More spin & delusion from TransLink and the Queensland Government

Too expensive and infrequent

It appears that in Queensland we have gone from an ALP anti-public transport government to an LNP anti-public transport government.

In the recent TransLink annual report and "Focus on affordability" case study, there is the following gem of delusion from the Queensland Government and their spin merchants TransLink:

"Next years fare increase will be slashed by half with a 7.5 per cent fare increase to be rolled out each year for the next two years. This reduction in the annual fare increase will provide fare relief for our customers and supports the Queensland Government's commitment to provide more affordable public transport options."

Do the LNP Government and TransLink really think that customers will believe that two more 7.5% fare increases will provide fare relief and make public transport more affordable? Two more 7.5% fare increase, are 7 times the CPI, and will only make public transport even more affordable and unattractive. Whilst the ALP have created a very big hole for the LNP to dig their way out of with their failed fare policy, an entire fare structure review is required instead of fare box revenue leaking 9 journey cap. A casual observer could easily think that consecutive governments have purposefully tried/are trying to deter public transport use, to avoid having to spend more money on infrastructure.

To add to the farce, the TransLink Tracker has gone missing in action yet again. This quarterly publication is published later and later after the end of each quarter. At the time of writing it is more than 3.5 months after the end Q4 2011/12 and the Tracker for this quarter is still yet to make an appearance. This is despite the following spin on TransLink's website:

"As part of our commitment to being an open and transparent organisation..."

As well as the increasingly late TransLink Tracker, there still has not been an update from TransLink regarding the following statement that resided on TransLink's website in late 2010/early 2011 concerning the "Queensland Rail timetable changes":

"Stage two of the timetable, planned for late 2011, will improve services on all other lines"

It is now late 2012, and commuters are still awaiting for further information on these timetables. Open and Transparent? You must be joking!

Finally, to top it all off, it has been reported in this Courier Mail article that QR and TransLink bosses will receive a total of $12.7m in bonuses. These KPI based bonus are despite SE Queensland having one of the world's most unaffordable and infrequent public transport systems. It should be noted that $12.7m could pay for a 7 day of the week 15 minute off-peak frequency on the Cleveland Line to Manly.

Sources:
http://translink.com.au/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/annual-and-quarterly-reports
http://web.archive.org/web/20101130235117/http://translink.com.au/travel-information/service-updates/queensland-rail-timetable-changes
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/big-bonuses-paid-to-queensland-rail-and-translink-execs-despite-public-transport-woes/story-e6freoof-1226500485212