Driving Innovation Through Simplicity: In Conversation with Deborah Hume

Describe your work in a single sentence

As Deputy Director-General (Translink) I lead the strategic direction and delivery of integrated passenger transport services across Queensland, ensuring safe, reliable, and customer-focused mobility solutions that connect communities and support economic growth.

What’s your advice for someone looking to progress to that next level in the public sector?

Curiosity in the work of your organisation and the government – not just excelling in the role you are in, but that is also important. I’ve found that progressing up the levels in the public sector comes with an increased expectation of understanding the wider context and levers necessary to achieve the aims – and then demonstrating that you have the ability to influence those levers as they relate to the work you do. This usually involves having good working relationships inside your own organization and with colleagues in the other core departments.

What’s one skill every public sector employee should be learning to improve service delivery?

Genuine appreciation of the outcomes sought and the key drivers of success to get there – I come at that from a strategy and evidence perspective, but there may be other pathways. For example, an important part of our work is to increase the use of passenger transport, so we need to understand what drives people to make that choice and then focus on those things. In our case, we collect information from our passengers and the general public. For passenger transport we know that price is an important feature, so the 50c fares have sorted that variable and we have seen about 20% increase in patronage as a result – but we still have work to do on improving reliability, ease and information provision if we are to continue to make progress to achieve the government’s aims.

Don’t miss Dr Deborah Hume live at the Government Innovation Showcase QLD on the 3rd of September 2025. She will be discussing Contemporary QLD Government Services: Progressing A Customer-Centric Government and A Truly Inclusive Society and sharing her insights.

Register here. 

View the agenda here.

What does an innovative public sector look like to you?

• An innovative public sector uses a variety of ways of thinking and tools to deliver what is asked of us. Whether using new technology systems or creating better infrastructure for our network, Translink continues to innovate the public transport network in many ways.

• We’ve started planning for growth—considering where the future needs might be for service investment, infrastructure improvements, increased park and ride capacity, better customer information, and a focus on the delivering the basics like frequency, reliability, and safety and security.

• Another example, is that since 5 August 2024, 50 cent fares have been enjoyed across Translink’s SEQ bus, train, ferry, tram, and on demand services, and regional urban bus networks.

• Now customers can travel anywhere across the Translink network for the same flat fare, improving accessibility to essential services and opening up new possibilities for travel around Queensland. For example, Caloundra to Brisbane is nearly 100 kilometres - that’s just 50 cents for a journey of about 100 kilometres.

• With the Government making 50 cent fares permanent, we’ve provided certainty for customers about their future transport costs, and we believe they will start making longer term decisions around how they choose to travel, where they choose to live, and even think about whether they need that second car.

• We know 50 cent fares have already boosted public transport use and are seeing a significant increase in patronage as more people are choosing to travel via public transport. Since 50 cent fares were introduced on 5 August 2024 through to 31 July 2025, South East Queensland (SEQ) customers have saved more than $387 million compared to the previous fare structure.

• More than 194 million trips have been taken across SEQ since the introduction of 50 cent fares, driving patronage higher than pre-COVID levels.

• Patronage is up 17 per cent compared to the same period in the year before – that’s despite all modes of public transport in SEQ shutting down for multiple days in March due to the impacts of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.

• Across all modes, SEQ public transport patronage has had significant growth across all modes of transport since the introduction of 50 cent fares when compared to the 2023 benchmark, including:

  • Light rail increased 27 per cent

  • Ferry increased 34 per cent

  • Bus increased 13.3 per cent

  • Rail increased 20 per cent

• This growth in ridership was realised at all times of day and all seven days of the week, including increases of 22 per cent during evening off peak, 15 per cent in the middle of the day, and 25 per cent on weekends, a sign that riders were taking advantage of the affordable price for leisure activities.

• Support for 50 cent fares has grown to 92 per cent since being made permanent, with 43 per cent of South East Queenslanders saying their public transport experience has improved.

• As commuter numbers grow, increases in patronage are similarly impressive across our regional urban bus networks

• Translink’s regional Queensland bus network patronage growth has averaged more than 31 per cent across our 16 regional urban bus networks, including strong increases of 40 per cent in Cairns, 54 per cent in Townsville, 82 per cent in Mackay, and 50 per cent for Rockhampton since 50 cent fares were introduced through to 30 June.

What problem will you be sharing a solution to onstage?

Simplicity of flat fare/zone structure through 50c fares and removing barriers to usage with ability to use debit/credit payments

• In addition to frequent and reliable services, further encouragement for public transport use comes in the form of 50 cent fares and Smart Ticketing.

• Not only is public transport now more affordable than ever, it is also more accessible.

• Within Translink we’re embedding the simplicity of 50 cent fares by reducing complexity in our ticketing systems, decommissioning concession processes and streamlining our products.

• This included the removal of fare zones, 50 per cent concessions, off-peak / peak pricing, paper ticket price differentials, regional weekly/ten-trip discounts, and frequent user discounts.

• Through the Translink Smart Ticketing project, the rollout of new ways to pay across the entirety of Translink’s South East Queensland public transport network means that everyone can now pay using a contactless credit or debit card that they already have in their pocket—including cards on a smartphone or other smart device.

• The uptake of Smart Ticketing’s contactless payments has been outstanding, with more than 48 million trips taken using the new payment methods since it was rolled out.

• By offering more ways to pay, we have made it easier for locals and visitors alike to use public transport to explore our region—and already, more than one in three customers are taking advantage of the new ways to pay when travelling.

How does your agency measure success? Does this differ according to the stakeholder?

Translink’s aim is to provide our customers with a reliable, frequent and safe public transport network that is accessible to all customers. We are interested in how different stakeholders are represented in their use of the network, and there will be differences between groups, but we don’t especially change how we measure success depending on stakeholder.

There are a range of ways we measure success. From on-time running and service reliability measures - ensuring we are providing a reliable service that runs on time - to a range of customer satisfaction measures each quarter that record our customers’ satisfaction with various elements of the public transport network.

We’ve been pleased with customer satisfaction regarding the introduction of 50 cent fares, but we know there is still work to be done as more people call Queensland home, and with the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon.

We know from customer feedback that 50 cent fares have provided a better public transport experience with customer benefits from the fares including:

1. 86 per cent of people seeing the fares as encouraging people to choose public transport over driving

2. 46 per cent reporting it makes customers safer on public transport

3. 43 per cent of South East Queenslanders saying their public transport experience has improved

Don’t miss Dr Deborah Hume live at the Government Innovation Showcase QLD on the 3rd of September 2025. She will be discussing Contemporary QLD Government Services: Progressing A Customer-Centric Government and A Truly Inclusive Society and sharing her insights.

Register here. 

View the agenda here.