2019-10-08 Services & Organisation Committee Agenda

SERVICES & ORGANISATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                 8 OCTOBER 2019


The high dependence on public transport within the Transport Strategy has encouraged Council
to undertake several key activities in coordination with the Department of Transport and Main
Roads including:
   Collection of a Transport Levy through rates of approximately $900,000 per annum;
   Funding of Free Holiday Buses, (approximately 300,000 patrons over previous Easter and
     Christmas holidays);
   Design and construction of upgrades to bus stops ($3m joint funded over past 5 years);
   Funding of Boreen Point to Tewantin Flexilink Service;
   Funding of Council cabs for over 65’s and people with a disability;
   General marketing and promotion of public transport.

The effect of these activities within the Noosa community may create the perception that Council
is vested with powers to manage public transport in Noosa, or to create its own public transport
options (for example a Noosa Style Shuttle Bus linking key tourist locations with residential and
accommodation areas).

To investigate the current legislative framework governing public transport use in Noosa, Council
engaged lawyers Minter Ellison to undertake a legal review of urban bus services in Noosa as
summarised below.

2.    Public transport legislative framework

Details of the legislation governing public transport is contained in Attachment 1, Minter Ellison
legal advice. In summary, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (DTMR) has overall
responsibility for coordinating transport which includes public transport in Queensland. DTMR’s
functions in relation to public transport are set out in the following legislation:
a.    the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 (Qld) (the Act)
b.    the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Regulation 2018 (Qld) (the Regulation)
c.    the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Standard 2010 (Qld) (the Standard)
Collectively the above is referred as the Legislative Framework that regulates public transport in
Queensland.
The legislation refers to ‘public transport’ as a ‘public passenger transport’ which is further
defined as the carriage of passengers by a ‘public passenger service’ using a ‘public passenger
vehicle’.
The legislation sets out broad definitions of both ‘public passenger service’ and ‘public passenger
vehicle’ in order to ensure regulation of essentially all forms of public transport with the intended
exclusion of private and personal transport.
The legislation puts into place measures for regulating the provision of all forms of public
transport. These measures include:
    entering into public passenger service contracts;
    holding of operator accreditation;
    holding driver authorisation;
    market entry restrictions;
    personalised transport services (taxis and rideshare such as Uber).
Further regulation is imposed on core public passenger services such as bus, taxis and school
services via performance-based contracts.
In order to regulate public passenger services, DTMR administers and delivers public passenger
transport within service contract areas through ‘TransLink’, a division of DTMR. With funding from
the Queensland Government, TransLink procures the delivery of public passenger services
through service contracts awarded to external organisations.


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