12 Apr 2015: Brisbane Bus Reform: Bigger Better Buses for Brisbane!

[ozbob]

Media release 12th April 2015



Brisbane Bus Reform: Bigger Better Buses for Brisbane!

RAIL Back on Track calls on Transport Minister Jackie Trad to take action and fix Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's bus network. Under our New Bus Network Proposal, Brisbane will have Australia's best bus network within two years.

New Bus Network Proposal (Updated)
>> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Current Brisbane City Council Bus Network
>> http://tiny.cc/checkyourbus

Report: Frequency is Freedom
>> http://backontrack.org/docs/bus/reform/BusReformBlueprint.pdf

Super Sized Super-buses

MAN Lion´s City GL CNG – Bus of the Year 2015

Super-buses can carry 150 passengers in one go. Upgrading the bus fleet means more capacity for passengers during peak hours, more efficient use of staff labour and therefore allows more buses to be put on elsewhere in the network.

RAIL Back on Track proposes super-sizing buses on the following routes:

Route 66 RBWH to UQ Lakes via Busway
Route 222 Carindale Interchange via Old Cleveland Rd
Route 333 Chermside Interchange
Route 400 Centenary to CBD (new service)
Route 412 CBD-St Lucia

With all door boarding, high speed and modern new super-buses it will be the closest passenger experience to Light Rail without actually laying the track.

Bus Reform can be a signature project by the current administration, and can be completed entirely within the first term of office. Our members would like to see some action now that the election is over.

References:

1. Fixing Graham Quirk's Broken Bus Network
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg154120#msg154120

2. MAN Lion's City GL CNG is "Bus of the Year 2015"
http://www.bus.man.eu/global/en/city-buses/man-lions-city-cng/bus-of-the-year-2015/Bus-of-the-Year-2015.html

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

Discussion --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg154991#msg154991

[ozbob]

8th May 2015

Greetings,

Brisbane Bus Reform: Call for public to choose CentenaryGlider colour

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport passengers has called on the public to help decide what the colour of our proposed 400 CentenaryGlider should be.

We are calling on the public to help us nominate what colour our CentenaryGlider should be. Go to our campaign website at http://tiny.cc/centenaryglider, learn more about our proposal and submit your suggestions there. Some of the more novel choices include Silver, Gold and Rainbow.

The proposed CentenaryGlider would run every 10 minutes and begin at Darra station, travel through Riverhills, Middle Park, Mt Ommaney, Jindalee, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, Coronation Drive and the Brisbane CBD. Superbuses capable of carrying 150 passengers would be used along with high-speed stop spacing to make the service as close to Light Rail as possible. Services would run 24 hours on Friday and Saturday nights.

RAIL Back on Track's 12-month review of the Brisbane City Council bus network identified a need for a CentenaryGlider service in the Centenary suburbs. The sad fact is that after two rounds of bus reviews, public transport services in the Centenary suburbs are as bad as ever.

Our research shows that the more bus routes that are in an area, the worse, not better, public transport in that area tends to be. For example, there are 15 different bus routes to the Centenary area. Not a single one of those services come every 15 minutes. Compare this to Moggill which has just two bus routes - an express bus P443 in peak hour and a BUZ 444 coming every 15 minutes all day. Moggill residents are getting a far better bus service with two bus routes than Centenary residents are with fifteen bus routes.

The Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and Deputy Premier Jackie Trad really need to get behind this. Patronage on Brisbane City Council's bus network is falling and that could mean in the future that bus drivers lose their jobs simply because they don't have the customers to justify running those bus services. The people of Centenary suburbs aren't happy with public services in their area, and you can see that reflected in the fact that the seat of Mt Ommaney is only held by 0.23%.

Bus reform means more buses more often, and will give Brisbane Australia's best bus network in 2 years.

Best wishes,
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

References:

Centenary of Public Transport Neglect
http://backontrack.org/docs/swn/swn_28mar12_p5.jpg

Brisbane Buses: Call for CityGlider in the Centenary Suburbs
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-buses-call-for-cityglider-in-centenary-suburbs-20141104-11gxl3.html

Brizcommuter Blog
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2013_03_01_archive.html

Hundreds sign for more sustainable transport
http://www.thesatellite.com.au/news/hundreds-sign-for-more-sustainable-transport/575554/

Bus routes neglected
http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/bus-routes-neglected/1768555/