I'm pretty sure it's only for Brisbane City Council buses and NOT all Translink services.
Spokesman Tom Brown said bus union drivers would refuse to collect fares for the whole day on Thursday as part of ongoing industrial action.
Then on Friday, members will strike for the second time in two weeks. This time the strike will last for four hours, between 2-6pm.
agreed
Free travel. My go card balance will like that. Bargain!
So if the go card cubic machine was out of order on the bus (which does happen) you would insist on buying a paper ticket. Outstanding citizen.
Just because the unions wont be checking tickets, doesn't it make it free.
What does the bus drivers union have to do with checking tickets especially when the vast majority use GoCards which has nothing to do with the driver.
Virtue signalling at its finest.
For what they're worth, news programs are saying it is free travel.
They said they would be covering the GoCard readers with signs. Nothing to do with paper tickets.
99% of the time, JV is the first one to comment. How come?
also no guarantee that all drivers will fail to collect fares
also no guarantee that all drivers will fail to collect fares
Or that fines will not be issued to those with GoCards. This would be a great way to turn people against the bus drivers.
Plus not all drivers are members of the union.
Are inspectors part of the same union or are they management?
Could be very messy.
Are inspectors part of the same union or are they management?
Public transport in Queensland is a mess with multiple disjointed layers all doing their own thing and with Translink setting prices and most routes with Brisbane City Council amongst others also creating their own routes.
Inspectors vary as to where they are from but I don't think any would be from the bus drivers union.
@Maverick-au: You can blame Newman for that - he gave into his old council mates who complained when Translink wanted to convert parts of the network to trunk and feeder services.
You can blame Newman for that - he gave into his old council mates who complained when Translink wanted to convert parts of the network to trunk and feeder services.
Quirk was his right hand man, the whole public transport in SEQ is a mess and needs to be sorted out before they do any more expansion of the network as this is being done in a disjointed manner. ie Cross River Rail and the BCC Metro is it a bus or not project.
Not all drivers are associated with the union, and as such, you may need to pay normal fare on BCC bus. If the driver is collecting fares, and you aren't paying, you will be refused service. All non Brisbane Transport services are ticketed as normal.
So there's a chance you might get a free trip, but maybe not. Not really a bargain.
It's alright, my bus comes every 10 mins, I can just wait for the bus to stop and say "you part of the union mate?" "no?" "no worries mate I'll wait for the next one aye"
"Are you part of the union mate?"
"Yes"
hops on
"That'll be $53.80 thanks. Wired via Western Union**
This guy gets unions. Scum
The lord mayor is such a tosser so it's hard to be critical of the bus drivers union when he's in charge….
"He called on drivers to put the safety of 23,000 children first instead of adhering to the union’s strike call from 2pm to 6pm on Friday."
If the lord mayor is so concerned perhaps he and the other councillors could drive buses to pick up the kids or send his chauffeur to pick some up.
Always with the children, you'd think we'd have wisened up by now…
he and the other councillors could drive buses to pick up the kids
I'm sure he would…if it was his job to. But it's not.
I'm sure he would…if it was his job to. But it's not.
And that's why he's a poor leader. He's claiming the children are at risk so be seen to be doing something about it instead of trying to make out the bus drivers are putting them at risk.
What is his job? To lead Brisbane? So why not do it instead of arguing with other councillors all the time and sprouting that rubbish that Brisbane is a new world city that leads the way….
They should be charged with theft. Just as a checkout chick would be if they purposely didn't charge people for their purchases. Scumbag unions.
Theft doesn't exist as a criminal charge in Queensland…
It is not free travel. Due to the strike, bus drivers may choose not to collect fares, but you're still asked to tap your go card or buy paper ticket from the machine. Not doing that is probably not the right thing to do.
See https://translink.com.au/service-updates/137756.
All Brisbane City Council (BCC) bus services will be running. Some drivers may not collect fares or may not wear their BCC bus driver uniforms.
Please touch on and off as usual and continue to purchase paper tickets from fare machines.
Some drivers may not collect fares or may not wear their BCC bus driver uniforms.
So how do we know if it's a BCC driver or just a paedophile pulling up to the school in a stolen bus? It should be no uniform and you can't drive.
Odd. Channel 10 said that the readers would be covered with signs. Can't really touch on/off then.
Sounds like there's a lot of confusion around about it, but it'll sort itself out on Thursday morning. Not many people would leave the house without their GoCard and will take the cue of the driver.
No deal offered by BCC/Translink. Plus, not paying for your fare is theft at the worst, and at the least… it means Council will have to get their lost money back from Brisbanites in other ways.
This isn't a deal, it's just a bunch of thugs permitting shop lifting/fare evasion from a public service that is already broken. One that is also going to put many cyclists and other road users at increased risk.
This is not a deal. Just because some drivers are not insisting upon payment does not excuse passengers from payment of fare. Negged.
If one ozbargain member discovered that a speed camera was broken and posted "free speeding area, no fines guaranteed" it'd be taken down because a) speeding is illegal and b) how do we know when it's fixed.
Not paying a bus fare is illegal and as pointed out we can't guarantee this'll be free.
Lots of political negs in this thread…
It's comparable to a supermarket operator letting food through without scanning it because they're unhappy with their employer. Resorting to theft,which other people will ultimately have to pay for, just to make a point is pretty low. On a big scale it's also practically blackmail. Not a bargain.
Don't know how it was you were nagged. The analogy is perfect.
It's comparable to a supermarket operator letting food through without scanning
The bus drivers are basically stealing from their employer.
This is not a bargain. So if the check out person does not stop you, it does not mean it was free. It means you are thieves!
Think again!
I have always paid for my ticket, every single time there was a strike. I know how it works.
It is really interesting how retarded and shallow the people have become!
To those who think this is a bargain: Enjoy :)
Actually TransLink controls fare prices, not the Council.
I think you need to take a chill pill mate
From the OzBargain Voting Guidelines:
If the deal doesn't apply to you, you don't like the company or you want to leave a warning for people about the business or deal, you can leave a comment and then not vote.
I'm willing to bet there are a lot of people on here that aren't frequent users of Brisbane buses and are just turning this deal into their own political argument.
This is not about any political argument at all. This is also not about what should the bus drivers do. This is only about this not being a deal and I'm disappointed even after having 5 reports, nothing has been done by the mods. Not paying your fare is theft, plain and simple.
I see you are from Victoria, which has one of the cheapest transport networks in Australia.
This deal does not apply to you. Please move along.
I'm from Vic, not in Vic, so thanks but I'm pretty happy here. Hope you're also very satisfied living in your let's-do-public-theft bubble.
Anyone comment on if they got free travel ?
They had signs taped over the go card readers on the bus I was on.
yeah i took two trips, one was free (readers covered) and the other one i touched on and off, so guess it was a lucky dip
This belongs in the forums, it's not a bargain, it's just an announcement of a union strike.