The Queensland government has announced a six-month trial of charging just 50c for all public transport trips in the state, regardless of trip length, in an ambitious move aimed at getting more commuters off roads and giving cost-of-living relief before the October state election.
On Sunday, the premier, Steven Miles, said the initiative had been something he had wanted to do for a long time before becoming premier, and had arrived on the 50c figure because it was “virtually free” but would still require users to tap on, which was required to collect data on the trial to determine if it was successful and should be continued.
The 50c trip trial will come into effect from 5 August, and apply to all Translink public transport services around the state, with the government claiming some regular commuters will stand to save thousands a year in costs.
