You use the GoCard for the whole trip. The GoCard then works out how many zones you travelled in and charges accordingly. You can transfer from bus to train, bus to ferry or whatever without incurring extra charges if you stay in the same zones. You can travel for many hours and quite a few transfers with it all just counting as the one fare.
Breaking it into a bus trip and then a separate train trip would be more expensive. On top of this not using a GoCard for the train trip would make the train trip a "lot" more expensive as non GoCard trips are priced far higher to encourage GoCard use.
For example Nerang into Brisbane CBD on the train is $14.80 if you buy a single paper ticket. If you use a GoCard it is $8.16 or $10.19 in peak hour. The GoCard will also give you every 10th and subsequent trip in the week free (Fri afternoon and all Sat and Sun if you commute every day, for example).
Here is the pricing for your full trip done in the two ways:
GoCard for whole trip:
BUS+TRAIN TRANSFER: This is a 14 zone journey, travelling in zones 1 - 14
GoCard Adult: $10.99 (peak)
GoCard Adult: $8.80 (off-peak)
The way you did it:
BUS: This is a 2 zone journey, travelling in zones 13 - 14
GoCard Adult: $3.58 (peak)
GoCard Adult: $2.87 (off-peak)
PLUS
TRAIN: This is a 13 zone journey, travelling in zones 1 - 13
Single Paper Adult Ticket $14.80
Totals
So instead of paying:
$10.99 (peak)
$8.80 (off-peak)
You paid:
$18.38 (peak)
$17.67 (off-peak)
OUCH !!!
Last edited: Sep 12, 2012