Fare deal for buses to up rates?

An Ipswich bus in Bell Street, Ipswich. Photo: File

PREMIER Anna Bligh has told councils, including Ipswich, they should follow Brisbane’s lead and help pay for their public transport.

Brisbane ratepayers pay $384 per household to fund the city’s bus service, and Ms Bligh said if every council in south-east Queensland made the same contribution it would pump an extra $292 million into public transport.

“The impact this extra funding would make is significant – more public transport, less congestion, and lower greenhouse gas emissions,” Ms Bligh said.

“TransLink advice says that kind of funding could provide an extra 39,000 public transport services each and every week, including 3200 for Ipswich.

“I am pleased to see that some councils like the Gold and Sunshine coasts have started to take up this challenge and I call on others to get on board.”

Last week, Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said it was “a disgrace” that Brisbane ratepayers subsidised its buses while it was being used by people, including Ipswich residents, who paid nothing.

At the time, Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said Ipswich ratepayers should only fund their city’s bus service and that it should be improved.

Yesterday he was outraged that Ipswich ratepayers could be slugged with an increase of almost $400.

“If I put rates up that much in one year I’d be looking for a new job,” Cr Pisasale said. “I know how people react when there’s a one per cent increase on their rates. This is an extra $400.

“It’s a big slug at a time when the cost of living is on the rise.

“What we’re getting is a triple whammy – the price of water is going up, the price of electricity is going up and now this. It will hurt people.

“The growth summit is coming up and I think the Premier is flagging these things to see what people think. I think I know what people will think of this. I think the letters to the editor will tell us in the next couple of weeks.”

He said he would look to have urgent discussions with Premier Bligh to put Ipswich’s case to her.

“We couldn’t afford to pay as much as Brisbane,” he said.

“We’re not the capital; Brisbane has their own buses, does that mean we have to get ours?

“At the end of the day I want to see the details. The devil’s always in the detail.

“What do we get back in return? I can’t see any other councils agreeing to it and it’ll have to be one in, all in.”