2014-09-16 Infrastructure & Services Committee Agenda

INFRASTRUCTURE & SERVICES COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                           16 SEPTEMBER 2014


RECOMMENDATION
That Council note the report by the Senior Project Officer to the Infrastructure & Services
Committee Meeting dated 16 September 2014 and
A.     Continue the Boreen Point – Tewantin Flexilink service; and
B.     Increase single trip fares to $2 for concession card holders and $4 for adults.



REPORT
The purpose of this report is to advise Council of the background and performance of the Boreen
Point-Tewantin Flexilink service, and to seek direction on the future of the service. All amounts
detailed in this report are exclusive of GST.

1.     Boreen Point – Tewantin Flexilink Service

The Flexilink service is a demand responsive service which operates similar to a bus in that it
follows a designated route from Borg Park, Boreen Point to Poinciana Avenue, Tewantin.
However, unlike a bus, the taxi only travels to the furthest pickup address, in other words it does
not travel on to Boreen Point if there are no further bookings. In addition, the service only
operates if a booking is made. A taxi or a maxi taxi is dispatched to collect passengers, if there
are more than 10 passengers on one route, a second taxi is dispatched. There are no designated
stops along the route, as the passenger advises the operator of their pickup address.

The purpose of the service is to connect residents from areas without public transport to their
nearest centre (shopping, public transport etc.). See Attachment 1 for a map of the service route.

The service operates a return service 3 times a day, Monday to Saturday. The service is
scheduled to connect with TransLink bus routes 620, 626, 627, 628, 629, 631 and 632.

Passenger fares, per one way trip, are $2 for adults and $1 for Concession. Concession is based
on eligibility used by TransLink for public transport in South East Queensland and includes:

   Children aged 5-14 years;
   Full time primary, secondary and tertiary students;
   Pensioner Concession Card Holders;
   Seniors Card holders; and
   Australian Defence Force Veterans Gold Card Holders.

Council is charged $50 for bookings in one direction only and Suncoast cabs offers a reduced fee
of $80 where services are booked in both directions.

2.     Background

The Boreen Point-Tewantin Flexilink service commenced as a trial in November 2005 as a joint
initiative between Noosa Council and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (then
Queensland Transport). In June 2007, Noosa Council assumed full responsibility for the service.
Request for quotations was sought in 2010 and 2012 and on both occasions the contract was
awarded to Suncoast Cabs. The current contract expires on or before 30 June 2015.

In May 2010, Sunshine Coast Council introduced a trial Flexilink service between Cooroy and
Pomona however this service was discontinued in June 2011 due to insufficient patronage. In
April 2013 a further trial Flexilink service was introduced between Lake Macdonald and Cooroy,
and this service was also discontinued by Noosa Council in April 2014 due to insufficient
patronage.

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