KJCherokee

There is no such thing as a daily, weekly or monthly pass in Brisbane (as far as I know, I don't use public transport that oftenYou just have a GoCard which you tap on and off each trip. You are charged for the number of zones you cross each trip.
Only bonus is that if you make 9 trips between Monday and Sunday all other trips in that period are free. So for commuters the trip home on Friday and all weekend travel is free.

And yes, there is a surcharge to go to the airport: this is because that line is privately owned and not part of the Translink/QR network. The Airtrain fare is $16 from/to the City, or $30 return, so Moneypenny is paying $20 for the 90km from the Gold Coast to Brisbane and another $16 for the 10km out to the airport. Still cheaper than any other way of getting there - the domestic terminal is so far from the airport boundary that it is a $15 taxi fare just to get off the airport land!

Kiwipaul

Their isn't one since we went to the go card (similar to the new Sydney card) system, you pay for each journey, although after 9 journeys in 1 week it's free.

I get to Brissy airport for about $3 (15kms) using the busses. 590 to the DFO shopping centre and then a FREE shuttle to the airport (runs every 20 min throughout the day).

Hino

When you get to retirement age or have a pension card then it gets even better.

In NSW a $2.50 ticket gets you all day transport on government trains buses and ferries. I can get the train from here ( South of Newcastle ), have a day in Sydney cruising the harbour and rivers and then the train home and still have change from $3

Amazulu

It's sad that you just can't turn up and get a reasonable fare - it's seriously unaffordable

A few years ago, my son and I did London-Liverpool 1st-class return for about GBP40 each

BadgeIsBack

Thanks.
Melbourne's airport link which er, relies on taxis and coaches!! is not cheap either!

paddyo

Really??? 40 pounds for a First Class return?? That actually sounds pretty reasonable to me.

paddyo

Its actually slightly better than it originally was, when the new line and stations was built you also had to pay a premium for Green Square and Mascot!! They are always 'looking' at the Airport surcharge but I don't see it going anytime soon. Having used both taxis and private hire to the airport as well as trains, it is still cheaper and actually quite fast....unless of course there is trackwork..and there is ALWAYS trackwork in Sydney!

Amazulu

It was. Booked 2 months in advance though

paddyo

ah ok.....still......not as bad as I would have thought it was. Might have to remember that, my mother lives in Liverpool...somewhere!

chris955

Train fares are like airfares, noone seems to pay the full fare. I could go London to Liverpool on Friday normal cattle class for £19 before 9.00am or £36 in the evening but if I wanted to go literally in a few minutes it would be £144
I could also travel London to Birmingham on Thursday for just £6.

scrubbedexpat098

Sydney trains are cheap because of the low class of line that they travel on, the maximum speed is a snails pace and the maintenance is poor, as in it doesn't exceed any standards whatsoever. Having said that the service to smaller stations is excellent, something BR can't boast anymore.

Amazulu

Off-peak 1st class rail travel is very good value. You get free snacks and drinks on weekends, free sandwiches and rolls on weekdays (off peak), free wifi, nice seats etc

The Virgin trains that we took were very good - punctual too

chris955

My brother is a driver in NSW and would agree with all that. They are also cheap because of massive subsidies, apparently every rail trip costs the NSW taxpayer $9.45. In 2011 it cost $3.5 billion to run and bought in $700 in revenue so thee is a huge hole.

Amazulu

Current UK rail subsidies (January 2013) - AUD10.8b

Mike at Taree

When we were last in the UK we took a normal commuter train from Oxted South of London into the City. It was about the same distance as Caboolture into Brisbane but was around two and a half times the price. And Queensland Rail is criticised for being very expensive compared to Syd and Melb.