![[QLD] Free off-Peak Travel for Seniors on Brisbane Buses and Ferries @ Brisbane City Council](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/36/462736.jpg?h=c3f7cbf6)
A great initiative from the Brisbane City Council.
The free travel will apply from October 1 on Brisbane buses, CityCats and ferries between 8.30am and 3.30pm, and 6pm to 6am, Monday to Friday. Buses will be free for seniors on weekends.
[QLD] Free off-Peak Travel for Seniors on Brisbane Buses and Ferries @ Brisbane City Council
620
Related Stores
Comments
No daily fare cap either.
Daily fare cap for Seniors & Pensioners - already free after 2 paid fares in day.
What's an equivalent destination over in Sydney? PS: it's a almost half that price if you use the Go card instead of paper tickets.
Syd to Gosford or Wollongong are about the same distance away, and the fares are capped so even if you want to go to Newcastle you won't pay any more than $15.80. And when I say $40, that's the return fare (2 lots of $20). The daily cap in Sydney is $15.
Shocked!?? Next time ask or search so you get the cheaper fares. There are signs promoting the cheaper fares!
Paper Tickets are the most expensive & don't have off-peak discount. Rechargeable/refundable GoCard is cheapest & cheaper again off-peak.
Surfers - CBD Brisbane (Adult each way)
GoCard: $10.66 max, $8.53 (off-peak)
Paper Ticket: $15.50https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/journey-planne… has fares listed & route planning.
When I visited Sydney recently, I did the basic research on public transport & fares. As I would travelling anywhere in the world. (Ordered an Opal card - sent to me.)
Source?
From Brisbane CBD to Surfers Paradise is $10.66 at peak. That's $21.32 return (peak travel).
From my understanding the one way journey fare cap is $19.96.
https://translink.com.au/about-translink/our-service-area#se…
I can only hazard a guess that you either:
- used a paper ticket
- travelled from Coolangatta
- travelled to Brisbane airport
- travelled to the northern suburbs
Question: Wouldn't it be cheaper to go to northern suburbs from gold coast. i.e. if they went Gold Coast (Zone 5) to Caloundra (Zone 5), would that just be one zone?
Is it only if you transferred in Zone 1 (Tapped off and on)then it gets counted as it knows you were in Zone 1?Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how it works (if it knows that your train or bus has travelled through the other zones) - but it charges you as if you've passed through zone 1. I've taken the bus from Zone 3 to Zone 3 in the north and it counted as travelling through three zones.
Shame the disabled get missed again…
Uhh… No they don't… Not if they are physically capable of using a go card.
Besides… We are talking about the COUNCIL'S decision here and NOT the state governments!
There are still a range of other cards that give you free travel, for example vision-impaired people travel for free: https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/disa…
If you know someone having difficulty getting a travel pass, tell them to talk with their local MP. Local MPs are very helpful with this sort of thing.
There are still a range of other cards that give you free travel, for example vision-impaired people travel for free: https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/disa…
That's applicable in every state. I don't know if there's a state or territory out there that discriminates against blind people.
@Russ: So because one small section of those with disabilities can get free travel you think it's perfectly acceptable… You are bringing up examples only applicable to a small percentage of us!
@kronicmacstigator: Go move to a town with no public transport services and you'll quickly learn to appreciate what you pay for the freedom you have to get around.
@Magnastar: I don't use public transport now anyway so moot point, guess what… I'm thinking of others here who are truly struggling being unable to work on the DSP!
So it's suddenly okay for seniors who have super, paid off their house and savings tucked away to pay nothing but it's okay to kick dirt in the face of those who generally have no ability to work or gain paid work… gee, you really hate those with disabilities don't you! Maybe you should start up a free gas chamber for them!
Gee, you really hate those with disabilities don't you! Maybe you should start up a free gas chamber for them!
Put down the pipe. No one is saying that.
@kronicmacstigator: I actually happen to be on the DSP. I have no problem with paying for public transport and with a Concession Go Card I pay half fare and only pay for the first two trips each day, and then the rest of the day is free travel. Seniors built this country so they should absolutely get to travel for free on public transport.
