Brisbane - bus network proposal

[ozbob]

Yeah, to be honest having cross town buses to the airport is fine.

But if we want to encourage PT use to the airport, instead of establishing a CBD - BNE glider, then just spend the bus money on subsidizing airtrain fares....No different to how the NSW govt pays the gate access fee for you at Green Square and Mascot on the airport line.

The NSW approach increased usage at these stations by a great deal.

If Airtrain had always been at standard TL fares since day one, I guaruntee you that Verbatim9 would never have suggested a Glider, am I right?

I think you are right!

[James]

But people may not bother transfering to a bus with luggage at Roma Street heading to the Airport from North or South, wouldnt be worth  their while. Plus we are talking more volumes here; 2018 Comm games new Cruise terminal second runway. You would have to be a fool not to fully investigate and trial a Glider out to the Airport. Competition may encourage different types of competitive fares on Airtrain especially for families and groups. This can be tied in with the new generation ticketing tender.

Well in this case I am a fool. There are much better places to be putting money. Money does not grow on trees. Many people drive/catch a taxi to the airport anyway for a variety of reasons - heavy luggage, half the family is coming to see one person off, require the flexibility in schedule provided by the car and so on. Commonwealth Games is a one-off event which will actually be better catered for by rail anyway. Likewise, cruise terminal will have awful demand profiles and is outside the terminal area anyway.

Let's be clear here, airports are not PT goldmines, nor is airport travel demand elastic i.e. you aren't going to not travel to LA because the traffic is bad one morning.

590 can be an option as well. Sydney has the 400 to Bondi. Melbourne has the 901 and a few other lines now

Just because one bus route works in another city, doesn't mean the same concept will work here. Melbourne Airport is just a short, logical extension for the 901 and Sydney Airport is surrounded by in-fill development and office parks. Brisbane Airport has nothing aside from the DFO between the Airport Link end point and the terminals. It is very removed from the rest of the transit network (not that this is a bad thing).

If it could be done, I'd like to see a route go Garden City - Airport via DFO, but I'd highly preference Toombul over the Airport.

[#Metro]

Just because one bus route works in another city, doesn't mean the same concept will work here. Melbourne Airport is just a short, logical extension for the 901 and Sydney Airport is surrounded by in-fill development and office parks. Brisbane Airport has nothing aside from the DFO between the Airport Link end point and the terminals. It is very removed from the rest of the transit network (not that this is a bad thing).

If it could be done, I'd like to see a route go Garden City - Airport via DFO, but I'd highly preference Toombul over the Airport.

Perth, Adelaide and Canberra use buses to access the Airport. http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/timetables/details?Bus=40

BNE Airport is a large enough destination for feeders. Between an extended 369 and 590, most of Brisbane would be covered.

In fact, I didn't bother to catch Airtrain for my Perth holiday. Just 590 and then transfer to the T-bus. It takes longer than going to the city and catching a train, but often a trip to the Airport means the better part of the day is a write-off anyway, and I had the time.

[verbatim9]

I wonder if the 590 can have its hours extended from 0430-0100 7 days? Hopefully trading hours will be extended be then to ensure patronage?

[Gazza]

 I'm not quite understanding the steps in the logic to say "extend trading hours to make late night buses viable/ give them a reason to exist"

This seems like a backwards way of doing things.

Public transport (Indeed all transport) exists to cater to demand.
No demand = no service, or no infrastructure has to be built.

To me, its like saying "Australia has no high speed rail, but maybe if we built a new city close to a capital and forced everyone to live there, then high speed rail would be justified and then we could have one "

So with these suggestions that opening shops later means buses can run later, and therefore 24h public transport has an excuse to exist....why?

Where's the economic benefit in having people travel late at night for the sake of it? The roads aren't congested, and people are doing the vast majority of their shopping in regular hours anyway.

So what's the economic/environmental goal with creating artificial late night transport demand?

[#Metro]

verbatim9, look, I find that successful things are often incremental. Start little and then grow from that. I would extend the routes 590 and 369 to the Airport on their current timetables and then wait and see what happens.

As for late night opening, I think trading hours should be later. Shops will close anyway at a time of their choosing late at night because at some point it becomes unprofitable. Perhaps only the larger ones like Woolies, Coles etc would close at midnight.

Thanks for the suggestions. 

[Gazza]

Let's be clear, I don't mind trading hour deregulation.

I just think it is silly to justify it on the basis of making pretend demand to make the buses look good.

