18 Feb 2011: SEQ: Why our "Busways on Steel Wheels" must be better used

[ozbob]

Media release 18 February 2011

SEQ: Why our "Busways on Steel Wheels" must be better used

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 wants existing rail assets to be better utilised for the transport task.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"Busways have been built to be complementary to the rail system, 'filling in the gaps' if you like. This means that everywhere that there isn't a busway, there's probably a pre-existing rail station and in fact SEQ actually has five times the number of rail stations as it has busway stations (1).

"There is no reason why pre-existing rail assets cannot be cheaply and quickly converted to a rapid transit system and operated in the same way as a busway system in 5 steps (2,3):

1. Frequency. Services must be frequent (15 minutes or better) all day

2. Scope of Hours. Frequent services must be available 6 am - 10pm, 7 days with a single weekend timetable

3. Integration. Feeder buses or Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) should be run out of most train stations

4. Branding. Train Upgrade Zones (TUZ) is the rail equivalent of the Bus Upgrade Zone (BUZ) for buses.

5. Simplicity and Stability. The same general operating patterns should operate 7 days.(4)

"This can be done where current infrastructure permits; no new infrastructure is required. Existing trains, that currently sit idle in stabling as surplus from the peak hour, could be used. This means that such an initiative will be faster and cheaper to rollout than many things listed in the Connecting SEQ 2031 document. This is achieveable now(5).

"Rail lines offer Class A right of way equivalent to that of busways; they offer a similar level of flexibility with express trains being provided in the peak hour on many lines; the stop spacing between train stations in the suburbs is generally similar to that of busways; passengers could catch the train from their suburban bus stop using frequent feeder buses if they were integrated on. Passengers will happily transfer if given a frequent connecting service they can rely on where walking distance is absolutely minimised (6). This works in Perth and other cities worldwide (7), and timetable reviews will add capacity to handle the increased passenger load (8).

"Rail lines are Brisbane's 'busways on steel wheels' and that's how they should be seen because in reality, they do the same job, it's just that the vehicle is different and that they are located where the busway stations are not. The 30 minute standard off-peak frequency is highly unpopular and should be abolished. If our busways only ran a bus every half hour, they too would register low patronage and exhibit stark "peakiness" of passenger demand. Perth runs trains every 15 minutes in the off-peak on all lines using identical trains to Brisbane, so there is no obvious reason why Brisbane can't do it too (9).

"In any medium to large city, the passenger transport task is best served by a family of transport modes working in an integrated way. Brisbane has a busway system that it can be proud of, but there is no reason why we cannot also have a world class rail system to complement that too."

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org


References and notes:

1. SEQ has over 100 train stations, and around 22 busway stations. Even within the Brisbane City Council boundaries, the number of train stations easily outnumber busway stations.

2. Rail Rapid Transit (RRT), like BRT or LRT is a term we use for a frequent (15 min or better, preferably 10 minutes or better off-peak) train service running in a prioritised or exclusive right of way with integrated frequent 'Feeder BUZ' bus connections at stations and high frequency branding. This is to distungish it from purpose-built, dedicated true metro systems.

3. BUZ routes: Frequency and Reliability, the winning formula http://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/2123/6058/1/thredbo10-themeA-Warren.pdf This paper shows that if you provide frequent service, people will use the service. Unprecedented patronage growth of 100% overall and 200% + (on Sundays) occurred within 4 years. This is simply too fast a change to be attributed to density increases in the city, and highlights that a lot of 'low demand' is a direct result of poor service quality.

4. Things like Shorncliffe terminators at South Bank on the weekend are to be discouraged and a single weekend timetable rather than a mix of Saturday- or Sunday-only services is preferred. For example, would it make sense for BUZ 199 to take a different route on the weekends or start from a different stop part way down the line? If it is not OK for trunk bus routes, why is it OK for trunk rail lines?

5. Long term planning is commendable, but there is also a need for solutions that can be enacted in the very short term (months to 2 years).

6. A 300 person survey conducted by State Member of Parliament, Dr. Bruce Flegg revealed that 75% of respondents indicated they would rail more often if there buses were better integrated with Indooroopilly Rail station. http://westside-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/survey-supports-bus-rail/

Similar results are found from internal RAIL Back on Track Polling http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4109.0 http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4416.0 This re-affirms our view that people are happy to transfer if conditions are made favourable, and that walking distances must be minimised absolutely. In Perth, specially constructed bus overpasses are used and in Toronto, Canada, specially constructed short busways are used to bring passengers right into the station.

7. Perth's new Mandurah line replaced a pre-exisiting median busway and introduced interchange where there was a previous direct, transfer free bus trip, and despite this, the patronage on this service went up significantly, not down. (at 3:25 minutes Dr Peter Newman compares patronage of the direct bus service with the train service that replaced it)

8. New draft timetable will add 5 extra trains between 7am-7:59 am heading towards the CBD at Indooroopilly. There will always be a need for direct bus services and that should continue, but there is also a need for frequent services to train stations.

9. http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/