Bus package

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

More bus services to help ease squeeze

More bus services to help ease squeeze
TONY MOORE
June 29, 2010 - 2:20PM

Extra buses will run on Brisbane's busiest bus routes, after overcrowding saw the number of full buses double over the past 12 months.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan today announced a $5 million package to finance extra services to Brown Plains, The Gap, Carindale, Forest Lake, Mansfield and to Brisbane's inner-northside after the July school and university break.

Ms Nolan said that would add 48,000 seats to Brisbane's bus network each week.

Brisbane City Council last week announced more buses were reporting as full and driving past waiting commuters.

The number of overloaded buses almost doubled, from 1956 services in May 2009 to 3107 in May 2010.

An extra 34 drivers would be employed to run the extra services, which would include routes to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, the University of Queensland and Griffith University at Mt Gravatt.

For the first time, timetables have been changed to allow buses to use the new Go Between Bridge - between South Brisbane and Milton - which opens to traffic on Monday.

Buses to Kenmore, Brookfield and Riverhills will use the new bridge and not Milton Road, Ms Nolan said.

"Western suburbs also benefit with outbound, off-peak buses to suburbs such as Kenmore, Brookfield and Riverhills travelling via the Go Between Bridge instead of Milton Road — saving several minutes per service," she said.

Ms Nolan said the extra bus services were targeted at Brisbane's busiest bus routes.

"The highlight of this bus package will be an upgrade of route 412 [UQ to CBD] to make it Brisbane's 12th high frequency bus route," she said.

"The full package adds services to 22 routes including more regular services on TransLink's highest frequency bus routes — including The Gap, Browns Plains and Carindale."

Ms Nolan said the changes would mean some timetable changes and extra buses to outer suburbs.

"There will be changes at the busy Garden City interchange, extra trips from Forest Lake, Parkinson, Browns Plains, Chermside and Aspley," she said.

"Mansfield residents will see much improvement on morning and afternoon services on Routes 179 and 180 including extra trips on Sunday."

The changes include extra services to the following routes:

- 66 (Woolloongabba-RBWH busway)

- 100 (Forest Lake-city)

- 109 (UQ Lakes-city)

- 118 (Forest Lake-city)

- 130 (Algester-city)

- 134 (Griffith Uni-city)

- 140 (Browns Plains-city)

- 150 (Browns Plains-City)

- 156 (Stretton-city)

- 170 (Garden City-city)

- 180 (Garden City-city)

- 199 (New Farm-West End)

- 200 (Carindale-Valley)

- 209 (Carindale-UQ Lakes)

- 333 (Chermside-city)

- 345 (Aspley-city)

- 359 (Albany Creek-city)

- 385 (The Gap-city)

- 428 (Chapel Hill-UQ)

- 412 (UQ-city)

- 444 (Moggill-city)

- 460 (Forest Lake-city).

[ozbob]

For the first time, timetables have been changed to allow buses to use the new Go Between Bridge - between South Brisbane and Milton - which opens to traffic on Monday.

Buses to Kenmore, Brookfield and Riverhills will use the new bridge and not Milton Road, Ms Nolan said.

"Western suburbs also benefit with outbound, off-peak buses to suburbs such as Kenmore, Brookfield and Riverhills travelling via the Go Between Bridge instead of Milton Road — saving several minutes per service," she said.

================

Media Release 28 June 2010

SEQ:  Opportunities for improved bus commutes from Western regions

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has again called for the reintroduction of bus lanes on Coronation drive and public transport over the Go Between Bridge (1).

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"RAIL Back On Track notes that the opening of the Go-Between bridge is now imminent (1). Congestion means  that buses are still being delayed on Coronation Drive.  The bus commute from Western regions is a public transport commuters' nightmare."

"People will catch public transport if it is fast, frequent and gives a time advantage over the car. Unlike the Northern, Eastern and Southern parts of Brisbane, all of which have high frequency busways which are completely separated from morning peak hour congested traffic, the Western Suburbs does not have a busway despite a substantial number of passengers opting to commute from the Western Suburbs by bus."

