LNP Public Transport Report Card (and Cross River Rail gloom)

Brisbane's Sad Future?

When you thought that Brisbane's public transport governance couldn't get much worse than under the previous ALP administration, Campbell Newman's LNP state government has increased the amount of public transport policy failure.  This has been confounded with the news that Cross River Rail (which has been identified by the current ALP federal government as Australia's most urgent infrastructure project) may be dead in the water due to Transport Minister Scott Emerson not accepting initial funding from the ALP federal government, and likely next prime minister (and Medieval throwback) Tony Abbott promising to only fund road projects instead of rail.

Here is the Campbell Newman's LNP state government public transport report card:

• Bus network planning - MP Scott Emerson threw out TransLink's excellent (but not perfect) revolutionary changes. This was replaced by the continuation of Brisbane City Council (also LNP) inspired inefficiency and confusion - FAIL
• Full buses - still more than 2000 full buses every month - FAIL
• Pork-barrelling - Managed a half-baked Ferny Grove Line 15 minute off peak frequency, and extended the wasteful Maroon CityGlider into Ashgrove. Both serve Campbell Newman's Ashgrove constituency - PASS ( really a FAIL)
• Stage 2 Rail Timetables - Still missing in action - FAIL
• Fare improvements - Changes to 10 journeys then free cap to 9 journeys then free. But also increased fares by 7.5%, so that for most users the fares still increased. Brisbane continues to have the world's 3rd most expensive rail fares, the world's 2nd most expensive bus fares, and the world's most expensive fares without a refund policy, all for what is a pretty shoddy public transport network - FAIL
• Cross River Rail - Scott Emerson has played stupid political games that have probably killed off the essential Cross River Rail, not helped by Tony Abbott's 1960's road mentality - FAIL
• Patronage - Due to high fares, infrequent trains, and sacking thousands of public servants, public transport patronage has continued to decline. Road congestion (and Centrelink queues) will only get worse! - FAIL

VERDICT - EPIC FAIL (So incompetent, that BrizCommuter doubts that LNP politicians could work out how to get a shag in a brothel). 

And as for Tony Abbott - the size of his rail project funding is proportional to what's in his speedos.