Saturday, June 30, 2012

TransLink's network plan 2011/12 - pass or fail?

Alderley - access improvement and timetable FAIL
It's now the end of the 2011/12 financial year. Lets have a look at TransLink's 2011 network plan to see what TransLink actually managed to deliver, and which improvement plans fell off the back of a CityCat. TransLink's 2011/12 financial year plans have been taken from page 19.
  • Stage Two of the Rail Timetable Review which will review timetables and services in the Airport, Beenleigh, Cleveland, Doomben, Ferny Grove, Gold Coast, and Shorncliffe train lines - EPIC FAIL (now looking like 2013!).
  • More than 125 new buses to the TransLink network - ? PASS (assumed)
  • Regional review of bus services in the Eastern, Southern, and Gold Coast regions to meet new train timetables - FAIL (due to no new train timetables for buses to meet).
  • Review of bus services in Gold Coast to accommodate developments of the light rail project - PASS (if you count buses being diverted off Surfers Paradise Boulevard).
  • New cross town strategic bus routes servicing Number 1 Airport Drive, Garden City, UQ Lakes, North West Corridor - PASS
  • High frequency (bus) network upgrades to services located in Aspley, Buranda, Carindale, North West Corridor - PASS
  • Recast and optimisation of bus services in the inner-North to utilise the opening of the Northern Busway once complete - PASS (although still inadequate counter-peak Inner Northern Busway capacity)
The following are infrastructure improvements that were planned for 2011/12.
  • Stage one of Northern Busway from RBWH to Kedron - SEMI-FAIL (bus lanes between Windsor and Lutwyche missing)
  • Improved customer access to Alderley, Bethania, Nambour, Narangba, Sandgate, and Wooloowin train stations - FAIL (construction work has barely started on some of these projects, and Nambour has been cancelled).
  • Station upgrades including new ticket offices at South Brisbane and Eagle Junction train stations - almost ALMOST-PASS (Eagle Junction not finished yet)
  • New bus stations at Logan Central, Maroochydore, North Lakes, Peninsula Fair, and Redbank Plaza - SEMI-FAIL (only a few have opened this financial year). 
  • New bus station, driver facilities, and community activity hub at Noosa Junction - PASS.
  • New park'n'ride facilities at Sandgate and Zillmere train stations - ? PASS (Sandgate complete, Zillmere unknown status). 
  • New park'n'ride facilities at Jindalee and The Gap - FAIL (both still under construction).
  • Continued rollout of new bicycle facilities across the network to improve passenger convenience and amity - MEDIOCRE PASS (only a few locations). 
Given that many of these improvements were meant to justify January 2012's huge 15% fare rise, it is quite disgraceful that there are so many FAILs in the above list. The most disappointing being further delays to the stage/phase 2 train timetables, originally slated by TransLink for late 2011, and then again for the 2011/12 financial year. It is also disappointing that many improvements are only delivered right at the end of the financial year, and not at the same time as the fare rises. Would TransLink like to issue any excuses or an apology to commuters as to the failure to deliver much of the 2011 network plan?

2 comments:

  1. TransLink have upgraded UQ Lakes bus station - that's a bonus not on your list!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ Anonymous - the UQ Lakes bus station expansion was only required as the original bus station was inadequate. It's just a fix of another half-baked infrastructure project.

    ReplyDelete

All comments are reviewed before being published, and it may take a few days for comments to appear. If comments do not add to the conversation, or are just plain stupid, they will not be published.