So no I don't hate people with disabilities, but I do hate the people with disabilities with massive chips on their shoulders who think the world owes them everything and begrudge anyone else getting something nice.
@Magnastar: Well my disability was caused by the government so…
They owe me a hell of alot! Besides, I'm currently working when I can. Hence why I don't use public transport.
- can travel independantly on TransLink services, and
- due to their disability they are unable to independently use a go card.
- have been assessed by a qualified health care professional as being unable to touch on or touch off with a go card.
Can travel independantly but cannot use a go card? I cannot find a scenario matching this situation? Anyone here enlighten me? Even without both hands, one can still use mouth to touch on and off a go card.
Btw: independantly or independently? Translink website uses independantly.
https://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares/ticket-types/disa…Some people steer their wheelchair with their mouth. Stephen Hawking, when he steered his electric wheelchair with one hand, probably couldn't grasp a go card, and couldn't move his head.
$40 return from the GC to Brisbane
I think you're doing something wrong. Adult fare from Brisbane Central to Coolangatta Airport (the far end of the Gold Coast) is $13.53 one-way, or $10.82 one-way off-peak.
Check it for yourself: https://translink.com.au
Perhaps you are including the refundable purchase of a Go Card? Or paying extra to have a paper ticket?
This 'proposed' Council offer is yet to be officially announced and is going to be part of the budget being handed down. It DOES NOT include Train travel, so any reference to fares from Brisbane to the Gold Coast are not relevant as that routing is serviced only by train
Then maybe you should be replying to the person I was replying to, who first brought it up?
Maybe you should have replied to the person you were replying to in that conversation reply section instead of in a new reply section then they would have been replying to the person you were replying to in the same reply section then I wouldn't have felt the need to reply to your reply to their reply to your reply in the new reply section with a reply
Maybe they went to the airport?
Maybe they went to the airport?
Could be. It's something like $15 one-way from the airport to the nearest station.
I bet that was paper ticket. Then again it’s not fair to charge 30% more for that. No wondering less people are using the public transport.
Only for QLD seniors or visitors from other states as well?
Qld pensioners, aged and disabled, get the $2.50 bus, train & ferry 24hr travel when visiting NSW.I live in Coolangatta and over the border I always get told I can't buy a $2.50 RED ticket because my concession card isn't valid because it's not a NSW one.
Edit: Says the same here down the bottom - http://www.surfside.com.au/tickets-and-fares/
Yes, interstate Pensioners get concessions in NSW. Similar State Government agreements operate in other States. Pensioners receive reduced fares around Australia.
Pensioners visiting QLD pay the Concession fare on public transport.But this Deal is for Seniors - pensioners may not qualify as a Senior & Seniors may not qualify as a Pensioner! People don't seem to understand the important difference.
This Deal requires a QLD Seniors Card & Seniors GoCard - which are only available for Qld Residents. I'm sure people could find a way around that. But will have to produce QLD Seniors Card to prove eligibility to transport inspectors.
There is a big difference between Pensioners (any age & qualify for Commonwealth Government assistance) & Seniors (aged 60 & over, meeting their State Government conditions - millionaires can qualify!)…
Any QLD Resident aged 60 or over, working up to 35hr/wk qualifies for a QLD Seniors Card. It's not based on need, like a Pension.
Pension concession agreements tend to be national so can be used used around Australia (paying local Pension fares), whereas Seniors agreements are State or Local Government based, as in this case - limited to certain transport in 1 city.
This concession operates only on Brisbane City Council services (some buses 7 days) & Brisbane River ferries only on weekdays. Trains are State operated - so not included in free transport.
It's funded by the Brisbane City Council from rates etc ($3.1M/yr). Any Senior in QLD can use the FREE Brisbane buses & ferries, by requesting a Seniors GoCard.Free Seniors (bus only) travel on Gold Coast is only available to Gold Coast Residents who apply for a sticker for their Seniors GoCard.
In 112 days
More like (59 - age) x 365.24 + days till next birthday.
