TransLink (South East Queensland)
For a list of all TransLink services, see the list of TransLink services.TransLink is a system of
integrated public transport that covers
rail,
bus and
ferry networks in
South East Queensland,
Australia. It was introduced by the
Queensland Government in July
2004, and is operated by Queensland Transport. Geographically, it is the largest fare system on Earth.
The aim of TransLink is to coordinate transport services run by
Queensland Rail,
Brisbane Transport, and more than 10 other public transport operators in South-East
Queensland. The system allows a ticket purchased on any of these public transport services to be used for travel on any of the other ones, provided that it covers the appropriate zones. TransLink is a marketing repositioning strategy for public transport which is trying to get passengers onto buses, trains and ferries. There are 3.1 million residents living within South-East Queensland, and this is set to increase as the region is the nation's fastest growing area. Each new family in the region will generate an estimated 7 extra trips per day, so the need for quick, low-cost, efficient and integrated public transport is great. TransLink is aiming to provide this.
However it should be noted that
Toowoomba while normally considered part of
South East Queensland, is excluded from the TransLink system.
Zones radiate out in concentric rings from the centre of
Brisbane which are used to determine ticket prices for passengers. There are a total of 23 zones stretching from
Gympie (170 km north of
Brisbane) to
Coolangatta (100 km south of Brisbane). The zones stretch as far west as Helidon (80 km west of Brisbane) and as far east as the bayside suburbs of Brisbane. While these zones indicate TransLink's coverage, services may not actually be in operation in certain parts of these zones. For example, in the outer south-west of the region, TransLink may control public transport, but there are no public transport services in operation.
The borders between zones are called
precincts -- areas where the cost of a ticket purchased will depend on whether the travel is away or towards the Brisbane CBD. This ensures that the passenger always pays the lowest fare for their journey.
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An automated ticketing machine at a CityTrain station, converted to issue TransLink products in 2004. New smartcard based machines are being installed at railway stations all around Brisbane |
Tickets available include:
Single - one-way travel with unlimited transfers for 2-4 hours dependant on zones purchased
Daily - the equivalent of a return ticket, but unlimited travel within the zones described on the date of purchase, for around 2x the cost of a single ticket. Depending on the number of zones purchased, the daily fare is sometimes $0.10 cheaper than the cost of two singles.
Off-peak Daily - same as a daily, but cannot be used before 9:00am or between 3:30pm and 7:00pm on weekdays. Tickets cost 1.5x the amount of a single fare and rounded up or down to eliminate the need to handle 5 cent coins.
Weekly - unlimited travel within the zones described for seven days. Tickets are 4x the daily fare for 1-10 zones, 3.75x for 11 zones, 3.5x for 12 zones and 3.25x for 13-23 zones.
Monthly - unlimited travel within the zones described for one calendar month. Tickets are 4x the weekly fare. This means they are cheaper than daily's if one travels at least 13-16 days per month depending on the number of zones purchased.
Concession fares are also available for students, pensioners and children, and these riders travel for half the price of regular adult passengers. Children under 5 travel free. There are several conditions which exist in relation to concession fares, which are available at TransLink's website (see below).
TransLink is divided into 11 regions, each with a discrete series of bus routes. Click here for a list of
TransLink services.
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1. Brisbane South - 100-199 (
Brisbane Transport and
Park Ridge Transit)
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2. Brisbane East - 200-249 (
Brisbane Transport)
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3. Eastern Region (Redlands) - 250-299 (
Veolia Transport Brisbane and
Mt Gravatt Bus Service)
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4. Brisbane North - 300-399 (
Brisbane Transport,
Brisbane Bus Lines and
Hornibrook Buslines)
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5. Brisbane West - 400-479 (
Brisbane Transport and
Westside Bus Company)
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6. Brisbane Central - 195-199, 323, 393, 471, 475, 476, 598, 599 (
Brisbane Transport)
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7. Western Region (Ipswich) - 480-539 (
Westside Bus Company)
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8. Southern Region (Logan and Park Ridge) - 540-599 (
Logan City Bus Service,
Park Ridge Transit and
Surfside Buslines)
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9. Sunshine Coast - 600-639 (
Sunbus Sunshine Coast)
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10. Northern Region (Pine Rivers, Caboolture and Redcliffe) - 640-699 (
Bribie Island Coaches,
Caboolture Bus Lines,
Kangaroo Bus Lines,
Thompsons Bus Service and
Hornibrook Bus Lines)
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11. Gold Coast - 700-799 (
Surfside Buslines) (Still using some old route numbering)
Since TransLink's introduction, patronage has grown faster than ever before. It is quite possible that more than 100 million trips will have taken place between July 2004 and July 2005. Prior to the system's introduction, patronage was only about 90 million trips per year, increasing at a rate of about 7% annually. This can be attributed to improved services and cheaper trips. In some cases, fares to the Brisbane CBD for passengers in areas such as
Redcliffe have decreased by as much as 60%.
