Yarrabilba urban bus

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> First electric bus service charges into action at Yarrabilba


Catch this electric bus and save the environment and get to centres including the Hyperdome.

The state's first fully electric urban bus route has taken charge in one of Logan's growth suburbs with daily services running to major shopping centres.

THE state's first fully electric urban bus route has taken charge in one of Logan's growth suburbs, Yarrabilba.

Estate developer Lendlease and Logan Coaches led the charge today launching Queensland's first electric urban bus service and marking a new era in public transport for the state.

The electric bus follows LendLease's move in 2017, when Yarrabilba became the first masterplanned community in Australia to install a fast electric car charger.

It will be the first electric bus service in Queensland to have a full timetable.

Lendlease said it showed the developer's commitment to environmental initiatives at Yarrabilba, a leader in sustainable masterplanned communities.

The Yutong-manufactured bus was unveiled at Yarrabilba Sales this morning, when residents got the first ride in the fully airconditioned 40-seater, which will begin official duties on the weekend.

The bus has 12 batteries, with overnight charging delivering a driving range of up to 380km. The vehicle's zero emissions and ultra-quiet, smoother operation brings a new dimension to the heavy vehicle industry.

The bus will operate on a Logan Coaches continuous loop from Yarrabilba with stops at Yarrabilba Dve to Loganlea, Logan Hyperdome and as far as Beenleigh, from 6.15am to 7.30pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5.30pm on Saturday.

Yarrabilba is a masterplanned community which has achieved a six-star green star communities rating, the highest grading for sustainable developments in Australia.

[ozbob]

https://www.logancoaches.com.au/images/pdf/canungratimetable.pdf

[SurfRail]

The current intention is that a TransLink service will be introduced some time mid-next year.  I strongly suspect they won't be operating it but you never know.

[verbatim9]

We already have electric cars and now a 100% electric bus has hit the streets in South East Queensland. It will take commuters around the suburb of Logan, and could set the benchmark for the future of public transport. https://t.co/VZ3A1cpmr5 @LauraDymock #7NEWS https://t.co/LKZV9FrCFm

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/1195258003194204161

[achiruel]

^ "take commuters around the suburb of Logan"—seriously, who writes this crap?

[Cazza]

The Translink bus service to Yarrabilba has been announced: New Route 587 (https://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/service-updates/new-service-for-yarrabilba.pdf)

https://translink.com.au/service-updates/281386

From Monday 29 June, you'll be able to catch the new TransLink route 587 Yarrabilba to Loganlea station bus service.
The 587 will replace the existing privately run Tamborine to Beenleigh bus route, with several key benefits:

Key Points:
- 12 trips each way on weekdays (four more daily trips than the existing service)
- four trips a day each way on Saturdays
- the service will travel from Yarrabilba to Loganlea station, via Logan Village and Waterford West
- hourly services during peak
- two-hourly services during off-peak
- a  frequent and consistent timetable to provide better connections at Loganlea station
- the service will operate from 5.05am to 7.45pm on weekdays and 9am to 4.35pm on Saturdays
- cheaper fares, plus you can save even more by using your go card and/or travelling outside of peak times

[Golliwog]

https://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/service-updates/new-service-for-yarrabilba.pdf

Page 8:

Better for the Environment
The 587 will eventually become Queensland's first fully electric urban bus route, making your public transport journey more environmentally sustainable!The new electric buses have been ordered and will be introduced later in the year.

Interesting - anyone know any more?

[BrizCommuter]

So much for the "high frequency" bus service that was touted for Yarrabilba.

[ozbob]

So much for the "high frequency" bus service that was touted for Yarrabilba.

[verbatim9]

That electric service confirmed was from that trial Translink recently completed? Maybe it will lead to a roll out to other electric services around the State?

[verbatim9]

So much for the "high frequency" bus service that was touted for Yarrabilba.

Aren't we living in a 7 day economy? At least 6 days. So a better service on weekends is warranted.

[SurfRail]

The only meaningful changes are:

- Integration with the broader network and ticketing arrangements
- No more direct trip to the Hyperdome and Beenleigh

It doesn't represent any kind of serious investment.  This from the same mob who brought us no weekend services for Ripley (531) or Flagstone (535).  This only has 4 trips on Saturday because the current service does.