Or else where is Melbourne's extensive 24h network on weeknights, where supermarkets open late?

[verbatim9]

The only reason I suggest busses running later is that the Airport precinct is a 24/7 precinct. I am all for a staged approach, extension, then running later until 1 am if demand there lies? But look at the other bus routes around town, the peak busy routes subsidise the offpeak non busy routes like the 444.

[James]

The only reason I suggest busses running later is that the Airport precinct is a 24/7 precinct. I am all for a staged approach, extension, then running later until 1 am if demand there lies? But look at the other bus routes around town, the peak busy routes subsidise the offpeak non busy routes like the 444.

Sure, it is a 24/7 precinct, but how many of those people are actually going to use the bus? Remember, the rest of the PT network is either non-existent or purely welfare at this time. Also - anybody going to/from work at this time is already driving out of necessity.

Finally - the entire deck is stacked against PT late at night. At that hour, there is nobody on the roads to start with (if you need a perception of how low demand is). Even if you forced everybody on to the bus going from the 590s/369s catchment area to the airport between 1am and 2am, you probably wouldn't even be able to fill all the seats on the bus. Secondly, there are safety concerns about waiting at stops - and you can't put security everywhere as it is prohibitively expensive.

The reason we have routes during the off-peak is for welfare - so people can attend essential facilities (shops, medical appointments, social gatherings etc.), and for patronage - to prevent congestion in the off-peak and to provide better social outcomes than building more roads.

There is no congestion between 11pm and 5am and there are no essential facilities open between these times (hospitals for emergencies only notwithstanding) - so there is no reason to run PT at this time. The only thing open in all of Brisbane at that time is the DFO Woolies, convenience stores and a few takeaways. The reason we even have late-night services in the first place is to build confidence in services operating earlier in the day, so you can stay late at work/go out for dinner and know the bus network won't leave you stranded.

[verbatim9]

Over the next four years there is also going to be increased 24/7 activity in the area with the second runway construction 24/7  and the new cruise termnial 24/7. Be good and assuring that people that work on these projects can get to work if they dont have access to private transport.

[#Metro]

Just do trial and check. Extend what is already there, and then see how that goes.

Having these kind or arguments is unnecessary. The day patronage will tell you whether it is needed or not (my hunch: 24/7 not required).

[James]

Over the next four years there is also going to be increased 24/7 activity in the area with the second runway construction 24/7  and the new cruise termnial 24/7. Be good and assuring that people that work on these projects can get to work if they dont have access to private transport.

Cruise terminal won't be handling passengers 24/7. Second runway construction may be 24/7, but chances are people will work 8-12 hour shifts (depending on the labour agreement) - for the few who do knock off on shifts, they will have cars. Something like 95% of people in the workforce own a car in Brisbane. You can probably bet your bottom dollar that the 5% who don't own a car definitely are not working on the 2nd BNE airport runway. Tradies would probably be the most car-dependent part of the workforce - they aren't going to switch to a bus that easily. That is to say - your bus would be used by NOBODY.

It'd be lovely to have buses flying everywhere, but the fact is the government doesn't have the money. Floating poorly thought-out ideas like buses to the cruise terminal at 2am in the morning distracts the group's overall focus and detracts from RBoT's credibility. Brisbane is a car-based city. You only need to travel to Europe to realise this. It is about getting the little victories first - say Airtrain running until midnight for example - rather than coming in with ideas that TransLink would laugh at.

[achiruel]

Tradies would probably be the most car-dependent part of the workforce - they aren't going to switch to a bus that easily.

While it would be difficult for most tradies to take public transport due to their need to carry tools/materials, there is often a lot of labourers on large construction projects who simply need to just turn up. As an example, I have a (now retired) friend who was a steel fixer. He had to cart tools and 60kg rolls of tie wire to job sites (the steel itself was delivered). However usually he had a team of 3-7 labourers depending on the size of the job who did the grunt work, carrying steel around etc. These people could definitely be candidates to use public transport, especially at inner city construction sites where parking is limited and expensive.

[#Metro]

Floating poorly thought-out ideas like buses to the cruise terminal at 2am in the morning distracts the group's overall focus and detracts from RBoT's credibility. Brisbane is a car-based city. You only need to travel to Europe to realise this. It is about getting the little victories first - say Airtrain running until midnight for example - rather than coming in with ideas that TransLink would laugh at.

Disagree, and I don't like statements like this.

