Gold Coast bus

[ozbob]

Queensland Parliament E-Petition

https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/Work-of-the-Assembly/Petitions/Petition-Details?id=4062

JACOBS WELL BUS SERVICES

TO: The Honourable the Speaker and Members of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland

Queensland residents draws to the attention of the House, the urgent need to provide a regular daily bus service for the residents of Jacobs Well area. The funding was included in the June 2022 Queensland State Budget; however, the bus service has not yet been provided.

Jacobs Well is an important hub within the Northern Gold Coast and is adjacent to the region identified as the area that will accommodate the largest proportion of the sub regions planned greenfield growth with Jacobs Well undergoing significant population growth. As such, Jacobs Well and the cane lands need to be supported by appropriate transport infrastructure.

The 721 and 722 bus services between Ormeau and Coomera Train Stations, were upgraded on the 13th of February 2023 but, once again, Jacobs Well and the cane lands were left without a service of any sort.

Now is the time for the State Government to act to provide these urgently needed bus service upgrades.

Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to do all in its power to ensure the Department of Transport and Main Roads work to assure that a regular daily bus service is provided, to enable people to connect to the transport hub of Ormeau Train Station and nearby Pimpama shopping precinct is delivered, as a matter of urgency.

Response file: https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/apps/E-Petitions/Home/DownloadResponse/bac2b221-8630-4452-8651-765229bd822b

30 May 2024

Mr Neil Laurie
The Clerk of the Parliament
Parliament House
George Street
BRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Mr Laurie

I refer to petition 4062-24, lodged with the Legislative Assembly by Mr Michael Crandon MP,
Member for Coomera on 30 April 2024 about the need to provide a regular daily bus service for the
residents of Jacobs Well area.

The Miles Government acknowledges the northern Gold Coast as one of the fastest growing areas
in Australia, with significant demand for public transport. That is why a total of
$16.4 million has been jointly committed with Gold Coast City Council over five years for bus
network improvements in the northern Gold Coast area.

These improvements are being delivered across three stages, with Stage 1 implemented on
13 February 2023, providing improved service frequencies and extended span of hours for routes
721, 722 and 726 in Coomera Waters, Pimpama and Upper Coomera.

On 19 June 2023, Stage 2 was implemented with two new buses routes—720 and 724—
providing 284 weekly trips for Coomera and Pimpama on either side of the Pacific Motorway.
Stage 3 is in detailed planning, with bus stops currently being constructed to support the
introduction of services in Pimpama and Jacobs Well, and the review of bus services between
Ormeau and Beenleigh. Further information will be made available once planning has been
finalised, with new services planned to commence later in 2024.

The community will be updated on the progress.

I trust this information is of assistance.

Yours sincerely

BART MELLISH MP
Minister for Transport and Main Roads
Minister for Digital Services

[SurfRail]

Service changes on 23 September 2024 - this is the expected third and final stage of improvements to the northern suburbs.

The numbering plan needs some work in future.  Routes 731 and 735 are about 20km away from the closest point served by new Route 732 and even further from Route 733.

https://www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/news/transport/new-bus-routes-serving-jacobs-wells-ormeau-pimpama-revealed/news-story/d78a30c910096ac0614babc3d9fffcb3

https://translink.com.au/updates/547941

[nathandavid88]

Great to see Jacobs Well getting a service finally, though a higher frequency would have been nice.

[SurfRail]

^ It's higher than justified in my view - at least with the current pattern of settlement (and considering how poor some other services are elsewhere in the city in much more established and heavily populated areas).

Irritatingly, and true to form for TransLink these days, they don't even have the timetables up yet.  Why would you even bother without that being in place?  Sigh.

Really need to fix the numbering plan though.  I would just reorganise it as far as is possible along these lines so it makes a bit more sense:

- 70# - reserve for the southern coastal corridor and the busiest services that aren't light rail
- 71# / 72# - generally north of the Coomera River (Beenleigh, Ormeau, Pimpama, Coomera etc)
- 73# / 74# - generally Coomera River to Nerang River (Broadwater, Pacific Pines, Helensvale, Southport, Ashmore etc)
- 75# / 76# - generally Nerang River to Tallebudgera Creek (Nerang, Carrara, Merrimac, Robina, Mudgeeraba, Varsity Lakes, Burleigh Waters etc)
- 77# / 78# - generally south of Tallebudgera Creek (Palm Beach, Elanora, Tugun, Kirra, Coolangatta etc)
- 79# - reserve for rail replacement or other special services

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> New bus routes serving Jacobs Wells, Ormeau, Pimpama revealed $

The northern Gold Coast is to get two new bus routes, including the first to service the growing community of Jacobs Well, following a long-running campaign by locals.

In a huge boost for the area, the two new routes, which are part of a joint $16.4 million investment by council and the state government, will begin services on Monday September 23. ...

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Woman rushed to hospital with life-threatening head injuries after bus strike in Southport $

A woman hit by a bus on a pedestrian crossing in Southport has a fractured skull and a brain bleed.

The 41-year-old is recovering from the serious head injuries in hospital after she was hit by the bus while walking across a pedestrian crossing.

It occurred at the corner of Hinze and Davenport streets at about 8am on Monday. ...

[ozbob]

Gold Coast Bulletin --> Fast transit bus lanes from Nerang and Robina will link with light rail $

Rapid bus transit routes with their own lanes will be built east-west across the Gold Coast before being transformed for tram tracks, in a City bid to fix the city's gridlock.

City transport officers in a briefing to councillors revealed talks had begun with the State Government planners on creating bus lanes to later covert to more expensive light rail links.

The City's proposed 2031 public transport plan includes protecting light rail corridors between Robina to Nobby Beach, Bundall to Southport and north from Parkwood to Biggera Waters.

The key takeaways from the latest briefing are:

* Robina to Nobby Beach or Miami along with Nerang to Broadbeach would be the first links in a high-frequency bus service.

* The bus routes would have lanes free of traffic and connect to new bus stations.

* The buses have rapid transit branding to encourage use. Some could be electric.

"With light rail being a very expensive proposal, the idea is to look at bus rapid transit option which is something to transition to light rail in the longer term," an officer said. ...

[ozbob]

^

Interview 28th September 2024

ABC Radio Gold Coast Saturday Breakfast Host Spencer Howson and Robert Dow RBoT discuss the EW BRT Proposal for the Gold Coast

Here --> https://backontrack.org/docs/abcgc/abc_gc_SH_RD_28sep24.mp3 MP3 5.5MB

[verbatim9]

This is the second proposal, I hope it gets up.

[ozbob]

https://x.com/railbotforum/status/1840006219748257897