Queensland commuters will be able to tap on to public transport at a discounted price from tomorrow. The state's 50 cent fare trial will begin on all services in a bid to curb congestion, but some fear the network may not be prepared for a surge in demand. Translink says they have plans in place for if more people decide to take public transport.
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00:00A bad accident made Ray Gibson blind in one eye, changing the way he gets around.
00:08I can't hold a driver's license anymore so I do have to rely on public transport.
00:12The former truck driver travels daily from Strathpine to Orana Hills.
00:16That's two buses and a train ride, costing $60 to $70 a week.
00:21With the cost of living getting harder, Ray is looking forward to the state government's trial of 50 cent fares.
00:28But he has concerns about how the network will cope from Monday.
00:32Compared to the rest of the world and other states, shocking. Absolutely terrible.
00:37We're pulling out all stops to make sure the network's ready.
00:40Just under 40 rail replacement buses will be put on standby to help support high demand services across south east Queensland.
00:47If a route does start to go crazy, well you can start planning to put more service on.
00:51TransLink says there's plenty of capacity on the network with public transport uptake only at 87% of pre-pandemic levels.
01:00There's capacity for 20 more million passengers per year as to what was happening pre-COVID. That's a lot of people.
01:07The transport minister and TransLink are urging customers statewide to be prepared for the change.
01:13People on the network who haven't been on the network for a while, who haven't used public transport for a number of years pre-COVID or haven't used it ever before.
01:21But the question remains, will people opt to tap instead of driving?
01:25I think it's great. It's great.
01:27I will probably go to Brisbane more because I can access the train and understand that it's a 50 cent fare.
01:33I'm averaging like $200 a month just based on public transportation use.
01:38The trial will be reviewed in six months regardless of whoever wins the state election in October.
01:44We'll have a look at the effectiveness of it, but it's about not just affordability, it's reliability, safety and frequency.
01:51This is use it or lose it.