"These passengers deserve no less service or priority than their Northern, Eastern and Southern counterparts. It is time that the promise of a T2 lane or exclusive bus lane on Coronation Drive was fulfilled, and that these lanes which were victims of what is widely known as 'empty lane syndrome' were put back and returned to the community."

"With the Go Between bridge opening soon, some thought should be given to the potential routing of public transport over it to take advantage of the travel time savings the bridge proclaims with possible bus connections to the Cultural Centre Busway."

Reference:

1. The Go Between Bridge http://bridge.mipo.jsadigital.com.au/

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[somebody]

It is unclear what will happen to the 444 from that release.  Is it to go back to Queen St Bus Station, reverse it's direction in KGSBS or something else??  It also remains unclear what is to happen in peak hour.  I presume the current crapulence is to continue?  I guess all will be revealed in time.  EDIT: Bit of a shame about the Cribb St stop.  I guess it's too hard to serve it due to the need to change lanes too quickly.

With the P179 moving to Adelaide St on the outbound, yet another retrograde step.  

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport
The Honourable Rachel Nolan
29/06/2010

$5m Brisbane bus package - more jobs, more seats, more buses

The Bligh Government will spend $5 million adding seats and new services to Brisbane's busiest bus routes next month.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the new bus package would add an extra 48,800 bus seats each week, add new buses to the existing fleet and provide more jobs for bus drivers.

"This bus package was created specifically to deal with Brisbane's busiest buses and will be delivered when services return to peak patronage following the July school and university holidays," Ms Nolan said.

"It has the potential to take up to 51,000 cars a week off Brisbane roads and continues to utilise key pieces of infrastructure such as the Northern and South East Busways.

"The highlight of this bus package will be an upgrade of route 412 (UQ to CBD) to make it Brisbane's 12th high frequency bus route, while several western suburbs routes will save time by using the Go Between Bridge.

"The full package adds services to 22 routes including more regular services on TransLink's highest frequency bus routes - including The Gap, Browns Plains and Carindale."

Ms Nolan said 34 additional drivers have been employed to drive these extra services which will also add a further 25 new low-floor, air-conditioned, environmentally-friendly buses to the fleet.

"There will be more regular services to and from busy centres such as the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, The University of Queensland and Griffith University," she said.

"There will be changes at the busy Garden City interchange, extra trips from Forest Lake, Parkinson, Browns Plains, Chermside and Aspley.

"Mansfield residents will see much improvement on morning and afternoon services on Routes 179 and 180 including extra trips on Sunday.

"Western suburbs also benefit with outbound, off-peak buses to suburbs such as Kenmore, Brookfield and Riverhills travelling via the Go Between Bridge instead of Milton Road - saving several minutes per service."

Additional services will be added to routes 66 (Wooloongabba-RBWH busway), 100 (Forest Lake-city), 109 (UQ Lakes-city), 118 (Forest Lake-city), 130 (Algester-city), 134 (Griffith Uni-city), 140 (Browns Plains-city), 150 (Browns Plains-City), 156 (Stretton-city), 170 (Garden City-city), 180 (Garden City-city), 199 (New Farm-West End), 200 (Carindale-Valley), 209 (Carindale-UQ Lakes), 333 (Chermside-city), 345 (Aspley-city), 359 (Albany Creek-city), 385 (The Gap-city), 428, (Chapel Hill-UQ), 412 (UQ-city), 444 (Moggill-city), 460 (Forest Lake-city).

"We're getting with the job of not only building the transport infrastructure we need but providing even more regular services to make travel easy and keep people moving," Ms Nolan said.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

==============================================================

[david]

This is excellent news all round! The news of the 412 BUZ upgrade, as well as western suburb routes using the Go Between Bridge is excellent and marks the biggest change to western suburb buses since the introduction of the 444 BUZ. I'm looking forward to the timetables being released!