The generation who could buy houses cheaper than cars are today, who get a tax payer funded pension now get even more free shit. Council buying votes.
Says the generation that gets paid to have babies….Maybe we could buy houses because we were not so fussy and precious. I had cardboard boxes for side tables, everything else was secondhand including our mattress… we also walked everywhere and took buses…We never dreamed of going out for meals or even buy a coffee…Id like to see your snowflake generation live like that
Yeah, for low income earners.
No you could buy houses with one income because they were a fraction of what they are now - factWhen I left school, I earned $15 a week, bet that is a "fraction of what you get now"
@flocof: With the amount of whinging you do I bet you're a ten pound pom or a decendent of. A house costs a million dollars these days with a third of the land of what they use to sell for. You know that houses cost about an 8th back then taking into account inflation but you just want to act the fool. Sad really. I suppose it's the younger generation eating mashed avocado that's caused you to whinge on ozbargain posts?
@Joey Jo Jo: You are wrong, definitely not a ten pound pom! My parents came from Europe and paid full price for their fares. They both worked immediately, my mother riding a bicycle for 25 kilometres to clean houses, and my father rode his bike for 20 km to go to work. We lived in nissan huts with no aircond or inside showers or toilets. In fact you are the whinger, who complains about older Australians who worked all their lives getting free public transport!
As for houses costing a Million dollars?? I just bought one for $285,000 and I am sanding and painting to make it nice.@flocof: I think your down votes indicate you are the one who is wrong. Are you so out of touch? No, it's the children who ate wrong.
When we worked, we paid into a retirement fund through our taxes, somewhere along the line the millions of dollars that were in that fund were spent by politicians for other purposes
I believe it's called inflation.
Anyone who isn't a moron knows that inflation included houses cost way less than they do now.
Anyone who isn't a moron knows some things are more expensive and some things much less so.
The generation… who get a tax payer funded pension now get even more free shit.
This is not a Pensioner offer, but for Seniors - people 60 or over.
Many 60 year olds are employed for quite a few more years. And many of those will become self-funded retirees, never able to collect a pension. (That's what happens to many people who work most of their life & save, rather than spend - often on transitory pleasures.)
And since those people will probably be at work in off-peak times during the week - will likely only benefit if travelling on weekends, or after they retire.
The UK has provided a more generous free scheme for about 10 years. NSW charges $2.50 - available for the whole day, not just off-peak times in this offer.
Seniors already get free travel after paying for the first 2 fares of the day - on all Translink services, not just in Brisbane.There are offers available to seniors that are not available to pensioners.
Pensioners are not only those of older age! But only seniors with a Seniors GoCard qualify for this offer - not all seniors.
Off peak only offer… Using spare capacity - so of only marginal cost. Another seat occupied on a half empty bus etc really costs little.
You realise you're complaining about a subsidy equivalent to the cost of a couple of coffees per year per senior.
This $3.1M/yr off-peak transport program available to well over 15% of the 2.3M+ Brisbane population works out to less than $9/yr/senior!
My guess it the Christmas Tree lights budget is higher🎄
It could save the council some money, as it already subsidises Council Cabs for Seniors, to shopping centres.
"Making it possible for seniors to get out and about more, at no cost, has the potential to bring many positive benefits to our community."
Sounds like a bargain to me.
A Seniors GoCard is required for this offer!
Only available for off-peak travel, 7 days a week.So if you are 60 or over & qualify - get a Seniors Card & a Seniors GoCard.
(Anyone 60 or over with a Seniors Card can buy a Seniors GoCard, including those from other states.)
As proof is required, not available at vending machines selling GoCards & smaller outlets.There is a combined QLD Seniors Card & Seniors GoCard available when applying for a Seniors Card (with proof) online or by phone.
Seniors using a Seniors GoCard already get free travel after paying for the first 2 fares of the day - on all Translink services, not just in Brisbane. Worth getting it you qualify.
Adelaide already has a similar system in place. Seniors get free travel all day on weekends and public holidays plus between 9.01am to 3.00pm Mon to Fri. They still complain though.