Anyone should be able to float ideas. Good ones will float to the top, others will not. Takes time, patience and experience.

When the first BUZ concept was done, it included Sunday services 6 am - 11.30 pm. There appears to have been some resistance to this within BCC itself and huge skepticism. It was done anyway, and it worked. Demand on Sundays rose to levels higher than weekday (incl. peak!) patronage. BUZ services were then rolled out over the entire city, and that's why we have the network today.

Quiet carriage is in the same league. Signed and generally not enforced. Has spread to other places.

Increasing bus frequency, and moving the focus from 'infrastructure solves everything' mindset to 'service characteristics' based mindset is another shift.

Single fare, unified network despite multiple modes and operators, and no transfer penalty charge - radical ideas when first floated. What? No charge for transferring?

Encouraging transfers, highly counter-intuitive when you think about it. And BCC still doesn't believe (says something about how much decision makers must be driving around). Extremely controversial. The late Dr. Paul Mees had an uphill battle to get that concept established.

BCC, not a lack of infrastructure, being recognised as being the central problem. Lot of angry / disbelieving people there. Eventually they came round. 'Lord Mayor cannot be trusted to run Brisbane Buses', so many people were upset about that - it is now one of the most read RBOT statements, and a turning point.

New bus network proposal - an external academic reviewer was skeptical about it. Until it appeared on the front page of the Brisbane Times the next day ... lol.  http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-buses-call-for-cityglider-in-centenary-suburbs-20141105-11gxl3.html

My point is, just because and idea is unusual, does not damage 'credibility'. It is a strength. Impractical ideas get found out very quickly. So keep posting the ideas. Most don't or won't work, but many can.

Late night services - I think it is an okay concept, but the airport isn't the right corridor. A basic skeleton network on the busways/cityglider, certainly could do well. Toronto runs night buses all night, every night. Seems to work.

[#Metro]

Human Transit, Basics ---> http://humantransit.org/basics

[nathandavid88]

^^ I agree with LD with regards to 24hr services – it would be kind of silly to have 24 hr PT services from the airport, before even the city core has it. Making the City Glider a 24hr service would be the first step to a permanent 24hr network, and then we can go from there towards making various BUZ routes 24 hr, where there may be demand for it.

As for the airport, looking into it a bit further, is there that much need for a PT service to the airport terminals at all? In addition to Airtrain, BNE runs a free shuttle bus service between Skygate and the terminals every 20 minutes (mostly – first service has a 40min gap for some reason) between 6:40am – 6:20pm (obviously demand to/from Skygate drops off after 6:30pm). I don't know if there's the space for a paying PT service to the terminals, in competition to BNE's free service.

There is one question I would ask with regards to servicing Skygate though, would it be worth extending the GCL (or any successor routes, if it were to be broken up) into Skygate? It runs very close to it already, with a stop on the corner of the East West Arterial and Nudgee Road, before going down Southern Cross Way. A detour via Skygate would probably only add 5 odd minutes to the route, it would tie in with the intention to link major shopping centres and would mirror the 590's linking of Garden City and Toombul to Skygate, by linking Chermside to Skygate. Just a thought.

[ozbob]

Vox --> Here's how Houston boosted mass transit ridership by improving service without spending a dime

Last year, Houston took a stab at doing something that sounds too good to be true — drastically improving its mass transit system by redoing the way its bus routes work, without spending a dime of extra money. Early results are now in, and it appears to be working. Bus ridership is up 4 percent on local routes and up 6 percent on park-and-ride routes — even as the city adds two new light rail lines (this part, obviously, did cost money) and ridership surges on the existing light rail red line.

That's all good news for Houston, but what's especially encouraging is that the playbook the Texas city followed is broadly applicable to a wide range of American cities. Houston doesn't have the world's best fundamentals for bus ridership in terms of weather or the nature of the built environment, but its success shows that, fundamentally, the quality and design of the system matters.

If other cities work to make their systems more useful, they, too, can expect more riders. And with more riders should come more revenue and more long-term political support for even more improvements.

More > http://www.vox.com/2016/1/28/10852884/houston-bus-ridership

[techblitz]

down the track (5-10yrs)..... the 590 should be treated as the major competing option for the airtrain to entice people from redland bay(growing area) to not drive/taxi  to the airport. The main junction point being cannon hill plaza. Buses come in from carindale,wakerley,wynnum rd etc at decent frequency and would connect seamlessly with the 590.
590 would then go via both skygate and airport and onto toombul. As of now if your coming from wynnum,redlands etc..its much quicker to drive to the airport than go via roma st...gateway bridge being the key timesaver.
Optional 5 mins can easily be shaved off the 590 by missing metroplex.....however that would be importance based...there are company head/regional offices there which no doubt means flight connections for some...