Now for the train services...

EDIT: Just noticed that the new services will start on 26 July. That is possibly the largest amount of time Translink have ever given commuters to adjust to any new services.

[stephenk]

Whilst I have yet to see the new timetables to make a full judgement,  the increase in services on these busy and often overcrowded routes is much appreciated. Interested to see that the 66 is getting a (required) service increase already - it just shows how successful running very high frequency bus services can be!

Now where are the train improvements?

[ozbob]

TransLink  New Brisbane bus services --> http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?1277701321

From Monday 26 July 2010, the following changes to Brisbane bus services will take place to improve efficiency and reliability:

Route    Extra services

66 (Woolloongabba to Royal Brisbane & Women's Hospital)    

   * Three additional services departing RBWH at 3.26pm, 3.36pm and 3.46pm

100 (Forest Lake to City)    

   * Three additional inbound services departing Forest Lake at 6.45am, 9.05am and 9.50am
   * Two additional outbound services departing Queen Street busway station at 7.15am and 8.45am
   * One additional outbound service departing Cultural Centre busway station at 3.21pm (Monday to Friday only)

109 (City to University of Queensland via Eleanor Schonell Bridge)    

   * Three additional outbound services departing the city at 7.30am, 8.30am and 9.35am (operating UQ semesters only)
   * Nine additional inbound services departing UQ Lakes at 4.10pm, 4.20pm, 4.40pm, 4.50pm, 5.10pm, 5.20pm, 5.30pm, 5.40pm and 5.50pm (operating UQ semesters only)

118 (Forest Lake to City)    

   * Two additional inbound services departing Forest Lake at 6.20am and 7.50am
   * Two additional outbound services departing the city at 4.10pm and 4.30pm

130 (Parkinson to City)    

   * Four additional inbound services departing Calam Road, Sunnybank Hills at 7.27am, 7.37am, 7.47am and 7.57am
   * Five additional outbound services departing the city at 3.37pm, 3.57pm, 4.07pm, 4.27pm and 5.07pm

134 (City to Griffith University)    

   * Seven additional inbound services departing Griffith University (Nathan) at 3.15pm, 3.45pm, 4.15pm, 4.30pm, 5.15pm, 5.30pm and 6.00pm
   * Two additional outbound services departing the city at 7.45am and 8.45am

140 (Browns Plains to City)    

   * Two additional inbound services departing 'Illaweena Street' stop, Drewvale at 7.15am and 8.05am
   * Two additional outbound services departing the city at 3.42pm and 4.12pm

150 (Browns Plains to City)    

   * One additional inbound service departing 'Gowan and Compton Road' stop, Runcorn at 9.01am
   * Three additional outbound services departing the city at 3.10pm, 4.00pm and 4.10pm
   * One additional outbound service departing the city at 5.00pm (Saturday only)

156 (Stretton to City)    

   * Three additional inbound services departing Stretton at 7.26am, 7.41am and 7.56am

P179 (Garden to City pre-paid)    

   * Two additional inbound services, creating a 10 minute frequency from 6.35am to 7.35am
   * Two additional outbound services, creating a 10 minute frequency from 4.44pm to 5.44pm

180 (Garden City to City)    

   * Extra inbound services creating a 10 minute frequency from 6.10am to 7.30am
   * Extra outbound services creating a 15 minute frequency from 7.25am to 8.55am, and 10 minutes from 4.10pm to 6.00pm
   * Extra Sunday services:
         o departing Garden City at 7.10am and 7.40am
         o departing the city at 7.55am and 8.25am

199 (New Farm (Teneriffe Ferry) to City to West End)    

   * One additional service departing Teneriffe Ferry at 7.50am

200 (Carindale to City)    

   * Two additional outbound services departing the city at 4.13pm and 5.13pm

209 (Carindale to University of Queensland via Eleanor Schonell Bridge)    

