Brisbane - bus network proposal

[ozbob]

Media: ' World class Brisbane transport failure '
> https://t.co/I6gjcHQyNc#qldpol@StirlHinchliffe @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/RaOr8Nwjm2

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) July 24, 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

25th July 2016

' World class Brisbane transport failure '

Good Morning,

There is no doubt bus network reform is needed and needed urgently.

Here is a report of an incident that happened yesterday.   Bus frequency needs to be improved to at least 30 minutes on the service to Lone Pine Sanctuary.

https://www.facebook.com/RAILBackOnTrack/posts/1323666244314226:0

Imagine this. You've just had a fun day at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and are ready to head home (or back to where you are staying for your holiday) - only to realise that buses only run hourly. Yes - HOURLY from one of Brisbane's biggest tourist attractions.

You wait patiently for the next bus to arrive - but when it finally does, you don't make it on board because it's FULL. You are forced to wait another hour for the next bus.

This is exactly what happened for a group of tourists today. They left Lone Pine early so they could make their way back to the Gold Coast by train. They were not able to board the 3:33pm bus and had to wait another hour for the 4:33 bus.

What image are we portraying to tourists? We offer them an seeQ card so they can get around - but that's pointless when buses only run hourly from tourist attractions and then refuse passengers because they're full.

At the other end of the spectrum, we've got buses from all over Brisbane sometimes running empty because virtually EVERY BUS goes to the city.

It's time for bus reform!! Fix the issues! Make public transport attractive, not a hinderance!


The above is not an isolated incident, people are being left stranded constantly as buses are cancelled, run late, connections missed, or buses full, throughout Brisbane and the rest of SEQ.

What is it going to take to shake the Government, TransLink and the bureaucracy on George Street out of their ignorant slumber?

The now real threat of political oblivion?  They clearly do not care much for the average punter now do they?

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ozbob]

When are you going to get off your arses & out of comfort zones? @QLDLabor @LNPQLD @QldGreens #qldpol
>> https://t.co/unFxpKGxL7

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) July 24, 2016

[#Metro]

Lone Pine is in a pocket of the Brisbane River. Buses that go to Lone pine can only go there and not connect other destinations.
This is one of the reasons why the frequency is low.

The other reason is that the bus is stopping all stops to the Brisbane CBD. A shorter route described in the New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork is to have this bus run from UQ St Lucia, through Indooroopilly Rail Station and Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and then on to Lone Pine. The addition of UQ and Indooroopilly rail will feed passengers more easily and avoid Coronation Drive Congestion.

In addition, a shorter route can be run more frequently.

[ozbob]

There are solutions, they are paralysed with fear and incompetence.  Thanks for pointing that out LD.

Lone Pine is an easy fix in any other jurisdiction, but hey we are dealing with BCC (world class bus network that is not broken but needs a metro and forced transfers to fix it at great expense but could be sorted by network reform hey ...) and governments that lack the spine to do the right thing by the community, and a public transport agency that is a collection of desks at a road and car racing obsessed outfit!

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

25th July 2016

How to fix the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary bus - Re: ' World class Brisbane transport failure '

Greetings,

This is how we would sort this problem with the buses for Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary.

Lone Pine is in a pocket of the Brisbane River. Buses that go to Lone pine can only go there and not connect other destinations at present.
This is one of the reasons why the frequency is low. The other reason is that the bus is stopping all stops to the Brisbane CBD.

A shorter route described in the RAIL Back On Track's New Bus Network Proposal http://tiny.cc/newnetwork is to have this bus run from UQ St Lucia, through Indooroopilly Rail Station and Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and then on to Lone Pine. The addition of UQ and Indooroopilly rail will feed passengers more easily and avoid Coronation Drive Congestion.

In addition, a shorter route can be run more frequently.

Not rocket science is it? Transport planning 101 ...

Best wishes
Robert

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

Sent to all outlets:

25th July 2016

' World class Brisbane transport failure '

Good Morning,

There is no doubt bus network reform is needed and needed urgently.

Here is a report of an incident that happened yesterday.   Bus frequency needs to be improved to at least 30 minutes on the service to Lone Pine Sanctuary.

https://www.facebook.com/RAILBackOnTrack/posts/1323666244314226:0

Imagine this. You've just had a fun day at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and are ready to head home (or back to where you are staying for your holiday) - only to realise that buses only run hourly. Yes - HOURLY from one of Brisbane's biggest tourist attractions.