[error]

When the first BUZ concept was done...

Out of interest - do you happen to know which route this was?

[nathandavid88]

According to the BUZ wikipedia page, the 111 was the first.

[verbatim9]

down the track (5-10yrs)..... the 590 should be treated as the major competing option for the airtrain to entice people from redland bay(growing area) to not drive/taxi  to the airport.

Be good to see the extension of the 590 to the Domestic and International Terminals 18months-2years away to cope with the Comm Games and extra actvity but at least have the 590 run until 11pm.

How would run? Toombul, Airport Drive Domestic, Intl, Qantas Drive, DFO then Southbound? 20min Frequecncy and Real Time PIDs outside the terminal buildings at the stop?

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

29th January 2016

Re: SEQ: Time for the Brisbane bus revolution!

Greetings,

Interesting piece on bus reform  .. in Houston.  Brisbane?

Vox --> Here's how Houston boosted mass transit ridership by improving service without spending a dime

Last year, Houston took a stab at doing something that sounds too good to be true — drastically improving its mass transit system by redoing the way its bus routes work, without spending a dime of extra money. Early results are now in, and it appears to be working. Bus ridership is up 4 percent on local routes and up 6 percent on park-and-ride routes — even as the city adds two new light rail lines (this part, obviously, did cost money) and ridership surges on the existing light rail red line.

    That's all good news for Houston, but what's especially encouraging is that the playbook the Texas city followed is broadly applicable to a wide range of American cities. Houston doesn't have the world's best fundamentals for bus ridership in terms of weather or the nature of the built environment, but its success shows that, fundamentally, the quality and design of the system matters.

    If other cities work to make their systems more useful, they, too, can expect more riders. And with more riders should come more revenue and more long-term political support for even more improvements.

    More > http://www.vox.com/2016/1/28/10852884/houston-bus-ridership

Brisbane?

Best wishes
Robert

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

Follow up to >> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg167508#msg167508

[ozbob]

[nathandavid88]

Be good to see the extension of the 590 to the Domestic and International Terminals 18months-2years away to cope with the Comm Games and extra actvity but at least have the 590 run until 11pm.

How would run? Toombul, Airport Drive Domestic, Intl, Qantas Drive, DFO then Southbound? 20min Frequecncy and Real Time PIDs outside the terminal buildings at the stop?

Even if there is benefit enough to run the 590 to the Terminals, running it at that frequency and that span of hours would really be massive overkill and a waste of money really.

You need to remember that the 590 would still only serve a fairly small demographic – air traffic that originate from/are returning to a geographic area of limited size. There's no way the 590 would get the traffic to require a 20 min frequency. Even the current frequency would probably be overkill for the amount of BNE transfers this route could expect to get. It misses the Brisbane CBD, a key point for BNE traffic due to all the other locations reached from there. The transfer locations from the 590 are fairly limited in their geographic scope, and most of those connecting services only last till 8–9pm (if not earlier). For that reason, a span until 11pm (later than even the Airtrain) is also overkill, with a 8–9pm finish time really all that's needed.

[verbatim9]

I am suprised that the 590 doesnt connect with the Cleveland line @ Cannon hill station? Is there a stop for the route @ Muarrie Station?

[#Metro]

I am suprised that the 590 doesnt connect with the Cleveland line @ Cannon hill station? Is there a stop for the route @ Muarrie Station?

Bus. Reform.

It's another example of 'silly little things' all over the network. Legacy routing.

New Bus Network would combine 590 + GCL in that section to form a hi-frequency crosstown bus, using existing resources.

[Otto]

I am suprised that the 590 doesnt connect with the Cleveland line @ Cannon hill station? Is there a stop for the route @ Murarrie Station?

Short answer is NO

[Gazza]

Its basically a geography issue.
You can run in a straight line up creek road, but no rail stayion on that route.

You can run via murrarie, but that means a backtrack to metroplex.

You can run via cannon hill and achieve both connections, but the route becomes long

[SurfRail]

According to the BUZ wikipedia page, the 111 was the first.

I think the 130 was the first service actually branded as such.

