SYD AP Govt won't cut train fare

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Hvr

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Read more: No ticket respite in windfall from airport train fares


ANNOYED at $15 train fares to Sydney Airport?
Within months, that annoyance can be fairly levelled at the O'Farrell government, which will start collecting more than half the fare on Sydney's privately owned airport line.
A revised 2005 contract between Airport Link Company, the owner of the stations on the airport line, and RailCorp gives the government 50 per cent of the revenue once the company reaches a certain level of income.


This presents the government with an opportunity to cut fares at the airport stations in line with the rest of the network. But the government says it has no plans to do so, with the Transport Minister, Gladys Berejiklian, confirming the money raised would go to general revenue. The domestic and international stations have a $12 ''station access fee'' on top of the RailCorp fare.

"Any revenue raised through the train service fee is already factored into the state government's forward estimates,'' she said.

Asked if she would consider lowering the station access fee to make airport trips cheaper, Ms Berejiklian said: "This is not current government policy."
Despite the higher fares for the two stations, train patronage to the airport has grown 40 per cent in the past three years.

Typical government raking in more money and screwing the travellers.



 
I would think the patronage increase and hence tripping the 50% hurdle is due to the recent gate fee subsidy on Mascot and Green Square, which is costing the government money.
I do however think a $5-7 gate fee would encourage groups of multiple passengers to take the train over taxi.
 
I do however think a $5-7 gate fee would encourage groups of multiple passengers to take the train over taxi.
Agree, for the convenience and door-to-door service the price difference for 2 or more passengers is marginal.
 
If they want less traffic around Mascot, dropping train prices is the easiest way. 15.40 to go three stations (Domestic to Central).........what an embarassment. You coud go to Newcastle and back for half that price.

The irony is that if they drop the price, more people use it which would offset the 'loss' of the price drop, and the government would gain more with people travelling beyond the Airport Line
 
Typical government thinking, milk a cash cow in the short term, no forward thinking. Public transport planning and the government doesn't mix.

They should consider a discounted rate for 2 or 3 pax.
 
...

They should consider a discounted rate for 2 or 3 pax.
In the early days until sometime after the 2000 Olympics, they actually had a multi-person discounted ticket.

Four could travel to/from the CBD one-way for about $27 IIRC.
 
If we are both in SYD and in the CBD but need to get to the airport we just book a Cabot a chauffeur car, it's almost the same price but no mucking around with Public Transport.
 
With the next state election due 28 March 2015 wouldn't it be funny if we saw a change in "current government policy" around January 2015.
 
Obviously the government is plying on poor traffic conditions around the airport to "coerce" more pax onto the trains.

If more pax miss their flights due to traffic, then the government is winning.

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Certainly a reduced gate fee would encourage me to stop taking the $5 option to the city.


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I assume you refer to the $1.65 plus $3.40 option medhead.
Just occasionally find the 400 timings are way off. SMS showed a 28min wait at Mascot the other day, I walked it in under 15.
 
The service is simply atrocious. A ticket system that is user unfriendly (you can use Amex from the airport but not to the airport, no group tickets etc), grossly expensive for a means of transport that a responsible government should be encouraging, dated technology (why do you have to collect an expired ticket when you go through the gate), usually filthy trains, and travelling at walking pace on antiquated tracks. It's simply a missed opportunity and shows a total lack of planning and willingness to invest in something that could be beneficial to the owners, the community and the travelling public.
 
I'm actually the opposite with collecting the used tickets. Notice they say "tax invoice" on them. When I travel to meetings around Sydney on the train, I want to know why the gate takes my used Tax Invoice. :mad: (Well :mad: if I get audited by the ATO, but taking the used ticket does stop me claiming reimbursement from my employer)

I assume you refer to the $1.65 plus $3.40 option medhead.
Just occasionally find the 400 timings are way off. SMS showed a 28min wait at Mascot the other day, I walked it in under 15.

No, no bus involved. ;)

Do you work for city rail/airport link?


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Not too mention the use of Un-airconditioned hot sinky trains, not a good impression for overseas visitors to AUS, especially those from SIN or DXB with their fantastic systems.
 
It would be worth $15 if the train service was like HKG for example


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Not too mention the use of Un-airconditioned hot sinky trains, not a good impression for overseas visitors to AUS, especially those from SIN or DXB with their fantastic systems.

Its not just that. Ever tried getting one in Peak hour? How they expect travellers with suitcases to fit in amongst the commuters is a mystery.
 
I should have also mentioned that I can do the mascot walk in 15 minutes as well.

Not too mention the use of Un-airconditioned hot sinky trains, not a good impression for overseas visitors to AUS, especially those from SIN or DXB with their fantastic systems.

Well I'm stuffed at all times of the year. I can get on the train in the dead of winter and be dripping wet in seconds. Meanwhile everyone else, the locals, are rugged up with scarfs and overcoats.

Oxymoron Alert.

Yeah sorry, I meant employed but during recent training was told that the new WHS laws mean we are no longer employees but are in fact workers. :rolleyes:


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Was going to say where's the $15, it's $16? But I realised that's domestic, international is 80c dearer. I caught the train a couple weeks ago from intl, the nicest things I can say are that it was on time, and it was certainly full of character. Getting onto the same train sets that I used to avoid (because they were old and awful) when I lived in Sydney 15 years ago - broken seats, sticky floors, graffiti walls. A certain rustic charm!

I have no problem with that if paying commuter prices, but everywhere else I can think of (except BNE), they either use commuter trains to services the airport at commuter prices (eg ORD, the underground at LHR, SFO, SIN etc) OR use special trains at premium pricing. I can't think of too many places that have standard commuter trains at premium pricing (the closest I can think of is JFK/EWR where you have to pay $5 on airtrain to get to the standard commuter trains, but that's reasonable)
 
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