"One of them didn't comply at all with the conditions that were put out and we decided not to go with either of those at the moment because they didn't have the offering that would stand up to the high-quality location that South Bank is." But the company that had operated similar services at Sydney's Darling Harbour and been keen to roll into Brisbane, Tony Quirk Amusements, said the council botched the process from the start. Owner Tony Quirk said the council had made it too difficult for the scheme to go ahead and accused it of a "half-baked" approach to planning. "They expect you to deliver the trains in the morning and take them away in the afternoon, which is a hell of a job," he said. "You'd spend all day delivering them and then taking them away instead of maintaining them, which you have to do in the morning before you run them, so instead of cleaning them up you'd be delivering them.

"There's nowhere to store tyres or a spare anything, no amenities for the staff, so they've just gone in half-baked." Mr Quirk, who was not related to Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, said the council "want it there, but they don't want it there". "They want it there to move the people around, but they're not giving any facilities to operate the business," he said. "Eventually, it would be unsafe. "I said it needs government funding and they said 'no you can't do that – you've got to work off the percentage and you've got to give us 15 per cent of what you take'.

"You've got to pay wages, you've got to pay insurance, you've got to pay fuel and then you've got to pay (the council) 15 per cent, you've got to take 10 per cent GST, so there's about 2 per cent left there for you and you've got to move your trains backwards and forwards every day to get it." Mr Quirk said he was disappointed his plans for Brisbane had derailed. "It would work there," he said. "It would be a great thing there." Cr Bourke said the council would still be open to introducing a trackless train to the precinct. "If someone has a proposal and wants to come to us, council's still keen to see this sort of facility provided to tourists and visitors at South Bank and talk through exactly what the requirements are," he said.

"But what we got in the tender documents just didn't meet the specifications we put out as part of it. "We went out to expressions of interest because we thought it was a good idea and we're more than happy to talk to people if they have ideas or innovations." Stay informed. Like the Brisbane Times Facebook page