   * Three additional outbound services departing UQ Lakes at 3.58pm, 4.58pm and 5.58pm (operating UQ semesters only)

333 (Chermside to City)    

   * One additional inbound service departing Kedron at 8.13am
   * One additional outbound service departing the city at 3.07pm

345 (Aspley to City)    

   * One additional outbound service departing the city at 5.06pm

359 (Albany Creek to City)    

   * One additional inbound service departing Albany Creek at 6.55am

385 (The Gap to City)    

   * Three additional inbound services depart 'Waterworks' stop, The Gap at 7.25am, 7.35am and 7.45am

412 (St Lucia and University of Queensland to City via Toowong    

   * Extra services to create a frequency of:
         o 10 minutes Monday to Friday
         o 15 minutes weekdays off-peak, weekends and public holidays
         o 5 minute running times inbound during morning peak, and outbound during afternoon peak (UQ semesters only)

428 (Chapel Hill to University of Queensland)    

   * One additional services departing Indooroopilly at 11.05am (operating UQ semesters only)
   * Two additional services departing UQ Chancellor Place at 3.52pm and 4.05pm (operating UQ semesters only)

444 (Moggill to City)    

   * Three additional outbound services departing the Cultural Centre busway station at 2.57pm, 3.27pm and 4.04pm

460 (Forest Lake to City)    

   * One additional outbound service departing Indooroopilly at 3.25pm (school terms only)

[ozbob]

http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?1277772553

Improved running times for Brisbane bus services

Improved running times for Brisbane bus services

From Monday 26 July, the following timetable and stop changes will take place to improve efficiency and reliability:

Route    Timetable and stop changes

77 (Chermside to Eight Mile Plains)    

    * Minor timetable changes
    * Extra stop at O'Keefe Street, Woolloongabba to service the Princess Alexandra Hospital

123 (Griffith University to Garden City)    

    * All services will now depart from stop 'C', Garden City Interchange
    * The 3.30pm service from the Garden City Interchange will now depart at 3.33pm

132 (Parkinson to Garden City)    

    * Services departing the Garden City Interchange will be rescheduled by five minutes: 8.55am, 9.55am, 10.55am, 11.55am, 12.55pm, 1.55pm, 3.10pm and 4.10pm

150 (Browns Plains to City)    

    * The 5.05pm service departing the city will now depart at 5.10pm (Saturdays only)

152 (Garden City to Stretton)    

    * The 3.30pm departing Garden City Interchange will now depart at 3.28pm.

170 (Garden City via Newnham Road to City)    

    * All services will now depart from stop 'F', Garden City Interchange

P179 (Garden City to City pre-paid)    

    * Two new city stops: stop 161, Wharf Street (where the service will terminate) and stop 48, Adelaide Street

199 (New Farm (Teneriffe Ferry) to City to West End)    

    * The 7.52am service departing Teneriffe Ferry will now depart at 7.55am

200 (Carindale to City)    

    * The 4.15pm and 5.15pm services departing the city will now depart at 4.18pm and 5.18pm

333 (Chermside to City)    

    * The 3.12pm service departing the city will now depart at 3.17pm

359 (Albany Creek to City)    

    * The 6.45am and 7.05am services departing Albany Creek will now depart at 6.40am and 7.10am

444 (Moggill to City)    

    * The 3.02pm, 3.32pm and 4.07pm services departing the Cultural Centre busway station will now depart at 3.07pm, 3.37pm and 4.11pm

There will also be some minor changes to district routes departing the Garden City Interchange:

    * the route 820 service at 8.10am will now depart from stop 'M'
    * route 852, 891 and 893 services will now arrive at stop 'O'
    * the route 870 service at 7.30am will now depart from stop 'M'
    * the route 890 service at 7.45am will now depart from stop 'N'.

[ozbob]

http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?1277775733

Minor route diversions for Brisbane bus services

Minor route diversions for Brisbane bus services

From Monday 26 July, minor diversions on some Brisbane bus routes will take place to improve efficiency and reliability.

