On the buses

Instead, why aren't we talking more often about transit-oriented development opportunities that work in with the bus network, bus stations and interchanges? Why not envision a future of electric, autonomous buses shuttling people around the city from suburban hub to suburban hub? And the major interchanges of that network are the future transit oriented centres of activity where development is concentrated with jobs, health care and education all catered for?

Is the train obsession just some legacy fantasy view tinged with images of Euro/UK stations, of puffing steam engines and Harry Potter vibes? I just don't get it.

Oh and a post-script. The advent of 50c fares for public transport may have been heralded as a 'congestion busting' move but the reality is more benign. Our overall public transport use is back to where it was pre-covid, despite the addition of several hundred thousand more people in that time.

The increase for August 2025 compared with the previous year is perceptible, but only just. Keep in mind that the addition of all these public transport modes represents only around 8% of trips in southeast Queensland.

That subsidy now means that 95% of the cost of each and every trip is subsidised by the taxpayer. The 50c doesn't even cover the costs of running the tap on and off infrastructure. The taxpayer subsidy is currently averaging around $19 per person per one way trip across all modes of public transport. For rail, it's much higher at around $30 per person per one way trip. For buses it's much less: around $6.

Another good reason to give buses a lot more attention.