- A year of free travel on the TRANSlink system is up for grabs
- The move is to encourage more people onto public transport
- Six month trial of bikes on public transport to start July
At the end of March, The Property Council of Australia released a recipe on how to revive the CBD.
The report found that due to the pandemic, 61% of those surveyed have spent less time in their nearest CBD since the onset of Covid.
It retains a special place in our heart, the report found that 65% of survey respondents believed that the CBD will continue to provide memorable experiences.
Five points were raised as an important move to make included:
- Free public transport and parking on “slow days” (Monday and Friday),
- Facilitate more street activations, late-night shopping, and night markets are some examples provided,
- Reimagine unused spaces, including pop-up spaces,
- Accelerate greening of the CBD, and
- Offer commuters more “micro-mobility” solutions such as cycling, e-bikes, or scooters.
In recent weeks, the Australian Capital Territory government said it had commenced trials of electric bikes and scooters for workers, not only to get to and from work, but, to get between meetings.
Sydney City also saw the surge in bike use during the pandemic, popular pop-up bike lanes throughout the city that were trialled throughout the pandemic are now being made permanent.
The latest
Queensland has now acted on the first point, making public transport more accessible.
It is not the first move the state has made either, at the end of May, Brisbane city kicked off its Fridays in the City campaign to attract workers back into the CBD with discounted meals, free coffee and activities, among a gamut of other attractions.
The latest announcement said free travel will be given to Go Card users via a lottery.
“The randomly selected draw at the end of the working week is open for all registered Go Card users,”
Mark Bailey, Transport and Main Roads Minister
The “Golden Go Card” will be given to a lucky traveller who had used public transport on a Friday across the month of June.
“The Gold Card promotion is just part of a wider push to get more workers back into the CBD and supporting small businesses in SEQ city centres at the tail end of the week.”
Queenslanders are also slowly warming to the idea of public transport again, “patronage on public transport is sitting at around 70% of pre-COVID levels,”
The prize being offered is quite attractive:
“Now, four lucky commuters will get a golden opportunity to enjoy free trips on trams, trains, buses and ferries for a whole year.
The move comes as the government is also trialling the allowance of bikes and e-scooters on public transport.
“… combining public transport and bike riding helps you find your 30 minutes of physical activity for the day, while reducing carbon emissions.”
Rebecca Randazzo, Bicycle Queensland CEO
The bikes on public transport trial will last six months, and start on 1 July this year.