Affected routes include:

    * 425 (Chapel Hill to City)
    * 430 (Fig Tree Pocket to City)
    * 435 (Brookfield to City)
    * 444 (Moggill to City)
    * 450 (Riverhills/Mt Ommaney to City)
    * 453 (Mt Ommaney to City)
    * 454 (Riverhills to City)
    * 460 (Forest Lake to City).

All outbound, off-peak services will divert via the Go Between Bridge and will no longer observe the 'Cribb Steet' stop on Coronation Drive, Milton.

[ozbob]

http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?1277772405

New high frequency Brisbane bus service

New high frequency Brisbane bus service

From Monday 26 July, route 412 will be upgraded to create a new high frequency service.

Extra services will create new operating frequencies:

    * every 10 minutes inbound and outbound (Monday to Friday peak)
    * every 15 minutes inbound and outbound (weekdays off-peak, weekends and public holidays)
    * every 5 minutes inbound during morning peak, and outbound during afternoon peak (operating UQ semesters only).

Updated timetables will be available closer to the service start date.

[Jon Bryant]

Surely bus lanes at least during peak hour must be next?

[ButFli]

Just one extra service for 199 is a joke and an insult. Many more buses are required to meet current demand let alone future growth.

The word around Brunswick St is that local commuters are sick and tired of subsidising public transport for others while they are constantly refused access to buses because they are full. It just isn't right.

[#Metro]

But ButFli, they might be full but they are 100% on time 

What about CityGlider and 196/7?

[ozbob]

Media Release 30 June 2010

SEQ:  Public transport promises of seats, almost there!

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters has welcomed the announcement of the bus package (1).  This will met the commitments made last October for 201,000 weekly public transport seats on bus.  Rail and ferry look like missing the promised deadlines however.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"The incremental improvements in bus services and routes announced by the Minister for Transport and TransLink are very welcome (1).  We are particularly delighted to note that the Go Between bridge is to be utilised for some western bus routes (2).  The western regions of Brisbane are public transport priority poor and the time savings made by these route variations will be welcomed by bus passengers. The creation of more bus lanes to give bus priority is needed across the network however."

"We understand the difficulties of major rail timetable changes whilst the major track amplification project between Corinda and Darra West is proceeding.  Signalling upgrades also need completion. We are looking forward to the completion of the branch line to Richlands. I recently had the opportunity to visit the almost completed Richlands railway station and this is looking tremendous (3).  The completion of these projects in the west will drive a rail revolution."

"We believe though that certain steps need to be taken now to improve rail frequency and capacity.  All three car train services in peak and during the day on the main network should be upgraded to six car.  Additionally some extra services need placement on the Caboolture line to cope with present peak congestion. The 2 hour week night gap on the Sunshine Coast line needs fixing.  It is very difficult for Sunshine Coast line commuters north of Caboolture who are not able to make the 7.27pm service; they are forced to wait two hours for the next service at 9.28pm. All services north of Caboolture should be with the toilet equipped Interurban Multiple Unit trains without exception."

"The real long term gains in bulk capacity for mass transit will be delivered by rail. It is important of course to continue to improve the bus and ferry network to provide options for all our community.  The bus package goes a long way to delivering those options. Thank you!"

References:

1. http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4023.msg29024#msg29024

2. 28 June 2010: SEQ: Opportunities for improved bus commutes from Western regions http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4012.0

3. http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=639.msg28661#msg28661

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org

[ButFli]

But ButFli, they might be full but they are 100% on time 

What about CityGlider and 196/7?

The 199 is not 100% on time. Nowhere near it. Even at supposed peak frequency of 5 minutes it can be 15 minutes between 199s and when one does turn up it is the oldest bus imaginable and packed to the gunnels.

CityGlider does not service Brunswick St and the 196/7 does help but at 15 minute frequency is not enough to pick up the slack left by the 199.