Enjoyed the FREE rides in Adelaide when I visited in August ($2 return flight). Picked up a Seniors ticket (good for 2 weeks) on arrival at airport. Also a Concession Card for discounted rides outside those times.
Loved Adelaide!
They also do this on the Gold Coast where seniors get a sticker to put on their Go Card and they just show it to the driver and don't pay. I still see more housos jumping on the bus and demanding a free ride claiming they've got no money while holding a sausage roll and coke than seniors so Translink lose far more money via fare evasion than allowing seniors to travel free.
Not sure why they don't just fully subsidise public transport across the board and recoup the costs through a $30 per year transport levy on rates like they do in Noosa when they operate the free buses up their at Christmas and Easter.
Yeah, most drivers don't bother trying to argue with dodgy people who claim they have no money and look like they'll blow up in their face if challenged.
Enjoying the FREE rides👍
A hack for Seniors!
FREE peak hour travel as well!
Travel 2 off peak trips (with at least an hour between) & travel free during peak hour later that day😉Previously 2 paid journeys gave free travel after that.
Free peak hour return journey tested on 2 weekdays.
Doing only 1 free journey, meant paying during peak hour trip. Hopping on bus & travelling 1 stop off peak would have saved me that cost!Travel 2 off peak trips (with at least an hour between)
Off-peak starts 8:30 AM. To finish two journeys will be at least 9:30 AM.
travel free during peak hour later that day😉
A third free journey will start at least 10:30 AM. Seem a lot of effort. By the way, does the free journey cover QR train travel?
No extra effort in my use.
Depends on your plansFor example, I travelled after 0830 (off-peak) to City / South Bank. Had free lunch from Deal.
Boarded ferry up river to UQ before 1530 (off-peak). Free exercise class from Deal.
Returned home at 1730 free. Saved paying Peak fare. Otherwise could have waited until 6pm for free off-peak bus.
Free day out.If you just want to go somewhere for day after 0830, catch BCC bus, during day hop on a BCC Bus or ferry (M-F), get off next stop. Then free Peak ride home.
That's what I do if need to be in city most of day, but want to start return journey between 1530-1800.Service is for QLD Seniors (those 60 or over, who do not have full time employment) - ie have time.
To finish two journeys will be at least 9:30 AM.
No, Travel 2 off peak trips (with at least an hour between)
Requires 1hr gap between 2 journeys - otherwise it is a transfer, rather than a new journey. If you don't allow another 1hr gap after 2nd journey - it's a transfer, so no free Peak ride.
Best to check Translink for details of Transfers between rides. That's assumed knowledge - to get best value out of public transport in SEQld😉
QR train travel?
As per Deal Description…
on Brisbane Buses and Ferries.
This is funded by Brisbane City Council on their fleet only.
QR is a Queensland Government operator, not operated by BCC.
As the 1-2-free fare system has been retained…
That means after 2 free off-peak BCC run services, Seniors can travel free anywhere on normal Translink system, to Gold Coast etc (not to Brisbane Airport - take the free shuttle bus from Skygate).It's a free way to travel further - just takes the 2 off-peak journeys & 2 1hr gaps between journeys…
I've considered using it to travel to Gold Coast, by jumping on buses going 1 stop (twice) over 2+ hours - just not worth the extra time & effort.
It's possible to travel to say Noosa / Gold Coast free for Brisbane Seniors. (Just takes longer)
Using Translink's 1-2-free fare system… taking 2 journeys - free for Brisbane Seniors, further travel that day is free.
1hr time limit between transfers / Maximum of 3 transfers per journey for each separate journey
So, to make 2 journeys:
catch 1 service, wait 1 hr, catch another, wait another hour
OR hop on & off 8 services if you're on a busy route (eg in City or on busways)
OR 5 services then wait 1 hr etc
It's free after that👍
I was shocked - shocked! at the cost of public transport in SEQ when I went up there for a holiday from Sydney. $40 return from the GC to Brisbane on a standard commuter train? The equivalent fare here would be $15.80.