Having to Rely on Public Transport

Unfortunately I have come to rely on public transport to get me to and from Brisbane. The reality of spending my precious time caught in traffic and not being able to park anyway means I am one of thousands of commuters that depend on Queensland Rail.

I have been a constant commuter since I started my degree back in 2015 and have had a few issues with the network. There have been a few too many mysterious "signalling errors" for my liking which have resulted in hefty parking fines at the station.

Now the focus has shifted to the recent timetable debacle and it's doing my head in! Every time I even think of heading into the city I get a mild anxiety attack worrying about whether or not my train will arrive on time. Let's just say that turning up to your first journalism internship late is never a good look. This didn't actually happen but is a real concern of mine. Regardless, I now check the journey planner before every ride and am still very unsure of whether to trust it.

As I am writing this I have just been made aware of another timetable change to come into effect before school goes back. Having had another look at the planner it seems my normal train has been cancelled and replaced with one four minutes earlier. Now I don't mean to be a princess but that extra four minutes sleep really helps me through my eight hour day. Honestly, can't QR just create one timetable that works and does't need to be changed every couple of weeks?

Seriously though, it is super frustrating to be caught in the midst of this issue. As a commuter this entire situation is taken out of my hands and I just have to hope my train will turn up and I'll be in Brisbane on time.

#ashleighdwan #beyondthestory #journalism #trains #queenslandrail