You wait patiently for the next bus to arrive - but when it finally does, you don't make it on board because it's FULL. You are forced to wait another hour for the next bus.

This is exactly what happened for a group of tourists today. They left Lone Pine early so they could make their way back to the Gold Coast by train. They were not able to board the 3:33pm bus and had to wait another hour for the 4:33 bus.

What image are we portraying to tourists? We offer them an seeQ card so they can get around - but that's pointless when buses only run hourly from tourist attractions and then refuse passengers because they're full.

At the other end of the spectrum, we've got buses from all over Brisbane sometimes running empty because virtually EVERY BUS goes to the city.

It's time for bus reform!! Fix the issues! Make public transport attractive, not a hinderance!


The above is not an isolated incident, people are being left stranded constantly as buses are cancelled, run late, connections missed, or buses full, throughout Brisbane and the rest of SEQ.

What is it going to take to shake the Government, TransLink and the bureaucracy on George Street out of their ignorant slumber?

The now real threat of political oblivion?  They clearly do not care much for the average punter now do they?

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

26th July 2016

Good Morning,

Bus Reform Crash Course

Again we highlight the essential process for fixing up the failing bus network in Brisbane.

Sorting out the bus network is a basic fundamental reform that will save billions of dollars.
There is no need to waste billions of dollars on a ' metro ' that actually reduces capacity of the network and will cause massive dislocation and transport failure.
We need to maximise all modes in our overall public transport network. Other jurisdictions get on with network reform, Brisbane is fast becoming a transport backwater.
TransLink needs the authority to sort this mess.

Brisbane Bus Reform: Brisbane City Council's Bus Network - What Went Wrong?
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11175.0

Brisbane Bus Reform: RAIL Back on Track Launches New Bus Network Proposal
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11046.0

A service quality map of Brisbane City Council's Bus services:
http://tiny.cc/checkyourbus

A service quality map of RAIL Back on Track's Hi Frequency Bus Network proposal
http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

'Frequency is Freedom' Guide to Brisbane City Council Bus Network Problems
http://backontrack.org/docs/bus/reform/BusReformBlueprint.pdf

Brisbane City Council's bus network must be reformed. Bus Reform will give Brisbane Australia's best bus network within 2 years, at near-neutral cost.
If it was the right thing to do in 2013, it is now even more pressing. Lord Mayor Quirk can no longer rationally argue against network reform.  His key objection, ' people do not want to transfer ' has been shattered on the altar of the half-baked pie-in-the-sky ' metro ' proposal.

Many bus cancellations again yesterday, many passengers stranded.  How long can this charade continue?

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ Attached:  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg177009#msg177009 ]

[ozbob]

Latest media: Bus Reform Now
> https://t.co/G7f5noI2HA#qldpol@StirlHinchliffe @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/QioF23Ggl7

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) July 25, 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

3rd August 2016

It's time for the Brisbane bus revolution!

Greetings,

Public transport must be fast, direct and frequent. The present Brisbane bus network is based on a direct service model that embeds poor service, poor frequency, poor connections, legacy routing and is becoming unaffordable. Other operators are treated as 'competitors' by BCC rather than as team players in an integrated network.

Many jurisdictions such as Auckland, Houston and Hobart have moved on with public transport network reform, delivering much better networks with more frequent service and significant patronage gains.

In 2013, TransLink acting on Government direction, with the support of Transport Consultants, proposed a proper reform of the Brisbane Bus Network.  This review was not proceeded with as the then State Government lacked the resolve to do what was right in the end. What has changed since  then?  A token bus review done by BCC has just further compounded network failures.  There has also been an impact on regions outside Brisbane as cuts to services and spans, the consequence of BCC's intransigence.  Hardly equitable or decent is it? Band-aids on festering wounds just leads to rampant disease!

There is an excellent local example of how network reform benefits us all.  It is the Gold Coast.  Network reform has delivered frequent, connected bus routes to the light rail and has delivered patronage gains of over 20%.  There are lessons there for Brisbane. Passengers will transfer on a connected network.  It is how real frequency and excellent service is generated.

The Lord Mayors ' Metro ' proposal is nonsense. Brisbane might well need a ' real metro ' eventually, but the metro proposed by Team Quirk only delivers 9000 passengers/hour/direction (pphpd) but the busways move up to 15000 pphpd.  One does not spend billions of dollars to reduce the capacity of the existing public transport - it is an absurdity to put forward such a proposal. One of Brisbane's key public transport assets is the busway system.  It needs to be enhanced with proper network reform not wrecked.

