Hate parking at the train station? Travis has found another solution

Travis Bassett is one of thousands of Brisbane commuters who catch a train to the city for work, but an earlier trip – the one to public transport – is just as important.

It takes Bassett six minutes to ride his bicycle from home to the Graceville train station.

It’s actually quicker – by his calculations, about 40 seconds so – than driving, finding a park and walking to the station. And he enjoys the exercise, while people living near the station enjoy one less car crowding their street.

The state government’s 50¢ flat fares – which were made permanent on Sunday – have caused the number of public transport trips across south-east Queensland to soar. They were 5.3 per cent higher in the first week of September, compared with the same week pre-COVID.

Not only have travellers saved $36.8 million in fares, the shift in habits has enormous potential for slashing congestion, especially if there’s no need to hop in a car first.

Distances of up to five kilometres are considered “ideal” for bike riding, and half of all car trips from home to public transport are less than three kilometres.

Making it easier to ride to public transport would make it more accessible to more people, including those who live too far away to walk.

But what’s stopping people from using the 6500 bicycle parking spaces that already exist at public transport sites in south-east Queensland?

Some are great, but others leave a lot to be desired.

About 60 per cent of spots are secure parking, including boxes and cages, and 40 per cent are unsecured, such as bicycle racks and cycle pods.

Bassett would rather ride to Sherwood train station, which is about the same distance and a more relaxing route, with less traffic, but the bike racks there are exposed to the weather, while Graceville has bike lockers.

And it’s a hurdle to hire these bike lockers, with users required to book online for up to three months, pay a $50 deposit and collect a fob or key from the station.

“I lost my key pretty much straight away,” Bassett said.

When he lost his key, and therefore also his $50 deposit, he spoke to the station master, who directed him to call customer service, who directed him to the website to request a new key.

Then he had to wait for the lock to be changed and had to pick up another key at the station.

Some train stations, such as Oxley, have excellent active transport facilities, including a large bike cage and undercover racks, while its park 'n' ride car park is often full.

The state government pledged $160 million to upgrade park 'n' ride facilities at public transport between 2022 and 2026, delivering more than 3200 new car-parking spaces.

That’s a cost of about $50,000 per car space, and commuters can park there for free, with little turnover all day.

It’s spent $260 million on 29 park 'n' ride projects since 2015, adding 9000 new car spaces.

One example is the five-level Springfield park 'n' ride, which opened in 2022 at a cost of $44.5 million and provides 1100 car parks.

Given that some of Queensland Rail’s trains carry up to 964 passengers, who don’t tend to return until the late afternoon, it’s little wonder park 'n' ride spots fill up early and overflow into residential streets.

The state government has released a strategy to improve public transport bike parking.

It cites an unpublished report, prepared for Transport and Main Roads in 2022, that found people’s concerns relating to the security of bicycle parking was often the main reason they chose not to park their bike at a station.

The strategy’s top-three priorities to encourage people to ride and use bicycle parking at public transport were secure parking, weather proofing and easy access, while other priorities included provision for cargo bikes, tricycles and e-scooters, and good lighting.

It said access could be simplified, and a Transport and Main Roads spokesman said opportunities with smart ticketing would be “explored in coming years”.

Space 4 Cycling spokesman Chris Cox said that in Perth and Sydney, users could register online and access bike parking using their go card-equivalent pass.

”There’s no reason we can’t do that here and remove another barrier for multi-modal active and public transport,” Cox said.

“The best place for people’s car to be parked in peak times is at home, and making it safe, easy and convenient to get to public transport by bike helps more people to do that.”

This Sunday, September 22, is World Car-Free Day. Maybe try leaving the car at home.

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