Toowoomba Transport

[#Metro]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toowoomba#Transport

City is crossed by a number of rail lines, stations already there.
Might work with light rail, depending on density.

[Jon Bryant]

Could be used as a trial to show how if frequency of service, restricted road space and car parking will result in high PT mode share even at lower densities.   

[#Metro]

Their bus frequencies are *terrible* and a yucky sector-fares system like what we used to have.
According to Wikipedia, Ipswich and Toowoomba are roughly the same size in terms of population, but almost double the density for Toowoomba. Toowoomba city is rather compact being on top of the mountain.

Ipswich - 160 000 with 119.3 persons/km2
Toowoomba - 125 339 people with 209.4 persons/km2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toowoomba
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipswich,_Queensland

Its worth a trial, even if it were only BUZ rollout or something.

[mufreight]

The fact remains that it all comes down to money.

[#Metro]

There aren't that many seats out there, I think they have just been forgotten.
They don't even have a reliable water supply! Poor things, 3rd stuck with 3rd world services. If that was Ipswich, there would be uproar!
Need a study to evaluate the options.

[stephenk]

Could be used as a trial to show how if frequency of service, restricted road space and car parking will result in high PT mode share even at lower densities.   

In most circumstances you can't just trial light rail*. What happens if it fails? Do you sell the trams and platforms on e-bay?

*Most light rail trials have been very small scale or to test new technologies (such as the Parry Peoplemover)

[#Metro]

The least they could do is paint bike lanes.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

Their bus frequencies are *terrible* and a yucky sector-fares system like what we used to have.

Plus the routes all twist and turn through this back street and that, instead of making use of Toowoomba's grid layout. And there are no evening or Sunday services! It's the most disgraceful bus "service" I've ever used. The entire system needs to be designed from scratch, including a couple of trunk routes with frequent service.

[#Metro]

Two options
(1) Feasability study
(2) Trial

Get a loan from overseas/interstate.
Melbourne got some trams from Mulhouse France. Runs nicely.
Diesel trains can haul carriages. Ha ha, or get some TransAdelaide rail stock if all our DMUs are tied up...

NightLink was born from a trial of late night services.
The buses were trialled and then later expanded.
Almost all rail lines ran during the trial periods, but some were cut back and replaced by buses while others were retained.
There was little info to go on and it wasn't easy to tell before hand... trial and error made it possible.

[cartoonbirdhaus]

Ah, but would TransAdelaide trains fit, given broad-gauge trains' wider profile, even after a change of bogies?

[#Metro]

Good point. SA has a mess of gauges.
DMUs it is.

BUZ style services would be good for those axis.
Apparently run by the same company that runs Ipswich's Westside Buses...

There is a service once an hour. So the average person will wait 30 minutes for the next service.
Problem is, you could probably walk or bicycle in that amount of time.


http://www.transport.qld.gov.au/resources/file/ebf253405eea65c/Pdf_toowoomba_timetable.pdf
http://maps.google.com/