On Monday, Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg said 96 million trips since 50¢ fares were made permanent, saving Queenslanders almost $200 million.
Last week, this masthead asked south-east Queensland’s transport authority Translink for its most-up-to-date patronage figures, but the request was rejected.
According to its publicly available performance dashboard, more than 125 million public transport trips have been taken in the region since 50¢ fares were first introduced, saving commuters $242 million.
At a bus stop on Adelaide Street, commuter Eren Roigard said he had saved hundreds of dollars in the past year. “I think it’s great for everyone – who doesn’t want cheaper fares?” he said.
Roigard said he thought buses had become a bit busier, but he believed cheaper fares were good for Brisbane.
“I hope they stay forever,” he said.
Overall, patronage on south-east Queensland buses, trains, ferries and trams jumped by 6 million trips in the quarter when 50¢ fares were introduced, compared with the three months before.
But usage has not recovered to the pre-pandemic highs of mid-2019, when almost 51 million trips were taken on public transport in south-east Queensland in one quarter.
Comparing January to March 2025 to January to March 2019, almost 1.3 million fewer trips were taken in the first three months of this year.
Unsurprisingly, public transport users have been positively beaming about the lower fares, giving the cost of their trips an almost perfect score of 4.78 out of five this year in Translink’s customer survey.
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But feelings about their experience on the last trip taken remained almost unchanged, hovering around 4.1 out of five for the past few years.
A Translink spokeswoman said 86 per cent of people they surveyed believed 50¢ fares encouraged people to choose public transport over driving.
“The strongest patronage uplifts following 50¢ fares have been seen outside peak periods and on weekends, indicating strong leisure travel, with customers saying 50¢ fares have made public transport a much more appealing transport option when heading out for dinner and drinks,” she said.
The spokeswoman said Translink was focusing on frequency, reliability and customer information, while Cross River Rail, faster rail, and the Sunshine Coast’s The Wave rail line from Beerwah to Birtinya would improve services.
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