What needs to happen now is bus network reform.  This will reduce the number of buses clogging up the CBD and allow more services out in the suburbs where they are really needed. It is essentially cost neutral.

Is Brisbane going to continue to sit in ever worsening bus-congestion (bus-jam) waiting for a pipe-dreams to fall from the sky?  Or can we start a network reform process that will deliver much benefit to the public transport network not only for Brisbane but for all of SEQ. Other jurisdictions have done bus network reform with outstanding results.

It is time the State Government called out the Quirk ' metro ' for the nonsense it is and got on with bus network reform.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

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

2.  Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's 'Quack' Metro is a Dead Duck! http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11952.msg176602#msg176602

[ozbob]

Media: It's time for the Brisbane bus revolution!
> https://t.co/ZY8zmenx7Y#qldpol@StirlHinchliffe @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/FD4BKYFH1i

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) August 2, 2016

[aldonius]

Cr Sri a couple of days ago posted this:

https://www.facebook.com/jonno.sri/posts/1729835420617100

IDEAS FOR A BETTER BRISBANE (No. 18) - Inter-Suburban Public Transport Connectivity
For a long time in Brisbane, public transport planning and infrastructure priorities have focussed on the main corridors in and out of the CBD. While that obviously makes a lot of sense, it's important we don't lose sight of the value of reliable, frequent services between suburban nodes.
By suburban nodes I'm talking about major train stations, village centres and service hubs like Garden City and Westfield Chermside. Many people who live within a few kilometres of these destinations often choose to drive rather than walk because buses don't come frequently enough. This significantly increases local traffic congestion relating to school drop-offs and shopping trips, which in turn slows down the existing bus network and drives up public transport operating costs.
The lack of high-frequency inter-suburban bus routes means young people who don't have their driving licences can't visit friends two suburbs away unless they've got someone else to drive them. It means many residents shop and socialise at mega-malls or in the CBD rather than at the local village-style small business strips. It means older residents with impaired mobility sit at home rather than heading over to the public library or community centre. It means that no matter how many high-frequency routes there are into the city, most middle-class suburban residents will consider that the idea of being able to live in the burbs without owning a car is an idealistic pipe-dream.
We do currently have a lot of inter-suburban routes, but many of them aren't frequent enough to be reliable or convenient.
The problem even exists in the inner-ring. For example, currently it's not really possible to get from Woolloongabba bus station to Boundary Street in West End by public transport without going via the Cultural Centre at South Brisbane.
Not everyone works or studies in the CBD. And even those that do need reliable public transport options within their own suburb.

Sounds like he's asking for something running the length of Vulture St. Not unreasonable by itself, and it might be workable as an extension of the 234 (I know, I know, the RBoT plan abolishes it in favour of the surface-77, but that's a minor element). But it would need to be frequent: average travel time Wooloonabba to Boundary/Vulture during the day would be roughly: wait time ≤ 5 min (61, 100, 200), WG - CC 5 min, wait time 5 min (199), travel time CC - Boundary/Vulture 5 min, total ≤ 20 min.

[ozbob]

Yope.  Network reform allows for better frequency - feeders and coverage, better connections and less fixation on the radial paradigm.

Little by little ...

[James]

Sounds like he's asking for something running the length of Vulture St. Not unreasonable by itself, and it might be workable as an extension of the 234 (I know, I know, the RBoT plan abolishes it in favour of the surface-77, but that's a minor element). But it would need to be frequent: average travel time Wooloonabba to Boundary/Vulture during the day would be roughly: wait time ≤ 5 min (61, 100, 200), WG - CC 5 min, wait time 5 min (199), travel time CC - Boundary/Vulture 5 min, total ≤ 20 min.

We already have the 198!

I know that sounds silly, but I feel like I'm making a fair point. To walk from South Bank station (busway) to the very end of Vulture Street is only 1.5km (20 mins), and to travel from South Bank to Wooloongabba by bus would be 5-10 mins at the most (including waiting time). For those not able bodied enough, the 198 would actually do this trip quite well if you cut out that little balloon loop around Kurilpa.

Secondly, is the demand really that high? I don't see any congestion or traffic issues on Vulture St after the city-bound traffic turns off. There may be bigger fish to fry.

This is a bigger issue in the outer suburbs, where distances between suburbs can be several kilometres and through hilly/pedestrian unfriendly terrain. Places where cars complete the trip in 5 mins, yet foot/bus takes half an hour. Think Boundary Rd on the southside or Hamilton Rd on the northside.

