TransLink (South East Queensland)

History

TransInfo was a phone inquiry and timetable service established in August 1993 by Queensland Transport. It was found to be a very successful service, and in a 1997 research study 99% of surveyed transport users were either very or fairly satisfied with the service. After the success of TransInfo, in June 2003 the Queensland Government introduced TransLink as an agency within Queensland Transport, replacing the former TransInfo service. With a $21.4 million budget, TransLink was tasked to introduce common fares, zones and ticket types irrespective of transit mode, and from mid-2004 a smartcard system. Prior to TransLink's introduction, combined patronage for public transport services was only around 112 million trips per year.

TransLink delivered the new integrated ticketing system in July 2004. To help facilitate the change-over, TransLink employed and deployed throughout South East Queensland 100 assistants. A daily ticket was introduced which allowed unlimited travel on all modes of public transport within the zones specified on the ticket, and for the first time students and aged pensioners throughout South East Queensland received a 50% discount on fares. In just two months an extra 2.3 million passengers travelled on transit services, and ticket sales increased by 11%. Following TransLink's introduction, transit passenger numbers grew faster than ever before. In 2005, TransLink saw close to a 20% increase in passenger numbers.

In February 2008, the go card was rolled out on bus, rail and ferry services in Brisbane only, as a precursor to its introduction throughout South East Queensland. The Queensland Government devolved TransLink from being a division of Queensland Transport to the more autonomous TransLink Transit Authority in July 2008, increasing its profile with new branding. At the same time a 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week customer information and support phone number was introduced.

In November 2009, TransLink introduced cashless tickets during peak times, only accepting only go cards and pre-purchased paper tickets in an effort to improve service efficiency. In late 2009, TransLink scrapped monthly and weekly paper tickets, with plans to eliminate paper tickets by the end of 2010. On 4 January 2010, to encourage the use of the go card, off-peak discounts and a direct debit top-up option were introduced. At the same time, TransLink increased fares and also announced fares would increase by a further 45% over the following three years.

Ticketing

TransLink uses zones to determine fares no matter which transit mode or route a passenger uses. In South East Queensland the zones are rings centred on the Brisbane CBD. The zone network stretches from Gympie (170 km north of Brisbane) to Coolangatta (100 km south of Brisbane), and from Helidon (80 km west of Brisbane) in the west to Moreton Bayside suburbs of Brisbane and Redland in the east.

Originally there were 23 zones. On 19 December 2016, the number of zones was reduced to eight. At the same time, a new fare structure was introduced that included:

There are 11 zones in Cairns and 15 zones in Mackay.

go card

TransLink offers a contactless fare payment card called go card. It requires passengers to touch the card on a card reader at the start and end of each journey, and when transferring between services. The fare is automatically calculated based on the difference between the highest zone number and the lowest zone number recorded for the journey. A journey can comprise any number of individual legs (each recorded by touching the card when entering or leaving a service) within a two-hour period. The fare is automatically deducted from a pre-paid balance associated with the go card used.

The following types of go card are available:

SEEQ card

The SEEQ card was introduced in late 2012 for visitors to South East Queensland. This card provides for travel for a period of 3 or 5 days across TransLink the network. The card can also be used to receive discounts at retail locations throughout the South East Queensland region.

Paper tickets

A single-fare paper ticket is also available for infrequent travellers and visitors.

Regions

The TransLink network is divided into eleven different regions for bus services, each region operated by a different bus operator. The regions are based largely on local government boundaries. In October 2007, a common white, green, blue and orange TransLink livery was introduced to the fleets of all South East Queensland operators.

Greater Brisbane

Northern

Southern

Eastern

Western

Sunshine Coast

Gold Coast

Other qconnect regions