I am just sayin!

[somebody]

Just one extra service for 199 is a joke and an insult. Many more buses are required to meet current demand let alone future growth.

The word around Brunswick St is that local commuters are sick and tired of subsidising public transport for others while they are constantly refused access to buses because they are full. It just isn't right.

I understand your frustration.  I also am not happy with the fare structure which has far too much of the fare collected as flagfall rather than zone charge.

I am convinced that there is a need for a full time Ivory St routing of the 199.

[STB]

Nice to see extra 134 services (my Tutor will be happy!).  Will ease the squeeze currently occuring out at the Nathan Campus every afternoon.

Pity there aren't extra 135 services though, for those coming from the East and South, once the 135 reaches Southbank in the mornings it's a sardine can.

[#Metro]

Why don't they put arctics on?

[STB]

Just one extra service for 199 is a joke and an insult. Many more buses are required to meet current demand let alone future growth.

The word around Brunswick St is that local commuters are sick and tired of subsidising public transport for others while they are constantly refused access to buses because they are full. It just isn't right.

I understand your frustration.  I also am not happy with the fare structure which has far too much of the fare collected as flagfall rather than zone charge.

I am convinced that there is a need for a full time Ivory St routing of the 199.

I have been told by those in the know (and the power) that the only reason the 199 gets rerouted at night through Ivory St is due to the taxis parking in the bus zone where the citybound 199 would normally stop out near the mall on Brunswick St.  TransLink apparently tried to get the police and Queensland Transport involved to move those taxis on but both refused, hence the 199 had to be rerouted.

[somebody]

Why don't they put arctics on?

Not sure why Brisbanites think of this solution so often.  A 15 minute frequency is OK, but hardly turn up and go in my book.  I'd far rather increase the frequency.

I am sure there is a need for more artics.  There simply aren't enough to go around to all the 66s, 111s, 169s, 130s, 150s, and their rockets.  Did I miss any artic routes there?

[somebody]

Just one extra service for 199 is a joke and an insult. Many more buses are required to meet current demand let alone future growth.

The word around Brunswick St is that local commuters are sick and tired of subsidising public transport for others while they are constantly refused access to buses because they are full. It just isn't right.

I understand your frustration.  I also am not happy with the fare structure which has far too much of the fare collected as flagfall rather than zone charge.

I am convinced that there is a need for a full time Ivory St routing of the 199.

I have been told by those in the know (and the power) that the only reason the 199 gets rerouted at night through Ivory St is due to the taxis parking in the bus zone where the citybound 199 would normally stop out near the mall on Brunswick St.  TransLink apparently tried to get the police and Queensland Transport involved to move those taxis on but both refused, hence the 199 had to be rerouted.

That's a joke.  The police refused to police?

[STB]

Sad but true.  (information given by those in the know - although from about 3 years ago when I first put forward the question over why?)

[somebody]

I think there is a need for the 412 to serve the "Hale St" stop on the outbound, between Hale St & Cribb St on Coronation Drive.  At least this stop is near the pedestrian underpass, although I'm not sure if there are any stairs down to the underpass.  It is already a far enough walk between Caxton St and "Cribb St" for Indro bound buses after the 433 & 445 stop running (or if you don't actually feel like waiting for an hourly service).  Now, it will be worse.  Perhaps they can make up for it with moving the outbound 412 stop to a location which is more logical anyway. EDIT: Doh!! Just realised this stop is no more due to the Coro outbound flyover.  Best solution would be a good train service on the Ipswich Line, but apparently we are not even to get a reasonable one.  It is a shame that provision wasn't made for buses here, but iI guess it is too late now.

No mention of them re-openning the "Boomerang St" stop on the other side of the road, which was quite useful.

[stephenk]

But ButFli, they might be full but they are 100% on time 

What about CityGlider and 196/7?

Are you being serious? In every instance that I have caught the 199, I have had to wait 50% longer than the timetabled frequency.