The 111 was referred to as the "TransLink" service as a soft launch of the brand pre 2004 (I have a vague recollection the TL roundel was used to market the route including on the destination displays).

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

31st January 2016

Brisbane Bus Reform: Election Holy Grail Still Up For Grabs!

Greetings,


Image: Citywide coverage of Hi-Frequency buses after bus reforms. Purple lines are 150 pax superbus lines.

Proposing a metro within the core of the Busway network is a stark admission that Brisbane City Council's hi-waste bus philosophy of "every bus must travel to the CBD" is unsustainable, incredibly inefficient and a failure.

Brisbane City Council's buses must be completely reorganised to feed the metro and existing QR rail stations. We call on the Queensland Government to begin constructing a bus-rail interchange at Indooroopilly.

The election 'holy grail' - complete bus reform of the entire Brisbane bus network is still up for grabs. Under bus reform, 12 new hi-frequency bus routes could be put on. Bus reform would be complete within a single term of office and come at virtually neutral cost.

Our New Bus Network Proposal is here ---> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork We list the changes and upgrades below.

Neither the Brisbane Metro proposal nor the Light Rail proposal has addressed the lack of service in bus 'black hole' areas such as Yeronga, Bulimba, The Centenary Suburbs and The Northwestern Suburbs.

This election will be won and lost on public transport. Bus Reform does not need billions of dollars, it is the holy grail - who will grab it?

Best wishes
Robert

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

References:

New Bus Network Proposal - Frequent Services

http://tiny.cc/newnetwork (New Network, All services)
http://tiny.cc/checkyourbus (Current Brisbane City Council Bus Network)

66 UQ Lakes - RBWH - Converted to superbus operation.

Hi 111 Eight Mile Plains - Merged with 160, Co-locate 555 in King George Square.
Hi 190 Blue CityGlider - Travel the full length of Montague Rd. Consider for Superbus conversion.
Hi 196 Yeronga - Extend current 196 into Yeronga via Kadumba St.
Hi 100 Inala Express - Alter route to travel via Moorooka
Hi 120 Garden City via Coopers Plains station - Bus altered to connect passengers into via Coopers Plains rail station
Hi 130 Sunnybank Hills - No change.
Hi 140 Browns Plains RSL - No change.
Hi 150 Browns Plains - No change.
Hi 175 Logan Road (Garden City) - Created by amalgamation with 174. Faster route via new Buranda busway routing.
Hi 180 Cavendish Rd (Garden City) - New routing connects to Coorparoo station. Less duplication.
Hi 185 Mansfield - Faster routing via Nursery Rd and busway.
Hi 199 West End- No change.
Hi 200 Carindale - New routing. Residents in Stanley Rd and Macrossan St Seven Hills get new access to Hi Frequency buses.
Hi 205 Carindale Heights - New Hi Frequency along the entire length of Cavendish Rd.
Hi 209 UQ Lakes - No change.
Hi 222 Carindale Interchange - Convert to superbus.
Hi 230 BulimbaGlider via Morningside Station. Amalgamate existing services in the area to create BulimbaGlider. Connect to Roma St/Morningside rail.
Hi 300 Toombul Interchange - New Hi frequency bus service through Hamilton and along Kingsford Smith Drive
Hi 330 Bracken Ridge - Passengers fed to rail at Zillmere. Continues to Chermside. Rail connection frees up buses for expanding Hi Frequency elsewhere in Brisbane.
Hi 333 Chermside Interchange - Convert to superbus.
Hi 340 Carseldine Rail - No change.
Hi 345 Aspley - No change.
Hi 359 Albany Creek - New Hi Frequency service to Albany Creek.
Hi 374 Maroon Glider - Serving Bardon.
Hi 375 Stafford - Upgraded to Hi Frequency service.
Hi 380 The Gap via Ashgrove - Amalgamate low-frequency routes in area to create new Hi Frequency service.
Hi 385 The Gap via Paddington - No change.
Hi 400 CentenaryGlider (Superbus) - Amalgamate low-frequency routes to create a new Hi Frequency service. Superbus.
Hi 412 St Lucia (Superbus) - Convert to superbus operation. Amalgamate 402 serice.
Hi 444 Moggill - Feed rail at Indooroopilly. Connect to 400 CentenaryGlider Superbus.

