Proposed new route - Browns plains Express via M2

[timh]

Was going through thinking about improving bus connections to Browns Plains when I realised the M2 is really underutilised. Seems to be only used by the 153 and 138, (and not for a very long way), neither of which go to Browns Plains.

My proposed route would be very much an Express service. It would start at Browns Plains, then go
Mount Lindsey Highway
M6
M2
Exit at Compton road and stop there (proposed new bus station, more on that below)
Hop back on M2, run Express to EMP.
Either terminate at EMP/GC or continue to city? Not sure which is more appropriate.

A new bus interchange/park and ride could be built on the corner of Persse/Compton road, essentially servicing southern Runcorn/Northern Stretton. You could name it Compton Road station or Stretton North station? Idk.

I might be foaming here but it seems like a sensible route idea to me. It would be a pretty high quality route in terms of speed and reliability as the M6/M2 usually has a pretty good run in the peaks as I understand it, due to them being effectively orbital toll routes.

If you really wanted to Gold plate it, you could build another busway station w/ park and ride where the M2 crosses Illaweena street. I don't think the corridor warrants its own dedicated busway though.

But since it's such low hanging fruit, I'm assuming others have thought of it and dismissed it. Any thoughts?

[Gazza]

Seems very specific. Basically fast journeys between 1 or 2 points.

File this in the category of the 77.

[timh]

Seems very specific. Basically fast journeys between 1 or 2 points.

File this in the category of the 77.

I might be wrong about the catchment then. I thought Browns Plains station/Grand Plaza was where a bulk of the patronage came from, perhaps I'm wrong and it's from the route to/from it.
You don't have to terminate at GC either if the City would be a more sensible destination.

I also wasn't aware we weren't fans of the 77. I thought it was a great route, I have a friend who catches it every day to work. Obviously yeah it is very specific but it does do a good job for what does.

[SurfRail]

Maybe there is a case for this - simply given the poor connectivity to Browns Plains in the absence of a railway or good bus priority along Mains Rd.  There are plenty of buses heading there from the CBD, just none particularly quick.  This would be in lieu of running P142s or P546s all the way to the CBD only in peak directions - now you just run this regularly all day instead.

I would only run it with 4 stops:
- Park Ridge park'n'ride
- Greenbank park'n'ride
- Browns Plains station
- 8MP station

Off-peak probably only needs to be the last 2.

I think you can distinguish this from the 77 because that offers only marginal time-saving considering the alternatives (eg 111 + 333) already have a grade-separated priority corridor through the bit being bypassed from RBWH to Buranda, and otherwise it just duplicates most of the route.  The time saving of this route plus a 111/555 would be much more significant compared with sitting on a 140, 150 or even a P141.

I would be much less critical of the 77 if it was along these lines (say if it only went from the RBWH, then non-stop to the PA Hospital busway, then on to UQ Lakes - instead of just being a single-seat trip from Chermside to 8MP).

Similar considerations for other services that would leverage a quick motorway trip to fix a gap in the system (eg between the Ipswich and Beenleigh lines). 

Services like this are still pretty common in Singapore even with the massive rail investment they have had.

[aldonius]

I'd estimate Browns Plains boardings at 20% of the 140's patronage. About half of that, 10% of total patronage, is going to or beyond Mater Hill (i.e. the greater City).

If you want to run a route via the M2 then I think it would work for a P-Rocket but be not much use otherwise. (And don't terminate at Browns Plains station; it's not a park and ride. I'd go to Park Ridge.) I'm agnostic about continuing to the CBD from Garden City.

---

On the sidetrack, I think the 77 provides value in going through the tunnel. How far north and south its endpoints ought to be is a question of what journeys are being made end-to-end. The strongest demand pairings are from Griffith / Mt G / 8MP to and from Chermside, so I'm OK with it as is (at least as opposed to a straight truncation).

The only change usually suggested on RBoT is to send it to UQ instead as the "79". I wouldn't necessarily do that, but I do think that transferring at O'Keefe St is a bad experience. (Going to/from UQ via the 77, Buranda has better infrastructure but a whirlwind of irrelevant City buses, and of course lower UQ frequency.)

@SurfRail when the transfers lined up I once saved over 10 minutes from my usual Ferny line to UQ commute, by switching to a 77 at Windsor. I definitely wouldn't send the "79" to RBWH, because it wouldn't be any significant time saving compared to the (very frequent) 66 and the turnaround is backwards. Instead, I think Albion station is a goer.

[timh]

Maybe there is a case for this - simply given the poor connectivity to Browns Plains in the absence of a railway or good bus priority along Mains Rd.  There are plenty of buses heading there from the CBD, just none particularly quick.  This would be in lieu of running P142s or P546s all the way to the CBD only in peak directions - now you just run this regularly all day instead.

I would only run it with 4 stops:
- Park Ridge park'n'ride
- Greenbank park'n'ride
- Browns Plains station
- 8MP station

Yeah that was my thought. You could almost think of this as a trunk route much like th busway, providing a faster, more direct service between nodes, with limited stops. Going past Browns Plains and to those Park n rides sounds like a winner. Feeding into Metro services at EMP is fine by me.

What do you think of the idea of another Park n ride at Compton road?



Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Cazza]

On initial look, I feel you'd want to terminate it at Garden City. A much larger destination than 8MP in itself as well as the abundance of onward connections.

[achiruel]

On initial look, I feel you'd want to terminate it at Garden City. A much larger destination than 8MP in itself as well as the abundance of onward connections.

100% agree, terminating at EMP when GC is a few minutes away and offers so many more connection opportunities. EMP is basically only useful for the busway and a couple of infrequent suburban tours. I also think if you force commuters to transfer twice in such a short distance, it could act as a disincentive and people will just jump in their cars. The reality is, there's probably excess capacity between EMP and GC already, but EMP is not a great terminus for northbound routes.

[James]

I like this idea, particularly including the stop at Compton Road. Provides a nice link to the busway & Metro eventually. All going well, your bus trip time of 20 minutes would feed well into your Metro trip time of 20 minutes.

Regarding a bus station at Compton Road - that's really a lot of concrete for not much value. All you'd really need to do is provide a bus stop on Persse Road (northbound) and on one of the entry or exit ramps (southbound). The bus bay on the exit ramp might be the biggest problem. You really don't want to send a bus into an interchange here as it would take several minutes each way. You're better off keeping them as close to the motorway as possible to ensure speed.

You should be able to then put a Park n Ride on one of the nearby patches of bushland (assuming they are all government-owned).

[HappyTrainGuy]

@SurfRail when the transfers lined up I once saved over 10 minutes from my usual Ferny line to UQ commute, by switching to a 77 at Windsor.

Slow trip

I personally think there needs to be more routes like the 77. In peak hour transit times can be 15-25 minutes faster on average (even better if the CCBS queue is in full effect) than express buses via CCBS. The route can be sped up even more by fixing/addressing the Chermside routing which can add up to 15 mins to the trip. And interchange at Chermside could be even better by having it connect to the interchange hub itself. It also takes pressure off the gympie road services for those that do short hauls as they run faster than the buz due to shorter dwell times and less overcrowding.

[tazzer9]

I really like this idea.  But as stated earlier, I would extend it to greenbank and park ridge.   But obviously this should only be pushed for the short berm and the real push should be getting the salisbury to beaudesert rail line going.