Gold Coast light rail sets gold standard for tourist transport
Residents and visitors to the Gold Coast are flocking back to public transport with a new survey showing patronage in the tourist strip is now above pre-pandemic levels.
RACQ’s 2023 Public Transport Survey revealed Gold Coast commuters were among the highest users in the State, with most favouring the train (53.5%), bus (45.8%) and tram (45.1%) to get around.
The Club’s Head of Public Policy Dr Michael Kane said the Coast’s G:link light rail was an excellent service to combat congestion and was particularly popular for people wanting to explore the region.
“Most Gold Coast residents use the light rail for recreation, while just over 15% use it to commute for work or study,” Dr Kane said.
“We found it really interesting that 18% of Brisbane commuters and 13% of Logan public transport users also said they’ve used light rail in the past 12 months despite neither city having light rail.This indicates the GLink is not only a great form of transport for locals, but also for visitors.”
Dr Kane said the Gold Coast light rail was a great example of how modern public transport systems can be adopted by cities to make it easier for residents and tourists to get around.
"The extension of the light rail south to Coolangatta (Stages 3 & 4) will continue to support patronage increases" he said.
“With the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games less than 10 years away, Brisbane and the larger South East Queensland region can learn a lot from the Gold Coast light rail.
“We need modern public transport that is easy to use, reliable and connects key centres across the city. We need to make it as easy as possible for tourists and residents to use public transport and alleviate congestion. The critical missing element in this context is a high frequent, high capacity and direct East/West services.”
The key concern for Gold Coast public transport was a low level of daily work and student commuters, with RACQ identifying possible areas for improvement.
“More appealing fares, more frequent and easy-to-navigate services and better safety measures were the top priorities for Gold Coast residents to improve public transport,” Dr Kane said.
RACQ conducts the survey annually to understand the use and perceptions of public transport and to advocate for better services for all Queenslanders.