Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2014. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Let's Make Public Transport an Election Issue

The Translink Ripoff is nearly three years old and at this moment in time we think the people of South East Queensland are ready to make public transport an election issue.

New Facebook pages have appeared and people from all over SEQ have been growing more active in the fight against an unfair system. Where are the Translink officers at? was started by a first year uni student who has amazed us with his organising skills. It was an extremely effective response to introduction, masses of red tape, and delay involved with the new Tertiary Transport Concession Card. The TTCC debacle is yet another of example of failed consultation and aggressive regulation. Students have been made into a political football with Translink targeting inner city campuses with new Senior Network Officers deployed to busy student routes to find "students in suits"..

We've decided the time is right for us to bring on new admins for our Facebook page. We believe diversity is strength and new voices will help highlight the range of issues facing SEQ commuters. There is so much to do to keep public transport in the election spotlight for both state and local elections.


Putting the call out for admins has reminded us of why we started The Translink Ripoff in the first place. The lack of concession fares for low income health care card holders makes Queensland the most unfair state in Australia. We want this embarrassing and unfortunate circumstance to change. That's our bottom line.

We look forward to the next six months. We will do everything we can to make sure the stories from people suffering after services cuts, poor service frequency, lack of connectivity, and massive fares get heard.


Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Our table of shame updated with more smart card info.

After feedback from Facebook followers we've done some research including interstate phone calls to find out what's going on with smart cards and fares. When we first created this table the Go Card system was the most well established in Australia. Now the Myki card is well established in Melbourne and in Perth the SmartRider card is the way to go. Adelaide's Metro card is a little more advanced than Sydney's Opal card.

You'll see that we've added info about the number of transfers and you'll see that SEQ misses out again. To find information about transfers we had to call the info lines for each Transit Authority.




Saturday, March 8, 2014

Translink Facebook page launch a total failure.

On or around the 26th of February 2014 the Translink Facebook page went live. Information about the Facebook page launch was unavailable until the 4th of March when the Department of Transport and Main Roads issued this statement



At the time of writing no other announcement or promotion of the Facebook page has been issued. The minister Scott Emerson has made no statement through his website or on Twitter, the Translink website has no media releases and contains no mention or links to the Facebook page, and the Twitter handle @translinkseq has made no mention of the Facebook page.

On March the 6th this article appeared in The Courier Mail (online) titled "TransLink launches Facebook page and probably regrets it already". In it seasoned reporter Robyn Ironside outlines the wave of complaints and disparaging statements that followed the discovery of the page by residents of South East Queensland. These complaints have continued to pour in and a series of accusations of political bias and censorship have been received. We were active on the Translink page during this time and were subsequently banned from the page due to the repetitive nature of our posting. We also garnered more than 100 new followers. While we were one of the prominent posters of disparaging remarks Robyn Ironside and her editors were careful not to mention us or our name.

The vast majority of posts to the Translink Facebook page are from unhappy customers. Many have been very unsatisfied with the response of the page moderators to their complaints. One of the most poignant criticisms is that Translink's approach to community engagement through social media is typical of their style of engagement overall. Translink Facebook page moderators have been accused of being disingenuous gatekeepers with no real concern for attending to needs of customers.

To sum it up. No promotion and the absolute bare minimum of notice given to the public who actually use the services offered. One media story that highlights the extreme levels of public anger and frustration at Translink.


Saturday, January 11, 2014

Oh the shame of it!

How embarrassing for South East Queensland that we have the dubious honour of being the most expensive city in the developed world for catching public transport. The January 6 fare hike has well and truly established this fact.

How strange that Lonely Planet should award Brisbane their 'hippest city in Australia' award when the public transport is not only extremely expensive, but confusing and infrequent.

Here is our table of shame for January 2014. It shows just how badly Translink compares to the other state capitals. Feel free to print it out and put it on the work fridge or notice board.




Monday, December 2, 2013

Daring to Dream: Our visit to the Tramway Museum in Ferny Grove

Brisbane has a little known historic gem thanks to some smart thinking folk back in the late 60's when Clem Jones got rid of the trams. It is a place of child-like joy that brings smiles to all ages.

The Tramway Museum on Tramway Street in Ferny Grove is a great place to dream big about public transport in South East Queensland!

We say 'blue sky thinking" shouldn't be just for big wigs and corporate types. It should be for all of us!

Why shouldn't we say bring back the trams?


Thanks to support from the Brisbane City Council the Tramway Museum is able to keep rolling.




Peter the driver at the helm.




Peter steering the tram forward.


Leon sells the tickets and souvenirs.


We wish they had saved the trams!



Alex the conductor wont accept gocard.



An unmissable photo opportunity.





Sunday, October 13, 2013

MEDIA RELEASE: Bus service cuts and the public transport affordability crisis, Brisbane


October 14, 2013

The Translink Ripoff


Today Translink will implement changes to Brisbane bus services after protracted consultations and redesigns. These changes come amid an unprecedented public transport affordability crisis in South East Queensland. We anticipate there will be a lot of angry bus users, who will be even angrier when they are slugged with yet another 7.5% fare increase in January 2014.

Consultation with the people of Brisbane around changes to bus services has been a minimal afterthought. The Brisbane City Council provided a nine question survey, virtually identical to the one used by Translink in their limited consultation. Translink user satisfaction surveys are designed to minimise criticism by skirting or ignoring the real issues, namely, that public transport in SEQ is sub-standard and far too expensive.

If bus service reforms are to be effective they must involve genuine engagement with the people who use them.

The people of Brisbane used their democratic rights as ratepayers and citizens to reject the original Translink reforms. They did this in a climate of plummeting affordability. It was a last ditch effort to protect the little service quality that could be relied upon from a public transport system with profound problems that leave most users disillusioned.

We believe the public transport system is in need of total reform if Brisbane is to become a truly international city with affordable, reliable, fast and regular service.

This Thursday, October 17 we will celebrate our 2nd birthday as The Translink Ripoff. During the last two years we have provided a responsive sounding board and a place for righteous anger for disillusioned Brisbane public transport users who feel they have nowhere else to go. It is the thoughtful criticisms from public transport users and our willingness to listen and respond that has seen our blog included in the Queensland Government funded Pandora Archive. Our blog The Translink Ripoff is regarded by the team at the State Library of Queensland as having “lasting significance” and will continue to be archived.

Ends

Media contact:
Page Manager - The Translink Ripoff
Michael Swifte
0449 180 465

Links.

'Why the bus cuts fell to pieces' from The Translink Ripoff blog
Pandora Web Archive – Translink Ripoff
The Translink Ripoff – Facebook page
Creative Craft Activism by Donna from Toussaint Trading