[#Metro]

Are you being serious? In every instance that I have caught the 199, I have had to wait 50% longer than the timetabled frequency.

 

Actually I was not being serious.

[somebody]

Interested to see that the 66 is getting a (required) service increase already - it just shows how successful running very high frequency bus services can be!

I may be flogging a dead horse here, but perhaps it is time to put forward the idea about the putting returning 331/332/341 rockets into revenue service between Roma St and RB&WH.

[ButFli]

Just one extra service for 199 is a joke and an insult. Many more buses are required to meet current demand let alone future growth.

The word around Brunswick St is that local commuters are sick and tired of subsidising public transport for others while they are constantly refused access to buses because they are full. It just isn't right.

I understand your frustration.  I also am not happy with the fare structure which has far too much of the fare collected as flagfall rather than zone charge.

I am convinced that there is a need for a full time Ivory St routing of the 199.

I have been told by those in the know (and the power) that the only reason the 199 gets rerouted at night through Ivory St is due to the taxis parking in the bus zone where the citybound 199 would normally stop out near the mall on Brunswick St.  TransLink apparently tried to get the police and Queensland Transport involved to move those taxis on but both refused, hence the 199 had to be rerouted.

That would only affect inbound services late at night. The 199 is also routed via Ivory St in peak times both inbound and outbound. The 195 is also routed this way.

Taxis parking in the stop could possibly have something to do with the bizarre late night routing, but it is not the only explaination for Ivory St routing. I thought it was pretty obvious it was routed this way to avoid having to do the big zigzag via Wickham and Warner Streets outbound and to a lesser extent to avoid congestion on Ann St inbound.

I personally don't have a problem with the way the 199 is routed now but I do think the 195 should get permanent Ivory St routing.

[somebody]

I personally don't have a problem with the way the 199 is routed now but I do think the 195 should get permanent Ivory St routing.

Do you mean the 196?  The 195 is a peak run which already has a permanent Ivory St routing.

[ButFli]

I personally don't have a problem with the way the 199 is routed now but I do think the 195 should get permanent Ivory St routing.

Do you mean the 196?  The 195 is a peak run which already has a permanent Ivory St routing.

No I meant 195. I meant it should stay that way.

Keep the express services as a separate route number. If I catch a 199 I should be able to be sure it will go via the Valley.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

HTML timetables for the upgraded 412 are available.

http://jp.translink.com.au/TransLinkPublicTimetable.asp?RouteCode=412&RouteNameDisplay=Route+412+-+Inbound&TimetableVehicle=BTBus&TimetableKey=2250&Direction=inbound&TimetableDate=26/7/2010 (Inbound)

http://jp.translink.com.au/TransLinkPublicTimetable.asp?RouteCode=412&RouteNameDisplay=Route+412+-+Inbound&TimetableVehicle=BTBus&TimetableKey=2250&Direction=outbound&TimetableDate=26/7/2010 (Outbound)

Check for Saturday and Sunday as well, and voilà, they'll have the same service levels as the BUZ routes.

[#Metro]

  Good work TransLink!

So why don't they call it 412 BUZ? Maybe they will?

[cartoonbirdhaus]

Well, according to this link, it's being marketed as a BUZ route - although I'd rather see the actual PDF timetable to confirm that detail.

[#Metro]

  Woooooo!