[aldonius]

We already have the 198!

Yeah, that was my first (and snarky) comment of a few on his post. If it were straightened out a bit, it could fairly justifiably run the length of Vulture, too.

Chuck in a CityCat stop at Davies Park and then we have anchors both ends etc. Problem solvered, boss!

[#Metro]

Does Jonno Sri know about bus reform? He could bring it up in council along with Quack Metro.

http://tiny.cc/newnetwork

The Greens strength is public transport and they could push change from within BCC.

[ozbob]

Investment in light rail as part of an integrated public transport network has increased the use of buses https://t.co/s2tth4P01d

— QBIC (@_QBIC) August 3, 2016

QBIC ( Queensland Bus Industry Council ) praising proper network integration, hey Quirky!

[SurfRail]

^ Pity Surfside's patronage is basically stagnant (as is everybody else's, although Surfside's is still growing while nearly every other bus contractor is static or going backwards).  There hasn't been enough effort to consolidate the advantages of light rail with proper feeder routes save for a small number.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

4th August 2016

Confronting the Quirk Metro con ...

Good Morning,

So Lord Mayor doesn't want to contribute to Cross River Rail*, but is apparently prepared to waste billions of dollars on a half-baked ' metro ' project that will wreck Brisbane's public transport?

Bus network reform does not cost billions of dollars and will dramatically improve public transport outcomes for Brisbane and with positive flow on effects for all of SEQ.

It is time the Brisbane media stopped swallowing the ' metro '  bull-dust and did some basic research.

Problems with the Quirk ' Metro ' as proposed:

1.  Delivers less capacity than the present busways - fatal flaw**.  Proposed metro is only a capacity of 9000 passengers/hour/direction.  Busways deliver 15,000 passengers/hour/direction.

2.  Is under-costed, grossly in our opinion. We challenge the Lord Mayor to sign a cost explosion indemnification agreement, guaranteeing that any cost overrun on the project ( over $1.5 BN) will be borne solely by BCC.

3.  Absolutely wrecks the inner-city busway network. Stops one station short of RBWH Hospital (to save costs?)

4.  Is very doubtful if Victoria Bridge can be used due to the significant weight of metro trains, track and electrical systems.  Use of Victoria Bridge precludes any further network improvements.

5.  Is not driverless as proposed. If changed to automatic then cost of stations etc. increases massively. Comparisons with Sydney Metro make this abundantly clear.

6.  State owns and controls the busway infrastructure.  It is unlikely that a State Government of any political persuasion would allow the busway system to be wrecked for a system that delivers less capacity than the current network!

7.  Proposed Quirk ' metro ' depot site is state owned and is actually earmarked for CRR.

The absolute minimum capacity for a train to reach the touted 30,000 passengers/hour quoted in the BCC election vote-bait material is 750 passengers per train. The Lord Mayor is suggesting trains with a capacity 2.5x lower, that is 300 passengers/train.

Bus reform http://tiny.cc/newnetwork is required, now. Bus network reform will allow time for a mature future vision and plan to be developed.

Bus network reform is essentially cost neutral, we do not have to waste billions of dollars on pipe dream schemes.

Start bus network reform today!

Best wishes,
Robert

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

* https://tenplay.com.au/news/brisbane/2016/8/3/premier-and-lord-mayor-butt-heads-over-river-rail-crossing

** Quirk ' Metro ' Capacity Calculation

1 hour = 60 minutes = 3600 seconds. World's best practise train throughput is a train every 90 seconds. 3600 seconds / 90 sec = 40 trains per hour.

Therefore 30,000 passengers/hour divided by 40 trains/hour = 750 passengers per train (absolute minimum).

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's Metro is 300 pax/train as proposed.

Run every 2 minutes (as announced in election) 30 trains / hour x 300 pax/train = 9000 passengers/hour/direction - a backward step for the network.

Even under the most extreme assumptions, the metro would have less capacity than the busway and be at capacity on opening day.

[ Attached:  http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg177430#msg177430 ]

[ozbob]

It's time for the Brisbane bus revolution!
> https://t.co/ZY8zmenx7Y#qldpol pic.twitter.com/6QKfkvTqly

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) August 5, 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

15th August 2016

Brisbane bus network remains shambolic

Greetings,

It is amazing that the Brisbane bus network remains shambolic.

The Quirk Metro proposal will cost billions of dollars and will actually deliver less capacity than the present network (1).  BCC has bulked at network reform because they claim people do not want to transfer, and now propose massive transfers with a half-baked metro proposal.

