I had realised that Cavill Avenue in the heart of Surfers Paradise was a major stop, so was not greatly surprised when it was named as the busiest. But what is interesting about that stop is that it is the only major stop which is not a significant Interchange with buses. In fact no bus service passes nearby.

There were 18 comments, a number complaining about the cost of its operation claiming it is of little use to locals. They fail to query how much an unreliable bus service will cost. The bus service before the tram was unreliable and carried a lot less people as I observed first hand.

Regards,

Gold Coast light rail: Incredible patronage figures revealed ahead of fifth anniversary
ANDREW POTTS, Gold Coast Bulletin
July 15, 2019 12:00am

THE Gold Coast light rail has carried more than 42 million passengers in its first five years, new data shows.

The tram system will notch five years of service this week and both political and city leaders say it’s time a deal was done to make the Broadbeach to Burleigh Stage 3A a reality.

Big crowds trying to board the trams. Picture Mike Batterham
New data supplied by TransLink reveals:

* 42.1 million passenger trips have been recorded by the tram across both stages since July 2014.

* The busiest station in the 2018-19 financial year was Cavill Ave, with 1.67 million people boarding the G-Link from the heart of the party precinct.

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* Other busy stations include Broadbeach South, Southport, Helensvale and Gold Coast University Hospital, all of which took passengers ranging from 900,000 to 1.49 million people in the past financial year.

NO MONEY FOR TRAMS IN STATE BUDGET

A Gold Coast tram yesterday Picture: Mike Batterham
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the figures spoke for themselves.

“Extending the light rail to the airport is a no-brainer. Numerous Gold Coast leaders are behind the project, as are peak planning, development and transport experts,” he said.

“Other levels of government need to realise there is a huge economic upside to this project. Increased land values, increased stamp duty turnover and increased market activity all benefit the Federal and State budgets..

WHAT ELECTION MEANS FOR LIGHT RAIL

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Picture Tim Marsden
“We are Australia’s number one tourism destination and light rail direct to the airport is essential. It will mean less cars on the roads, increased property prices, increased rates and an economic upside for all levels of government.”

The tram had its busiest weeks during the 2018 Commonwealth Games when more than 100,000 people used it each day.

GoldLinQ chairman John Witheriff said more than one million trips were now being taken on the light rail monthly.

WHAT LIGHT RAIL MEANS FOR COUNCIL ELECTION

John Witheriff with a tram. Picture: Jerad Williams
TRAD’S REGRETS OVER LIGHT RAIL FUNDING

He welcomed the strong passenger numbers and said each stage of the tram extension had a greater purpose beyond simply being public transport.

“Stage One was about getting rail in the ground but in a practical sense. But it was about also upgrading the city’s underground infrastructure to cope with the population growth over the next 40 years,” he said.

“It was intrusive but it hard to be done because it’s hard to dig up the underground

“What we had then was a platform for orderly development on the northern end of the Gold Coast.

“Stage Two gave us a taste of the capacity to manage growth if we get the public transport right across the board.”

Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3A artist impressions.
A funding row about the $709m tram link’s third stage has been running for three months

The Federal Government is refusing to budge from the $112 million it has already committed.

State Transport Minister Mark Bailey said the Federal Government was $157.5 million short of matching its Stage 1 commitment.

Mr Baily said funding talks for Stage 3A were ongoing but insisted the State Government would not shoulder a higher percentage of the project’s costs.

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Queensland Transport Minister Mark Bailey (AAP Image/Aaron Bunch)
“We’ve been clear and consistent in saying the current federal offer for the next stage of light rail is the lowest proportion ever and just not good enough,” he said.

“The Palaszczuk Labor Government did the heavy lifting on stage two to make the Games a success, but this one off intervention is not a sustainable funding model.

“We’ll keep fighting though and we’ll use all the time available to us to seek a better deal and will consider our funding position once a fair offers from the Federal Government is made.