[david]

It looks like the 402 has been given a service boost as well  

Key Points:
- 10 minute frequency peak
- 20 minute frequency off-peak
- Runs all-day now - last service leaves at 9:31pm from Toowong  
- Even runs on Saturdays and Sundays at 20 minute frequency! (Used to only run Saturdays at 30 minute frequencies)

From Toowong to UQ: http://jp.translink.com.au/TransLinkPublicTimetable.asp?RouteCode=402&TimetableKey=1574&TimetableDate=26/7/2010&Direction=outbound&TimetableVehicle=BTBus

From UQ to Toowong:http://jp.translink.com.au/TransLinkPublicTimetable.asp?RouteCode=402&TimetableKey=1574&TimetableDate=26/7/2010&Direction=inbound&TimetableVehicle=BTBus

This is great news all round! This will definitely relieve the crowds in the morning! Perhaps they should convert the 402 to an UQ-Toowong non-stop bus, otherwise it could seem to many to be a major oversupply of buses given the 412 upgrade to "high frequency"

[Golliwog]

North West News July 21

Extra bus to run in peak hours

Residents of Albany Creek are to get additional bus services as part of a $5 million bus package announced last week.

State memeber for Everton Murray Watt said the busy 359 bus route would get an extra peak-hour service.

"This is great news for nothside residents, and the bus package has the potential to take up to 51,000 cars a week off Brisbane roads," Mr Watt said.

"I have been lobbying the Transport Minister for months to add services to this busy route, which carries more than 260,000 people a year.

"I know that this will help ease the travel rush in the mornings for people in Albany Creek."

But Brisbane City Council Public and Active Transport chairman Margaret de Wit said it was "ridiculous" that buses were being filled before they reached Brisbane ratepayers.

"Our ratepayers paid about $160 million last year for a bus network that was being used by people from other council areas who do not pay anything," she said.

"To have these buses specifically marked and restricted to two routes will not help address the issue of buses filling up in the outer suburbs with passengers from other council areas, forcing Brisbane ratepayers to wait for another bus."

The BCC really needs to build a bridge and get over it. I would much rather a network that connects the region than one that only services areas within the BCC area. They pay their money to Translink who rightly use it where its needed.

[Jonno]

BCC has no concerns spending billions on roads mostly used by people from outside the city so why get upset about 160 million spent on buses.

[WTN]

Good point. BCC should realise it's supposed to be public infrastructure. Why call it public transport/infrastructure when it can't be used by everyone, regardless of origin?

Makes me wonder if BCC would like tourists off BT buses and into the Clem7 and Go Between bridge in hire cars. That thought makes me sick.

[ozbob]

The big day is Monday (26th) ..

--> New Brisbane bus services

--> Improved running times for Brisbane bus services

[#Metro]

But Brisbane City Council Public and Active Transport chairman Margaret de Wit said it was "ridiculous" that buses were being filled before they reached Brisbane ratepayers.

"Our ratepayers paid about $160 million last year for a bus network that was being used by people from other council areas who do not pay anything," she said.

"To have these buses specifically marked and restricted to two routes will not help address the issue of buses filling up in the outer suburbs with passengers from other council areas, forcing Brisbane ratepayers to wait for another bus."

Time to take BT out of Brisbane City Council ownership!

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

New bus services hit the road

New bus services hit the road
DANIEL HURST
July 26, 2010 - 11:02AM

Brisbane university students and people travelling to hospital will be better served following the rollout of new bus services today, the state government says.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan today trumpeted the addition of nearly 1000 new weekly bus services across the city, which she said would make an extra 48,800 bus seats available each week.

The $5 million bus package was funded by the state government and delivered by Brisbane City Council, she said.

Ms Nolan said route 412 between the University of Queensland and the central business district would become Brisbane's 12th high-frequency bus route.

"There will be more regular services to and from busy centres such as the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, The University of Queensland and Griffith University," she said in a statement.

"There will be changes at the busy Garden City interchange, extra trips from Forest Lake, Parkinson, Browns Plains, Chermside and Aspley.

"Mansfield residents will see much improvement on morning and afternoon services on Routes 179 and 180 including extra trips on Sunday.

"Western suburbs also benefit with outbound, off-peak buses to suburbs such as Kenmore, Brookfield and Riverhills travelling via the Go Between Bridge instead of Milton Road — saving several minutes per service."

For more information, check out our list of the new Brisbane bus services, or visit www.translink.com.au and click on the new Brisbane bus services link.