Article: Buses fill at record pace in March

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Buses fill at record pace in March

Buses fill at record pace in March
Daniel Hurst
May 20, 2011 - 3:00AM.

March was the worst month on record for full buses, with Brisbane City Council drivers notifying their superiors they could not fit in any more passengers almost 6400 times.

Figures released to brisbanetimes.com.au show the number of fully loaded buses in the post-flood months of February, March and April were much higher than in the same months last year.

Bus drivers recorded 6398 instances when there was no standing room left on their vehicles in March, nearly 23 per cent more than in the corresponding month last year.

Council confirmed that month had the highest ever number of full buses but pointed out this still represented only 2.77 per cent of total trips.

There were also 4254 full buses in April (15 per cent higher than the same month last year) and 2821 in February (up 25 per cent).

Council said the routes with the highest number of full buses over the past few months were the 412 (St Lucia and University of Queensland to the city via Toowong), 109 (CBD to UQ via Eleanor Schonell Bridge) and 130 (Algester to City).

Both 412 and 130 are high-frequency 'buz' routes, meaning there should be only a short wait until the next bus.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said Brisbane's buses carried 77 million passengers last year but "consistently we're only seeing about one or two per cent of bus trips reported full each month".

"This is always a busy time of the year with school and university heading back and we find things usually tend to settle down as the year goes on and people don't all try to catch the same service at the same time," he said.

Cr Quirk said more buses were being rolled out than ever before, but at the end of the day the state government was responsible for putting more services on the busy routes.

He said he hoped the government's announcement this week of extra bus services would help relieve some of the pressure.

A TransLink spokesman said the transport authority was working to meet growing demand.

He said 110,000 extra seats would be made available to bus commuters each week as more services were rolled out this financial year.

"In July 2010, TransLink successfully targeted some of Brisbane's busiest routes with a $5 million bus package, including additional services on routes 130 (Algester to CBD), 140 (Browns Plains to CBD) and 150 (Browns Plains to CBD), plus an upgrade for route 412 (UQ to CBD) to a high-frequency service," the spokesman said.

"The introduction of route 88 (Eight Mile Plains to Indooroopilly via CBD) in December 2010 was also successful in reducing overcrowding on the 111 (Eight Mile Plains to CBD) and 444 (Moggill to CBD)."

The spokesman acknowledged "significant patronage growth" on route 412 and said this was behind plans to add extra services to routes 428, 427, 432 services, which connect UQ with the Indooroopilly station and shopping centre.

Robert Dow, from public transport lobby group Rail Back on Track, said he believed the disruption to the CityCat and CityFerry services after the flood had had only a minor influence on the full bus figures.

He said an increase in university enrolments may have played a role.

"The reports we've had from people is that there is a problem with overloaded buses," he said.

"It's an issue that doesn't seem to be going away; it seems to be getting progressively worse."

Mr Dow said he was concerned the bus system was starting to reach capacity in peak times.

"I think it just reflects the fact that bus system can't cope with much more," he said.

Full bus figures were not available for January – the month the flood hit the city – as cut services and the post-disaster free travel period affected the count.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/buses-fill-at-record-pace-in-march-20110519-1eupf.html#ixzz1Mp0BE2zu

[somebody]

 

[shiftyphil]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Buses fill at record pace in March

Both 412 and 130 are high-frequency 'buz' routes, meaning there should be only a short wait until the next bus.

Not so useful when the next bus is also full.

[#Metro]

Both 412 and 130 are high-frequency 'buz' routes, meaning there should be only a short wait until the next bus.

Not so useful when the next bus is also full.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

[Fares_Fair]

Hello Tramtrain,

Could you please add this to the new post.

Regards,
Fares-Fair.

[ozbob]

Poll at Brisbanetimes on this article ..

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

Poll: Transport funding
A record number of Brisbane buses reached capacity in March.

Which form of public transport is most in need of more investment?

Buses   36%

Trains   50%

CityCats and ferries 1%

None, save the money and spend it on bike and footpaths 5%

None, save the money and spend it on roads 8%

Total votes: 357.

[ozbob]

Radio 612 ABC Brisbane Drive Host Kelly Higgins-Devine did a series of interviews on full buses this afternoon.

TransLink  Andrew Berkman, Cr Julian Simmons (Chair Active and Public Transport BCC) and yours truly.

[#Metro]

Do they ever post these interviews online? I've gone to the ABC site but I can never find them.

[ozbob]

http://www.abc.net.au/brisbane/programs/612_drive/

Drive show only puts up the odd ones, not all.   Looks like the bus ones are not up.

Basically TL and BCC maintained the party line - more of the same. TL talked up high frequency bus corridor Indooroopilly rail to UQ.  I spoke about the capacity issues and ways to overcome, including more cross suburban (Smart bus like), bus priority (even mentioned Coro Drive as an example), the need to properly feed both rail and bus, need to ramp rail. Mentioned INB overload issues as well. All very positive actually.  I thought what I said was a great counter point to both TL and BCC.   Kelly pre-recorded my interview earlier this afternoon (I was actually at the base of the Goodna footbridge, as I was uncertain of my travel movements around 5.15pm.  Fortunately I was able to listen in.

[somebody]

Mentioned INB overload issues as well.

You mean you did?  Was there any response from TL?

[ozbob]

Mentioned INB overload issues as well.

You mean you did?  Was there any response from TL?

Not on air, as my interview was prerecorded and I was last.  But good to have it mentioned on radio.  I am sure both TL and BCC were listening ...

[somebody]

Basically TL and BCC maintained the party line - more of the same.

That is very disappointing.  Do you mean in some specific way?

[ozbob]

TL just highlighted the new services, BCC's answer was just more of the same essentially.  I will email 612 to see if the interviews can be made available.

[#Metro]

"let them eat cake"

[dwb]

It is a shame that every March commuters try using the bus to get to uni and school and then get fed up with how many are overfull and go back to their cars. Perhaps if there were more services in March, the peak would carry through to some of the other months as people keep their newly formed habits in place?

[somebody]

A couple of late points:
- 130 is consistently overloaded.  Perhaps this should go to full time bendy.  Or at least greater consistency to the application of the bendy buses - I doubt there is much point in bendies on Sunday evening of course.  I doubt that a Hellawell Rd routing would reduce loadings (probably increase it), but would increase the 140 so I think it should be done.
- 333 is overloaded in the PM peak.  Could this be because of the crappy PM peak 332 service?  There was something about this in 30 issues, I'm pretty sure.

Is there any point in pushing these things further?

[Jonno]

Bus lanes are essential so that full buses are at least not stuck in congested traffic and are full for the shortest time possible. If a route is constantly full despite route saturation (i.e can not really fit more buses on the route) then higher capacity vehicles such at trams need to be adopted. 

As we drive towards a doubling of current PT usage I cannot see the current no bus lane, single seat, hundred of routes network design bring able to move the volumes needed.