Selected CityConnector Cross-Town services
902 Toombul via Carindale (CITYCONNECTOR) - Amalgamate Great Circle Line routes and 590 to create new Hi Frequency service.
911 UQ via Hawken Drive (CITYCONNECTOR) - Amalgamate Great Circle Line and 411 to create new Hi Frequency service.

[bagbuffy]

Would like to know Council's Transport Plan for Cannon Hill is. With all the new apartments being built and with East Village happening, the 1 Hourly 227 service won't cut it along Wynnum Rd.  Wonder if East Village will have a Bus Terminus? And peak hour along Wynnum Rd is like a car park.

[Gazza]

Wouldn't people use the half hourly 210, or the train?

[bagbuffy]

Catch the 210? With soon to be thousands of people living,visiting and shopping around East Village. I would imagine that's something Graham Quirk would say!!!

[Gazza]

Well, it's there, and I only suggested it because its the nearest good route and the terminus is literally a 250m walk away.
But if I were a local I'd use the train, why wouldn't they?

[verbatim9]

I must admit on weekends you can wizz from Greenslopes to the City within minutes on the 180. It works really effciently and the 333, 330 and 340 connection back up to Qld. I dont think a metro system could do it any faster with changing modes.

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 2nd February 2016 page 17

Brisbane needs to look closely at its network reform ideas

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

15th February 2016

Our New Bus Network Proposal Breaks 10,000 Mark

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 calls for all Lord Mayoral candidates to support our New Bus Network Proposal.

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

Our New Bus Network Proposal now has over 10,000 views and raised much interest. It is a comprehensive and achievable plan that will fix Brisbane City Council's broken bus network.

Bus reform will give Brisbane Australia's best bus network within a single term of office. Twelve new hi-frequency bus lines across Brisbane - more lines than either Graham Quirk's Metro or Rod Harding's Light Rail - could be rolled out across Brisbane.

Because existing bus resources are used, the proposal is virtually cost-neutral.

New 'CityGliders' - high frequency bus routes

400 CentenaryGlider superbus would carry 150+ passengers every 10 minutes or better to the Centenary Suburbs, with 24 hour bus service on Friday and Saturday nights.

230 BulimbaGlider Faster and improved bus service every 15 minutes or better via both Riding and Thynne Rds with connections at Morningside station to the Cleveland line. 24-hour bus service on Friday and Saturday nights.

New or Improved BUZ routes

175 Garden City BUZ (Logan Rd)
185 Mansfield BUZ (via Busway)
196 Yeronga BUZ (Extension into Yeronga)
200 Carindale BUZ (Stanley Rd) (new alignment)
205 Carindale Heights (Chatsworth Rd)
222 Carindale Interchange (converted to 150+ passenger superbuses)
300 Toombul Interchange BUZ (Kingsford Smith Drive)
359 Albany Creek BUZ (Old Northern Rd)
375 Stafford BUZ (new bus station at Stafford City)
380 The Gap BUZ (Payne Road)

900 Series CityConnector Buses

902 Toombul-Carindale CityConnector
903 Toombul-Ferny Grove CityConnector (current 369 extended from Brookside Shops)
911 UQ St Lucia-Mitchelton CityConnector (direct service to UQ from Northwest)

Absolutely enormous service benefits across the entire city of Brisbane will be unlocked with bus reform.

Proposals for Metro and Light Rail cost billions of dollars and would take up to 12 years to deliver! We can't wait for that can we?

Where are the mayoral candidates' proposals to fix the current BCC bus network? Brisbane needs Bus Reform NOW.

Contact:

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

Reference:

Brisbane buses: Call for CityGlider in Centenary suburbs
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-buses-call-for-cityglider-in-centenary-suburbs-20141105-11gxl3.html

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

21st February 2016

Bus Reform: Gold Coast already doing what Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says can't be done

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 calls on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and the Minister for Transport Stirling Hinchliffe to reform the Brisbane bus network

There are now multiple Gold Coast bus services that run between train and tram stations, requiring passengers to connect. It's a direct contradiction of what Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and Brisbane City Councillors continually say isn't possible in Brisbane.

Examples on the Gold Coast include:

    704 (Helensvale - Seaworld via Southport)
    709 (Helensvale Station-Southport LRT)
    745 (Nerang Station - Broadbeach LRT)
    740 (Nerang Station- Surfers Paradise)
    750 (Robina station - Bond University - Broadbeach LRT)

Despite all of these bus services running between train stations and tram stations, 'forcing' connections, Gold Coast bus patronage has increased. And it has done so in the same high-fares environment Brisbane City Council buses operate in. Brisbane does not have light rail, but it does have busways and train stations that could serve the same purpose.

