD, or a urban revitalization: which could
utilize a similar feel to the McWhirters carpark in Fortitude Valley: retail on
ground level, carpark above.
-Station needs to develop a flood-proof carpark (with the
majority of levels above 1893 flood level), as well as being a evacuation point
for vehicles.
These park and rides can be built privately, by a
alliance similar to one that built the Geebung/Telegraph Rd rail overpasses and
transferred to the government/rail network operator after 2018.
B: Invest in feeder increases to free up park and ride
spaces:
The feeder issues recently mentioned, are huge. However,
there will be a need to increase feeder services, that can be the biggest
legacy out of 2018 transport-wise, that is changing the Brisbane network from
one competing with rail vehemently to one that is feeding into rail. It can
only be achieved, if the Brisbane City Council exits the public transport
sector after 90 years, and new operators are left to join Translink in
redrawing a network, some of whose routes date back to the tram-replacement
scheme of 45 years ago (the result of the Brisbane Transportation Study): e.g.
the Bardon-Stafford 375: dates back to when it was tram route 74, with minimal
changes. To achieve this, there has to be a move to start aligning with
capacity needs, along with a encouragement, at some stations that have feeders
for people to actually use the feeders: with the introduction of a paid parking
scheme (with TL and QR overruling some councils policies on the issue (e.g.
MBRC): due to the rail network being government owned… for now), that would go
into investing in services and infrastructure (such as finishing off the DDA
program for rail, investing in bus routes, realtime information etc): making
any increase to park and ride spaces literally pay for itself. A example lies
in Western Australia, where recently, they converted their entire park and ride
network to paid parking, charged at $2 a day utilizing their Smartrider
transport smartcard (with the choice of either registering your car with your
Smartrider, or putting a paper ticket (also payable by cash) into your car):
the only use to date in Australia, of the benefits that Queenslanders were told
ten years ago would be available with smartcard ticketing: that their transport
smartcard would be used in the future for small purchases, something a paid
park and ride scheme would likely require.
This brings us to the final requirement for a smooth
running of the 2018 Commonwealth Games:
a scheme so revolutionary, that it could literally change the face of
event ticketing in Australia itself…
Simply, it is the concept of having all QLD Government
owned venues (as well as other venues, like the RNA Showgrounds), to convert by
2018 to smartcard hardstock event ticketing. What the move would mean, is: all
ticketing to events in QLD government venues, such as Cararra, the Brisbane
Entertainment Centre/replacement etc. would all have as a option, smartcard
ticketing, as part of the introduction of transport being included in all
largescale ticket pricing (i.e. you won’t see Bookfest become ticketed, but for
events like Supanova, PT will be thrown in to encourage people to leave the car
at home) for some venues, with the ability to change online ticketing printouts
(which will also include transport) for a smart-ticket (compatible with go card
readers and venue entry readers) at manned rail stations (which should be at
100% of the suburban network (with only gaps in the interurban area between
Nambour/Gympie) by 2018), if they wish.
I have not explained the fare system required, other than
mentions of “smartcard ticketing” for a good reason. This site will show off
shortly, it’s vision for a fairer fare system, including ticket types, zones
and most importantly, cost.
So, the Games are here in QLD, the flag’s been passed,
now is the time for a transport revolution, not gridlock with full trains
waiting at Helensvale. It’s our time to shine: let’s hope that our transport strategy
doesn’t let us down.
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