Savings fund cheaper transport fares or more services

Queensland families will enjoy cheaper public transport fares or more services following a decision to re-invest savings from the scrapped carbon tax towards public transport.

Premier Campbell Newman and Transport and Main Roads Minister Scott Emerson said members of the public would decide whether they want to pay less for their travel or would prefer increased bus, train and ferry frequency.

“With the carbon tax gone the Government now has more money to improve services for families,” Mr Newman said.

“We are calling on Queenslanders to tell us how the carbon tax savings should be spent, a five per cent reduction in fares or more public transport services.

“This announcement is part of our strong plan to lower the cost of living for families and revitalise frontline services, creating a brighter future for commuters.

“Under Labor, public transport fares increased while services declined, but we’ve been working hard over the last two and a half years to turn that around.

“Over the next two weeks we are asking for feedback from all Queenslanders on how best to spend the carbon tax savings, which are about $30 million a year.”

Mr Emerson said that whatever the public chose would be a win for public transport as we continued to improve affordability, frequency and the reliability of the network.

“We promised at the election to improve affordability and never go back to the bad old days of Labor where they put fares up by 15 per cent year after year,” Mr Emerson said.

“If people choose a reduction in fares, a passenger travelling from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast each week day could save an additional $320 a year.

“That’s a saving of $2000 a year compared to Labor’s policy of on-going 15 per cent fare increases.

“The other option could see approximately 1000 more public transport services allocated across Queensland per week.

“As well as re-investing these savings, up to 80,000 passengers will continue to benefit from our successful free travel after nine weekly journeys initiative.”

An online survey opens on Sunday, 31 August and closes at midnight Sunday, 14 September via the TransLink website http://translink.com.au or call on 13 12 30.

[ENDS] 31 August 2014                                  

Media contact: Stephanie Shield 0418 186 625