Blue CityGlider Extension to Portside Hamilton

[STB]

Ok, I kinda think that I've started something here...

Just some thoughts...

I certainly agree with BUZZING route 300, been on my radar for many years as a potential BUZ route.

I tend to agree with the strategy developed in some form way back in 2007ish which was attached to the Australia East Coast Trade Project that was planned out over a decade ago with some changes....

I'd suggest extending route 304 to DFO and/or Toombul and/or Eagle Junction to act as a crosstown route connecting with trains at Doomben and either Toombul or EJ, and obviously the CityCat.  In terms of actual routing, that's up for debate, however it could potentially lead to a redesign of route 301, potentially straighting that route out.

I wouldn't dwell too much on driver facilities, those can be built or drivers can be rostered away from the terminus to do another route elsewhere after completing that run, it's not really a major issue, given buses are a lot more flexible than trains in where they can dwell.

Any route design and network review obviously needs to take in account current travel patterns, land use (current and future), where people would like their buses to take them and ensuring key locations are captured.

Route 300 in it's current form is already well established, provides a decent service in the western older part of Ascot and is already very well patronized.  I know anecdotally from catching the 300 on odd occassions during the day, the 300 does get quite packed by Breakfast Creek and frankly north of Fortitude Valley, there is a need to make the network more clearer.

I don't think a Glider type service is the best use of resources though, especially in Metros original post where you essentially miss a large portion of the population by going via the motorway.  Nudgee Rd would be far better opportunity at boosting patronage in the eastern part of Ascot/Doomben.

[HappyTrainGuy]

All this talk of buses on a turn up and go glider scale at a deserted woolies in the middle of nowhere at 1am and yet most of Brisbane's northside still has no decent public transport service running hourly or two hourly tourist services during the day. With some of those routes changing depending on the time or day, if its a school term, if its peak hour or if the world is on fire. Might as well propose an elevated maglev train running to Skygate from Geebung.

[achiruel]

The 300 is slow. A proposed Skygate Glider would take 35-40mins max.

Ok but the 300 takes 30 mins Toombul to Anzac Square so I think you're being a bit biased here.

Takes at least 40 mins and that's on a good run.

That's probably the case but who is taking the 300 from Toombul to Anzac Sq? Train is far quicker. The main travel on the 300 to the city would be from Ascot/Hamilton, the northern section would be for more localised travel (people going shopping at Toombul and/or connecting to the train and other bus services.

[aldonius]

About 20% of Toombul boardings take it all the way to the city. There's very little stop-to-stop patronage on the 300 presently.

On an inbound trip, the vast majority of alightings at any stop between Toombul and Breakfast Creek are all just from Toombul. The majority of boardings are City-bound for almost every stop.

[James]

I am not talking about a service for Woolies. You, James and Gazza are fixated on Woolworths for some kind of reason, being positive or negative.

Afaik there's nothing else at Skygate open 24/7. I think there's a chemist and an airport hotel. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's why I'm fixated on it, because as far as I know that's all that's open there past 9pm

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

I am fixated on the Woolies because it is the only thing open outside the hours of 10am - 6pm. It is literally the only demand generator. Without it, the place is desolate, you'd get more patronage through an Upper Brookfield Glider or a Pinkenba Glider.

Likewise the airport hotel - it is expensive. You stay there because you are close to the airport and will be leaving Brisbane, not because you want to do brunch on Racecourse Road before your 11am flight to Melbourne or stay for a week.

PS the CityGliders run every 15 minutes between 11:30pm - 5:30am on Friday & Saturday nights. Refer the timetable (noting public holidays at this time of year): https://jp.translink.com.au/plan-your-journey/timetables/bus/t/60/inbound/2020-12-27?timetableTime=0200

Nearly 24,000 people currently work at the airport and Skygate precinct (pre-covid) every day 24/7 and there are over 425 businesses servicing a diverse range of industries.

A new Skygate Flyer can potentially service some of these workers.

Again, most of these workers are working between 9am - 7pm (with retail between 10am - 6pm). You would only have a few checkout workers from Woolies / the Chemist and the hotel working overnight, and that would be skeleton staff, because employing people to work from 11pm - 7am is expensive.

Sure, provide a service, I'm not against that. It just doesn't need to be a 24/7 high-frequency service, which a Glider is.

[Gazza]

^Agreed, and Philosophically, i think for the time being more focus should be on providing more of SEQ with high frequency services between 7am and 9pm, 7 days a week.

Rather than the uneven approach which sees some areas receive gilder services that are perhaps a bit excessive meanwhile areas with solid demand don't even get good daytime service.