When will they learn?

[nathandavid88]

The Translink Service also doesn't service Tamborine Village, which the previous private route did, and doesn't service any stops on Waterford-Tamborine Road in Buccan. The reason given is "due to minimal customer demand and to make the route faster", but the fact they're now running a more regular service might have actually increased demand.

As for the fully electric service, Logan Coaches are still going to be operating this route, so it would be following on from their first electric bus introduced in November.

[City Designer]

587 is one digit off the first Brisbane Transport city express route to Forest Lake, the 588, now known as the 460.

[SurfRail]

The Translink Service also doesn't service Tamborine Village, which the previous private route did, and doesn't service any stops on Waterford-Tamborine Road in Buccan. The reason given is "due to minimal customer demand and to make the route faster", but the fact they're now running a more regular service might have actually increased demand.

As for the fully electric service, Logan Coaches are still going to be operating this route, so it would be following on from their first electric bus introduced in November.

I'd suggest it's beyond time there is a TransLink service not only to Tamborine Village but to North Tamborine and Eagle Heights too (either from Coomera or Helensvale).  Plenty of similar instances elsewhere (eg Montville / Maleny up here, the Mt Dandenong village connector routes in Melbourne).

[nathandavid88]

^^ I'd agree with that! Maybe one from Helensvale via Oxenford/Tamborine Road? I think that is probably the most bus-friendly road to up there.

I don't know whether a route up the mountain and then down again is viable though. Maybe Tamborine Village could be serviced by a route out to Canungra?

[verbatim9]

Yeah its really hard to get to Tambourine Village without car  If the cable car gets off the ground? A bus from Helensvale could link with the Cable Car to continue the trip Tambourine Village. 

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/1268429308650942464

[SurfRail]

^^ I'd agree with that! Maybe one from Helensvale via Oxenford/Tamborine Road? I think that is probably the most bus-friendly road to up there.

I don't know whether a route up the mountain and then down again is viable though. Maybe Tamborine Village could be serviced by a route out to Canungra?

I'd think Helensvale via the most direct route, which would follow the TX7 Movieworld (without diverting to the Wet n Wild or Movieworld internal stops), then Michigan Dr (a good chunk of which no longer has a bus service), then Tamborine Oxenford Rd to Long Walk then over to North Tamborine.  The mountain probably needs a local loop route too, half-hourly one-directional would do it.

I think you'd want something like a Beaudesert to Nerang route as well - that could divert to Tamborine Village, and connect to an extended 587.

I doubt you'd have a bus up the mountain via any of the other 3 access roads given the gradients and lack of anything on the way.  As it is, Tamborine Oxenford Rd already has no-standing restrictions.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/1273419664350216194

[SurfRail]

The previous electric bus used for this route has turned up in Sydney at various Opal operators. 

I understand there is a small fleet of electrics coming for permanent use on this run.

[achiruel]

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/1273419664350216194

There's a high frequency train service at Loganlea? 

I guess there kind of is, if you're going to Beenleigh, Altandi or Park Rd-Bowen Hills, but the difference in arrival time.

During off-peak, the 587 is scheduled to arrive 4 minutes before the city-bound express, which is tight, and 14 minutes before the all stopper, which is too long IMO.

Southbound it's a 14-minute wait for the all stopper and 25 minutes for the Gold Coast express.

Travelling outbound from the city, the Beenleigh train arrives 6 minutes before the bus departure, which is probably ok. Bus departs 25 minutes after the Gold Coast train.

For the Beenleigh->Yarrabilba travel direction, the all stopper comes in 6 minutes before the bus departs, and the express 16 minutes.

In summary, the connection from the all stops train to Loganlea in both directions to the outbound bus is good, the connections from the inbound bus with a 14 minute wait is not good. The 4 minute transfer to an inbound express will be too hit and miss IMO. There seems to be a 20 minute layover at both ends of the journey. I would look at moving to a 15 minute layover at the Loganlea end and 25 minutes at Yarrabilba, having the inbound bus at Loganlea arrive at :50 instead of :45, that way the wait to connect with trains travelling from Yarrabilba to Loganlea and beyond would be reduced to 9 minutes wait rather than 14, more acceptable IMO.