International cities have a similar approach, notably Vancouver (Canada) and Toronto (Canada). And more recently, Auckland (NZ) and Houston (USA) have done entire network redesigns, also adopting this approach.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and Brisbane City Council are simply wrong on bus reform. They're wrong. And they know it because their own Lord Mayor's Mass Transit Report told them so.

The Lord Mayor and Brisbane City Council should stop obstructing bus reform. Fix the bus black-hole areas in Yeronga, Bulimba, Albany Creek and the Centenary suburbs. Introduce a new BulimbaGlider to Bulimba, and a CentenaryGlider to the Centenary suburbs."

Our New Bus Network Proposal shows how it can be done ---> http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

Only genuine reform of rail and bus networks, together with fare reform will guarantee abundant and low-cost public transport for all.

TransLink Bus Route 740. Passengers interchange at both ends of this service.
Source: http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/20140721-740.pdf




Contact:

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

References:

Bus Route 704
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/20140721-704.pdf

Bus Route 709
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/20140721-709.pdf

Bus Route 740
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/20140721-740.pdf

Bus Route 745
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/20140721-745.pdf

Bus Route 750
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/20140721-750,N750.pdf

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

21st February 2016

Brisbane Bus Reform: Reverse opposition to BulimbaGlider!

BulimbaGlider



Greetings,

RAIL Back on Track calls on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to reverse his council's opposition to a BulimbaGlider bus service.

A new BulimbaGlider would service:

    Morningside Rail Station
    Thynne Road
    Apollo Rd and Bulimba Ferry Terminals
    Oxford Street dining and cinema precinct
    Riding Road
    Wooloongabba Busway
    CBD via South East Busway and South Bank
    Roma Street

BulimbaGlider services would operate at high speed (800m stop spacing) and high frequency (every 15 minutes or better) all day and well into the night (6 am - 11.30 pm). As our proposal recycles existing bus resources, BulimbaGlider is a virtually cost-neutral option. It can be implemented within one term of office.

Fixing Brisbane's broken bus network is a key issue this election. The Greens have already come out and supported a new CityGlider to the Centenary Suburbs, it is time for all other Council  candidates to get on board the reform-bus!

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

Calls for BulimbaGlider rejected
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/calls-for-bulimba-glider-rejected-20120201-1qtbt.html

New Bus Network Proposal
http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

2nd March 2016

Shred Brisbane City Council's Bus Contracts!

Greetings,

RAIL Back on Track has long called for Brisbane City Council's bus contracts to be discontinued and legislation passed banning Brisbane City Council from operating public transport. All other States and Territories organise public transport at the State level and do not subcontract a local government to deliver services.

Brisbane City Council has a long history of resisting bus reform. Its network is obsolete, enormous 'black holes' exist in coverage, there is waste, inefficiency and duplication galore. Fares have exploded, no doubt due in large part to the increasing costs at Brisbane City Council.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk was handed carte blanche to make whatever changes he wanted to the bus network in 2013. It was made very clear that the bus network needed reform. The opportunity to reform was wasted.

Bus reform would have given Brisbane Australia's best bus network and provided excellent services to 'black hole' areas such as Bulimba, Yeronga, The Centenary Suburbs and the Northwest.

Now the bus network has collapsed, as we had been constantly warning for years. The reliability is the worst in South East Queensland by a large margin, and this is with exclusive busway infrastructure in Brisbane that all other regions do not have.

Is it just one performance standard for private bus operators, and another standard for Brisbane City Council?

What exactly has to happen before the Transport Minister and State Government act?

Transport Minister, fire Brisbane City Council as a bus operator. If Brisbane City Council knows that its monopolist contract for bus services is just going to be renewed no matter how good or bad its performance is, why would it change?

Brisbane City Council isn't even meeting TransLink performance standards!

The State Government should take over bus operations, just like it is done in Sydney with State Transit Buses.

Is there any leadership left at City Hall or George Street? We have shown that bus network reform will deliver.  Time to act!

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:



TransLink Tracker quarterly report - Oct to Dec (Q2) 2015-2016 now available
https://publications.qld.gov.au/dataset/translink-division-quarterly-reports/resource/d7568d69-25cc-4019-ad22-796cd6057b7d

Brisbane - bus network proposal > http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.0