Logan’s public transport system may struggle to cope with the influx of people predicted to live in the city within the next 20 years, despite record-high investment from the Queensland government.
This comes following four-weeks of ongoing strikes from hundreds of local bus drivers who are calling for more funding.
The transport workers union said Logan’s bus system could not meet the demands of the city’s current population, let alone the boom that will see the population almost double by 2046.
New research by the McKell Institute Queensland found almost 99 per cent of money spent on south-east Queensland public transport projects is going towards megaprojects that cost $1 billion or more.
All mega projects are reportedly focused on inner-city areas and the Brisbane-Gold Coast corridor.
Although many of these projects will see tangible differences in Logan, including upgrades to several Logan train stations and the installation of the Coomera Connector (known as the second M1), McKell Institute executive director Sarah Mawhinney said State funding needed “better balance”.
This includes services for residents living outside the rail corridor.
“A truly progressive approach to public transport investment demands the Queensland government invest more in public transport for the outer suburbs, where it has the potential to really improve productivity and quality of life,” Ms Mawhinney said.
“Given the high cost of building rail, the most efficient way to boost public transport accessibility in the outer suburbs is through stronger investment in bus services.”
Currently, a roughly 10km trip from Yarrabilba to Jimboomba – 12 minutes in the car – takes well over one hour on a Logan bus, and sometimes over two hours.
Ms Mawhinney said buses were an efficient way of providing public transport options to areas like Jimboomba – currently lacking mobility.
“However, in order to provide reliable bus services, the state government will need to raise the wages and improve employment conditions of bus operators,” she said.
“This is practical and realistic reform that would make a real difference to everyday families.”
For the past four weeks Logan’s union member bus drivers refused to collect fares from passengers as part of a three-month industrial strike calling for more government funding.
Workers are fighting low wages and driver shortages.
The Transport Workers Union Queensland director of organising, Jared Abbott, said public transport was an “integral part of any city”.
“We need investment in wages now to put an end to the growing driver shortage before the situation is irreparable,” he said.
“Queensland is expected to undergo significant population growth over the next 10 years and we need to be able to keep up with that demand.”
Although projects like the extension of the south-east busway (from Eight Mile Plains to Loganholme) won’t solve the issue of driver shortages, it would address Logan’s growing demand for public transport.
For example, it can take up to 27 minutes for a bus to travel from Logan Hyperdome to Eight Mile Plains in the peak morning peak period.
The busway extension, along with the M1 upgrade, is predicted to cut that time in half.
However, this project has been delayed under the federal government’s infrastructure audit announced last week.
A timeline is yet to be determined.
