Public transport patronage is up nearly 20 per cent since the launch of 50c fares, new data shows.
For six months now, every trip on Queensland public transport has cost just 50 cents — whether it's a four-hour trip from Gympie to the Gold Coast, or a five-minute bus from the Gabba into the CBD.
If you've been doing that five times a week for the past six months , 50c fares could have saved you $3,640. Patronage was also up 20 per cent on average across all regional bus networks, with the biggest increases in Townsville and Mackay . The construction of the Cross River Rail, upgrades to some inner-city bus stops, and renovations to bridges and outer-suburban train stations had made certain trips painful, and others impossible, he said."If you live in Eagleby and there's only six, seven services a day. You don't have a lot of opportunity to make a lot more public transport trips," Professor Burke said.
Hard data on congestion is tough to come by, but Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has no doubt cheap fares have improved the city's notoriously bad traffic. "Where there's full services and great demand, that's obviously where we'll target new services to," he said.While commuters with easy access to public transport are the obvious winners from 50c fares, Leanne Wood from Anglicare says there is immense value in giving those who previously couldn't afford it the freedom to travel.
Queensland Buses Trains Metro 50 Cents 50C David Crisafulli Premier Queensland Government
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