Premier Steven Miles says pre-election move will save commuters money and boost patronage but transport experts question if funds could be better spent
Feels like a highly cynical move this close to an election. It might help them sure up some votes from the Greens, and it’ll provide them a bludgeon they can use when the LNP wins and inevitably chooses to declare the trial a failure.
From the other angle, 50 c is an interesting figure. I saw Jonathan Sriranganathan point out on Facebook that at this point, it would probably be cheaper (to the Government) to just make it free. There’s no way 50 c per trip is enough to cover the cost of fare enforcement alone. Other commenters suggested it could be important that it not be free to force people to tap on, to allow for recording data to decide whether or not the trial was successful. It could also be the case that they’ll quietly wind back enforcement during this period.
Still, cynicism and criticism of the extent of it aside, this is fantastic. It’s a huge step in the right direction, and they should be praised for being willing to do that. It’s a bit frustrating that public transport can take as much as 3 times as long as driving, outside of peak hour, but I’ll be making an effort to use it more often during this trial period; partly because it genuinely is much cheaper, but mostly just because I want to contribute to the trial’s success.
Feels like a highly cynical move this close to an election. It might help them sure up some votes from the Greens, and it’ll provide them a bludgeon they can use when the LNP wins and inevitably chooses to declare the trial a failure.
From the other angle, 50 c is an interesting figure. I saw Jonathan Sriranganathan point out on Facebook that at this point, it would probably be cheaper (to the Government) to just make it free. There’s no way 50 c per trip is enough to cover the cost of fare enforcement alone. Other commenters suggested it could be important that it not be free to force people to tap on, to allow for recording data to decide whether or not the trial was successful. It could also be the case that they’ll quietly wind back enforcement during this period.
Still, cynicism and criticism of the extent of it aside, this is fantastic. It’s a huge step in the right direction, and they should be praised for being willing to do that. It’s a bit frustrating that public transport can take as much as 3 times as long as driving, outside of peak hour, but I’ll be making an effort to use it more often during this trial period; partly because it genuinely is much cheaper, but mostly just because I want to contribute to the trial’s success.