The TransLink network currently consists of approximately 10 ferry routes, 10 rail lines and 500 bus routes in operation across the region.
In the future, ticketing equipment will be upgraded and service improvements are expected.
Ticketing improvements
In relation to ticketing improvements, the current paper-based ticketing system will be enhanced by the availability of a Cubic
smartcard system to speed up boarding times. Passengers will no longer need to carry cash with them. The current range of ticketing products will still be available concurrently, at least for the foreseeable future.
In 2006, a smartcard trial will begin on bus services in Redcliffe and the system will be perfected and implemented across the rest of the network. More than 2,000 ticket gates and validators will be installed across the network over the next 2 years. Passengers will be able to simply "tag on" and "tag off", and the ticket gate will automatically calculate and deduct the correct fare from the smartcard. The installation of ticket gates will mean that for the first time in South-East Queensland, all tickets will be automatically checked and processed at all stations, which has the potential to lower fare evasion and speed up boarding times. At present, tickets are checked manually by inspectors at major inner-city railway stations in Brisbane, occasionally at other important stations such as
Robina, and by bus drivers and roving ticket inspectors.
It is envisaged that TransLink smartcards will also be able to be used to purchase small items such as drinks and snacks from station vending machines. A smartcard-based driver's licence will be implemented in Queensland in 2007 that will also be able to store TransLink fare credits. However, if a passenger wants to use these credits, they will need to transfer them to their TransLink smartcard. This will be the case so that all passengers remain anonymous on the TransLink network to prevent stalking (since the gates will log every journey made by a user) and identity theft.
New ticket vending machines, static smartcard readers and barriers are being rolled out across the rail network and smartcard readers fixed to some buses. The TVM's are touch-screen models and can accept notes, coins and ATM cards. They dispense smartcards and paper tickets. Some machines associated with Stage II of the pilot trial are now operational.
Service improvements
In terms of service improvements, a new logical bus numbering system was recently extended to the Eastern Region, and is expected to come into place on the Gold Coast during 2006.
The
CityCat network's timetable was completely revamped on April 10, 2006 with more peak hour services and extra padding in the running times to improve reliability. Additional
CityCats were constructed to provide these new services.
On the
CityTrain network, new tracks are being constructed and stations are being upgraded in the southern suburbs of Brisbane to provide a more frequent service on the
Beenleigh and Gold Coast Lines. These areas are the fastest growing in South-East Queensland. New tracks are also being provided between Corinda and Darra, Mitchelton and Keperra and between Caboolture and Landsborough.
Queensland Rail has ordered 16 new inter-urban trains for service on the
Gold Coast and
Nambour / Gympie North lines to address the shortage of interurban rollingstock and to prevent the use of elderly suburban trains with no toilets or other facilities for long range trips. 8 new suburban trains have also been ordered to cope with increased suburban demand.
The extension of the Gold Coast Line to new stations at Reedy Creek, Andrews, Elanora, Tugun and the Gold Coast Airport is anticipated. Proposals are also under way to provide
rail services to Springfield via
Darra Station, to Browns Plains down the current standard gauge alignment and to Maroochydore via the
CAMCOS corridor branching from
Beerwah Station.
Redcliffe will likely not be receiving a rail service for many years, if ever.
Draft TransLink Network Plan (DTNP)
TransLink has recently completed the draft of its network plan -- a long-term vision for public transport in South-East Queensland. It details the new bus routes, train services and ferry service improvements which will be introduced gradually between 2005 and 2014. It also details the new bus route numbering system which is starting to be rolled out.
Minimum Service Standards
A major impact of the network plan is the introduction of minimum service standards for all services. These standards state the minimum frequencies for each type of service, and hours of operation.
While most rail and ferry services already met or exceeded standards prior to TransLink's introduction, the services that did not were mainly those run by the private operators. The standards dictate that all bus routes should run to a minimum hourly freqency and run between 6am-9pm Monday to Saturday, and 7am-6pm Sunday.
A complete table of minimum service standards can be found on page 3 of [
1].
From December 2005 Translink will run all night services on Friday/Saturday nights (Saturday and Sunday early mornings) to service nightclub patrons and others. (see link below)
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TransLink Homepage*
TransLink Network Plan*
Welcome to NightLink
