Translink

Unilocal is not the only place where I’ve seen the Brisbane locals complaining about their public transit. To which my response is: what are you complaining about? Clearly, if you think this is bad, you have not been anywhere else. From my (American) perspective, the system as a whole is remarkable.
There are several train lines, including one (overpriced) one from the airport, and some (otherwise very cost-​effective) lines that allow one to go straight from the center of the city to outlying suburbs, including two beach towns fifty miles away (no, I don’t know how many kilometers that is). The trains have some quiet cars, and the ones that run to tourist destinations have luggage racks overhead and (occasionally, though I wouldn’t count on it) onboard wifi for free. The buses run efficiently on wide roads, often including protected bus routes and even special bridges and bus depots set off from the rest of the road. Down in Gold Coast, a light rail line runs parallel to the beach at frequent intervals. And then there’s the ferry, which is not only scenic but remarkably efficient.
The fare system is quite nice; you’re charged only based on traveling from one zone to another, meaning that you can transfer freely between the different modes of transit without paying extra. Major stations include accurate and informative video displays about what’s coming, and the stations and vehicles are well staffed, with some of the most friendly and competent drivers I’ve seen on buses. People were available to answer my questions on the ferry and in the train stations. The Translink website and app are pretty useful for figuring out how to best use all the options. The stations were very clean for public transit; you could tell the difference between nice and sketchy areas, but even the worst ones aren’t bad.
Does everything run exactly on schedule? No. Is there sometimes track work? Yes. Is it as useful in the outlying suburbs as it is in the center of the city? Probably not. But I’ve been up and down this system and it clearly is much better than anything in the entire United States (and probably much of the rest of the world as well). People of Brisbane, try coming to the most important city in the world and sitting in a bus in traffic that moves slower than you would if you were walking, or wait twenty minutes for a train on an overcrowded platform, or try crossing the Potomac River during rush hour, or try getting off at another U.S. city and figuring out where you are, or try getting anyone who works for a public transport system in the U.S. to talk to you. Transit is never perfect, and you should always leave extra time for travel.
Admittedly, I am a tad biased by the concession card system here, which offers reduced fares for the elderly and disabled, «pensioners» (which I think means people on welfare) and students. Not only do you get half off, but each week, you pay for your first nine trips, and then every trip after that is free. You simply cannot pay more than around $ 15-​$ 20 in a week, even if you use the system constantly (which I do). This is a very good deal, but for anyone paying international tuition rates for an Australian university, you’ve earned it.

Trackwork being performed at Central, Fortitude Valley, Bowen Hills. Replacement buses have been added, but no times are provided; just expected to go ahead and wait at Central — with the recommendation that an hour could be added to your journey. The AirTrain took 11 minutes; but now a multi-​bus unpredictable affair. It’s not good enough to not provide times. It would be expected that Trackwork provided around Central; the key transport hub of Brisbane, would be much better organised.

There was no one to help me at the train station. I tried to buy a ticket in advance and found out after the ticket was dispensed that it was only valid for a few hours. Called Translink and they wouldn’t give me back a refund.
I hate Brisbane. I’m calling a cab to the airport instead.

Standards by which I judge mass transit systems:
1. Does it cover a large part of the metro area? Answer for Translink: Yes.
2. Does it utilize technology to make your experience better and more efficient? Answer for Translink: wifi on the trains and hyper-​accurate «next train» times. Yes.
3. Is it generally clean? Answer for Translink: Yes.
4. When there is a breakdown, do they find a way to fix it? Answer for Translink: Yes (my particular situation involved taking a bus, on a 30 minute delay, when the station I needed was being repaired).
5. Is it inexpensive? Answer for Translink: Yes.
Be grateful, people of Brisbane. You have a pretty great system.

Depending on where you live in Brisbane and which Translink services you depend on will probably determine the amount of love/​hate you feel for Translink. I’ve been feeling pretty warm towards it since moving into West End, as the transport options are fantastic. For me, I can easily access 3 bus routes, all of which run at least every 15 minutes, two of which run late at night. But I know what it’s like as soon as you leave the inner-​city ring: transport sucks.
Now for my gripe about the Go Card. Whilst far more time effective for drivers and patrons, it has been forced upon users with little incentive. Visitors to the city must either buy very expensive one-​way paper tickets or buy a Go Card, adding to the plastic in their wallets that they may never use again.
For regular users, however, the Go Card works pretty well. I have mine linked to my credit card so that it automatically tops up when the balance goes below $ 5. This is a great function, as I’m never caught out with no money on my card.
There are times when the Go Card system fails and more money is deducted from your card than should have been. When this happens, call the number on the back of your Go Card, explain the situation and they’ll usually refund your money. I’ve had to do this twice and both times the customer service over the phone has been excellent.
Overall, Translink could be better, but it’s all we’ve got and we have to support it.

Oh Translink, I both love and hate you.
Translink is the name given to the public transport throughout the city of Brisbane. That is, buses, trains and the CityCat. In order to make your way around Brisbane you will either have to spend an insane amount on multiple one way tickets or get a Go Card. Translink stopped selling return and daily tickets, trying to get more people to migrate to the Go Card but unfortunately this means that the Public Transport system is not great for those of us who either rarely use it or for tourists. The prices also just recently had another increase so now it costs me $ 3.58 on my Go Card or $ 5.20 for a paper ticket as a adult to get into the city from my place. If you are lucky enough to own a concession card then the prices are a lot more affordable but still by the time you travel two and from the city once a day the little dollars start to add up. God forbid you forget to tap you Go Card off when you exit, because you will be stung with a whopping amount for the trip. Nonetheless, the Go Card does make getting around a little easier and works across the Buses, Trains and CityCats.
Translink have a website and phone number where you can check times and services but even this is not the easiest thing to navigate. I often find that is suggests strange convoluted journey options unless I select ‘least transfers’ or ‘no transfers’ from the menu. I have given up on the automated phone call years ago since it would take about 10 minutes for the computer bot to recognise which stop I was trying to say. Maybe it is better now but I tend to just stick to the website for my information.
In terms of the transport options themselves, you will find it is easy to get two and from the CBD but very hard to get from one suburb to the next without changing over in the city. Public Transport is never perfect and Translink does its best with what it has.