The situation isn't any better in peak, where it misses the inbound Beenleigh train by 1 minute, forcing a 14-minute wait during a 15-minute frequency period. There's also the possibility of getting an express but with only a 4 minute transfer time, it will be hit & miss too, I expect.

[Cazza]

https://translink.com.au/updates/28346

Route 587 to be extended down the road from Loganlea Station to Loganlea Hospital and TAFE as of 28 June. No additional services to be added.

Existing TT: https://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/acquiadam-assets/timetables/200629-587.pdf
New TT: https://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/acquiadam-assets/timetables/5817_587_tt_Yarrabilba_June_2021_WR.pdf

Weekdays, the bus seems to be leaving Yarrabilba 3mins later but arriving at Loganlea 5 mins earlier. Saturdays, it leaves Y'ba 6 mins later and gets into L'lea 1 min later.
In the other direction (weekdays), it leaves L'lea 11 mins later, arriving 3 mins later at Y'ba. Saturdays is also 11 mins later from L'lea, getting to Y'ba 7 mins later.

Someone can crunch the numbers with the bus/train connections if they have time.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/1406755499593408518

[achiruel]

Transfer times (off-peak) with the new 587 timetable:

Yarrabilba -> City/Airport: 9 minutes 
Yarrabilba -> City/Ferny Grove: 19 minutes (not so great, but I'm guessing Go Card data showed most people travelling to the CBD, so the express train is probably a better choice)
Yarrabilba -> Varsity Lakes: 0 minutes (so, effectively 30 minutes in practice)
Yarrabilba -> Beenleigh: 19 minutes

Seems like they're not expecting many people to travel south with those transfer times.

Going the other way:

Airport/City to Yarrabilba: 6 minutes   
Ferny Grove/City to Yarrabilba: 17 minutes
Varsity Lakes to Yarrabilba: 27 minutes
Beenleigh to Yarrabilba: 17 minutes

Pretty clear this is mainly designed for people travelling to/from Brisbane CBD/Airport (and maybe Altandi I guess), but that's probably where most of the patronage is. I certainly wouldn't want to catch it to/from the Gold Coast.

[SurfRail]

I think we need to be realistic about what service levels are going to be like at periurban estates like this.  I don't think the current timetable cuts the mustard (4 trips on Saturday, no Sunday services, big gaps) but it's not exactly going to be better than half-hourly in the weekday peak and hourly at other times, and you're not going to see substantial improvement in transfer times at Loganlea until trains start running more frequently all day long.

The place should not have been built.  For that matter, I would never have approved greenfield subdivisions anywhere between the Albert and Coomera Rivers.

[achiruel]

I think we need to be realistic about what service levels are going to be like at periurban estates like this.  I don't think the current timetable cuts the mustard (4 trips on Saturday, no Sunday services, big gaps) but it's not exactly going to be better than half-hourly in the weekday peak and hourly at other times, and you're not going to see substantial improvement in transfer times at Loganlea until trains start running more frequently all day long.

Not really expecting much, I was just interested to see how the connections lined up. Having said that, I think a little better could be useful, including maybe half-hourly during peak, running until at least 9pm on weekdays & Saturdays, and at least some kind of Sunday service.

The place should not have been built.  For that matter, I would never have approved greenfield subdivisions anywhere between the Albert and Coomera Rivers.

Agreed. However, we're now stuck with it. There needs to be some kind of car alternative, and a bus to Loganlea is about the best that can be offered.

Yes, it would have been good to leave some green space between Brisbane and the Gold Coast, even if some of it was farms and timber plantations rather than natural bushland. As it is, before too long we'll have a continual conurbation between Caboolture and Coolangatta in the not too distant future. At least there's still the forests at Beerburrum separating the Sunshine Coast.

FWIW, I don't know why more thought wasn't put into urbanising the area between Ipswich and Rosewood, with an existing rail line already in place.

[timh]

FWIW, I don't know why more thought wasn't put into urbanising the area between Ipswich and Rosewood, with an existing rail line already in place.

Agreed, and we've raised this issue before. There is a small number of new estates going in at Walloon but nothing on the scale of stuff like Ripley or Yarrabilba. I was wondering if it was lack of good road connections on the rosewood rail corridor, considering the main road through there (Karrabin-Rosewood road) is pretty small, but then again it's no worse than Waterford-Tamborine road running to Yarrabilba.

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