Category Archives: Transport

Students to rally against bureaucratic inefficiency

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Gene Tunny

While out at the University of Queensland today, I picked up the above flyer in the uni refectory regarding a rally against the new Tertiary Transport Concession Card (TTCC), which is designed to ensure only people genuinely studying can claim … Continue reading →

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Brunswick St Mall should have been re-opened to traffic

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Brunswick St Mall facelift is now complete (see Brisbane Times coverage), but I remain of the view that the Mall should have been re-opened to traffic instead. From an economic perspective, I suspect the costs of having a mall … Continue reading →

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Illogical to reject Uber over safety concerns

Posted on June 23, 2014 by Gene Tunny

It’s disappointing the Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson has been swayed by the taxi industry’s argument that safety regulations and supply restrictions (i.e. a limited number of taxi licences) are both needed to ensure passenger safety (Brisbane no closer to … Continue reading →

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Gold Coast light rail debacle should serve as a warning to other cities

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Gene Tunny

The Gold Coast light rail project has had a number of significant failures, including major cost blowouts, major disruptions to local businesses during construction, and poor signage that will infuriate tourists who hop off at the Surfers Paradise station when … Continue reading →

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Uber confusion – Premier was right to back Uber and support deregulated taxi industry

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Gene Tunny

I’m a bit confused about the Queensland Government’s position on the Uber ridesharing service, which has the potential to massively disrupt the highly regulated taxi industry. Taxi industry regulations, particularly the restricted number of licences, result in economic rents (i.e. super … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry policy, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Trams unlikely to be cost-effective – buses generally much cheaper

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Gene Tunny

This morning on 612 ABC Brisbane, Steve Austin interviewed Queensland Tourism Industry Council CEO Daniel Gschwind, who would like to see trams return to the streets of Brisbane (Should trams return to Brisbane?). Mr Gschwind was honest enough to admit … Continue reading →

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Should Townsville port long-term lease earnings be earmarked for NQ?

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Gene Tunny

It would be poor public policy to earmark the earnings from the long-term leasing out of the Port of Townsville for investment in North Queensland, as desired by Townsville community leaders. The Townsville Bulletin reports today: A LONG-TERM lease on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Townsville, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Qld Treasury needs to explain logic of asset sales much more clearly

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Gene Tunny

In her terrific book On Speaking Well, former Presidential Speech Writer Peggy Noonan argues convincingly that people ultimately are moved by logic, and you shouldn’t underestimate the intelligence of your audience. She writes: A good case well argued and well … Continue reading →

Posted in Infrastructure, Macroeconomy, Queensland Government, Transport | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Qld taxi queues compared to bread lines in Soviet Russia

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Gene Tunny

On 612 ABC Brisbane radio this morning, Steve Austin interviewed my friend and colleague Brad Rogers on Queensland’s highly regulated taxi industry. In the interview, Brad discussed the large cost that the restricted supply of taxi licences imposes on consumers … Continue reading →

Posted in Transport | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Billions of benefits from selling Gladstone and Townsville ports

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Gene Tunny

My colleague and friend Brad Rogers, who is also Secretary of the Queensland branch of the Economic Society of Australia, has written a nice post arguing for privatisation of Queensland’s Government-owned ports at his new blog: Queensland Ports For Sale Brad … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, Housing, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments