Queensland Parliament will debate the Personalised Transport Ombudsman Bill 2019 this week, which deals with the new public transport ticketing system to be delivered by private company Cubic.
Tuesday 3 September 2019
Michael Berkman, Greens MP for Maiwar:
“Following Brisbane City Council’s announcement that it will make off-peak buses, ferries and CityCats trips free for seniors, yesterday I asked the Transport Minister to extend this policy so seniors and other concessioners can travel for free at any time, across SEQ.
“This would cost about $9.3 million in total - just a fraction of the $379 million we’re spending on this new privatised system.
“According to the government’s own figures, we could also make all public transport in Queensland free for kids under 18 for just $31.54 million.
“We know that making public transport cheaper would increase use, reduce congestion, and make our cities cleaner and safer.
“But instead of investing in an accessible, affordable and well-networked public transport system, the Labor State government is charging taxpayers $379 million for a private company to deliver a new ticketing system.”