Tony Potter, Regional Director of Queensland Transport (TMR) has responded to our latest email. Dear Mr Holland Thank you for your further queries. Apologies for the delay in responding. The location of the bus layover centre (that is, the one closest to the Central Business District) is yet to be finalised. I note your query about the annual subsidy paid by the Queensland State Government to Sunbus, and approximately what percentage of total annual revenue to Sunbus in Cairns does this represent. The contract manager has advised the payment details are commercial in confidence. As such, they can not be released. Thank you for your suggestion that instead of developing bus stops on Spence Street between McLeod Street and Bunda Street, that the bus stop on Spence Street between Sheridan Street and Grafton Street be retained and another bus stop be built directly opposite on Spence Street. This suggestion has been forwarded onto the appropriate area for notation. If you have further queries on this matter please direct them to [email protected]. Kind regards, Tony Potter Regional Director (Far North) | Far North Queensland / Cairns Office Program Delivery and Operations Division | Department of Transport and Main Roads ********** COMMENT 1.It is surprising that the Cairns Transit Network plan was “locked in” in 2009, yet Qld Transport still has not decided where the CBD bus layover centre will be. The location of a bus layover centre is integral to a Cairns Transit Network plan for the CBD because it determines where passengers will be set down for a terminating bus, and how efficient it is in terms of getting the bus from that point to the layover area. We suggest the bus layover area be in Bunda St, with a house secured where bus drivers can relax during their break, inside in the aircon, or outside in the shade, or outside in the sun, as they choose, with all basic amenities including toilet, fridge, stove, cupboards, lockers, shower, sofas, table and chairs etc. Sunbus drivers’ conditions have been abused over the last few years at least, with nowhere to relax since the city office was closed in 2011. We were told from the beginning that the option to have buses pass through City Place was the only feasible option. Yet they are able to decide to keep the bus stops on McLeod St at Aplin St (ie a bus route not previously in the plan), decide to move the bus stops from Lake St at Shields St to Lake St at Aplin St 4 years after the plan was locked in, and to not even incorporate a bus layover location in the plan! There have never been any good reasons given as to why buses could not go down Abbott St. Qld Transport told us: i) There is no room for bus platforms on Abbott St, but this is clearly not true because we have measured the 55 metres required on both side. Current bus stops are already 48 metres and there are no driveways in these zones. ii) Abbott St was outside the 400m walking radius and the 400m walking radius from Abbott St lands in the water (at the Marina). But Lake St at Aplin St is not more convenient and EVEN MORE of the 400m radius falls in the water! At least at Abbott St the inclusion of the Marina is a positive as many people from boats require public transport. iii) Buses need to travel in a straight line (eg all along Lake St to Airport Drive) so passengers know where they are going. This is ridiculous. The bus still needs to take a dog leg at Airport Drive to get back onto Cook Hwy. And bus routes take all sorts of turns all over Cairns! 2. Why is the level of government subsidy – ie taxpayers money - to Sunbus not available to the public? We need this information to ascertain things like How efficient is the bus service relative to subsidy? How does it compare to government subsidy of new roads for private cars? What are the prospects for increasing services from one per hour to one per half hour? What are the prospects for reducing fares, or even make buses free of charge as they do in many other cities around the world to encourage more people to take buses? It is important to realise that Cairns has one of the highest per capita CO2 emissions in Australia and Australia has one of the highest CO2 emissions in the world. It is important to also realise that there are options to avoid increased congestion on Cairns roads, and further expense and degradation of the physical environment and air quality from widening roads and highways and building flyovers. If anyone has a question they would like to ask Qld Transport (TMR), please let us know, as we will be continuing our dialogue with them and insisting on local community input on transport planning in Cairns by this Brisbane-centric bureaucracy. ************************ PREVIOUS LETTER TO QLD TRANSPORT (TMR) Tony Potter, Regional Director Qld Transport (TMR) Cc: Cairns-coev forum Transport-FNQ forum FNQ Sustainability Alliance Cairns Bicycle Users Group (C-BUG) Cairns Action for Sustainable Transport (CAST) TransitionTowns-Cairns forum Save City Place - Make It WOW! campaign Dear Tony, I sent an email to you 13 days ago and have not yet received a reply. I include the original letter below, but repeat the two questions here: 1. Where will the bus layover centre be (ie the one closest to the CBD)? 2. What is the annual subsidy paid by Qld State Govt. to Sunbus, and approximately what percentage of total annual revenue to Sunbus in Cairns does this represent? We have a further question / suggestion – 3. We suggest that instead of developing bus stops on Spence St between McLeod St and Bunda St, that the bus stop on Spence St between Sheridan St and Grafton St be retained and another bus stop be built directly opposite on Spence St. The advantages of this is that it would also be useful for passengers coming into the CBD along McLeod St, as well as passengers coming into the CBD along Lake St. It would proved a CBD southside counterpoint bus stop to the two bus stops currently planned on the northside on Lake at Aplin and on McLeod on Aplin St. Your comments on this suggestion as well as your answers to the previous two questions would be appreciated. Sincerely, Geoff Holland, on behalf of Cairns-coev forum Transport-FNQ forum FNQ Sustainability Alliance Cairns Bicycle Users Group (C-BUG) Cairns Action for Sustainable Transport (CAST) TransitionTowns-Cairns forum Restore City Place - Make It WOW! campaign
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 02:43:53 +0000
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