Classic double-think.  Idiotic to say the least.

Bus network reform will:

1. Reduce CBD bus congestion and delays.

2. Allow more buses to be deployed to the suburbs to improve coverage, frequency and help mobilise our community.

3. Improve the overall efficiency of our public transport network (all modes) and allow further scope for fare reform.

4. Is essentially cost neutral, will save billions of dollars.  Money that would be wasted on the metro could be redeployed to other more pressing projects.

Bus reform such as http://tiny.cc/newnetwork is required, now.

Bus network reform will allow time for a mature future vision and a coherent plan to be developed for mass transit for Brisbane.

Best wishes,

Robert

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


Reference:

1. Confronting the Quirk Metro con ... http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg177502#msg177502

[ozbob]

Latest: ' Brisbane bus network remains shambolic '
> https://t.co/acdhWcr3r2#qldpol@StirlHinchliffe @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/bHZLLihbtl

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) August 14, 2016

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

26th August 2016

It's time for the Brisbane bus revolution!

Greetings,

Public transport must be fast, direct and frequent. The present Brisbane bus network is based on a direct service model that embeds poor service, poor frequency, poor connections, legacy routing and is becoming unaffordable. Other operators are treated as 'competitors' by BCC rather than as team players in an integrated network.

Many jurisdictions such as Auckland, Houston and Hobart have moved on with public transport network reform, delivering much better networks with more frequent service and significant patronage gains.

In 2013, TransLink acting on Government direction, with the support of Transport Consultants, proposed a proper reform of the Brisbane Bus Network.  This review was not proceeded with as the then State Government lacked the resolve to do what was right in the end. What has changed since  then?  A token bus review done by BCC has just further compounded network failures.  There has also been an impact on regions outside Brisbane as cuts to services and spans, the consequence of BCC's intransigence.  Hardly equitable or decent is it? Band-aids on festering wounds just leads to rampant disease!

There is an excellent local example of how network reform benefits us all.  It is the Gold Coast.  Network reform has delivered frequent, connected bus routes to the light rail and has delivered patronage gains of over 20%.  There are lessons there for Brisbane. Passengers will transfer on a connected network.  It is how real frequency and excellent service is generated.

The Lord Mayors ' Metro ' proposal is nonsense. Brisbane might well need a ' real metro ' eventually, but the metro proposed by Team Quirk only delivers 9000 passengers/hour/direction (pphpd) but the busways move up to 15000 pphpd.  One does not spend billions of dollars to reduce the capacity of the existing public transport - it is an absurdity to put forward such a proposal. One of Brisbane's key public transport assets is the busway system.  It needs to be enhanced with proper network reform not wrecked.

What needs to happen now is bus network reform.  This will reduce the number of buses clogging up the CBD and allow more services out in the suburbs where they are really needed. It is essentially cost neutral.

Is Brisbane going to continue to sit in ever worsening bus-congestion (bus-jam) waiting for a pipe-dreams to fall from the sky?  Or can we start a network reform process that will deliver much benefit to the public transport network not only for Brisbane but for all of SEQ. Other jurisdictions have done bus network reform with outstanding results.

It is time the State Government called out the Quirk ' metro ' for the nonsense it is and got on with bus network reform.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

References:

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

2.  Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's 'Quack' Metro is a Dead Duck! http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11952.msg176602#msg176602

[ozbob]

Latest: 'It's time for the Brisbane bus revolution!'
> https://t.co/3EfTvvR6wl#qldpol@StirlHinchliffe @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/NpunR1LDe1

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) August 25, 2016

[ozbob]

. @StirlHinchliffe @Schrinner @Team_Quirk @TMRQld @TransLinkSEQ #qldpol
>> https://t.co/SFga56w91A

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) August 31, 2016

^

More buses to stop travelling into Sydney CBD in a bid to ease congestion. https://t.co/yHFNDlayBE pic.twitter.com/R5A0Q2NrcZ

— smh.com.au (@smh) August 31, 2016

[ozbob]

It's time for the Brisbane bus revolution!
> https://t.co/3EfTvvR6wl#qldpol
Be brave Brisbane .. grow a set! pic.twitter.com/2Zp6e593uT

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) August 31, 2016

[HappyTrainGuy]

This is a bigger issue in the outer suburbs, where distances between suburbs can be several kilometres and through hilly/pedestrian unfriendly terrain. Places where cars complete the trip in 5 mins, yet foot/bus takes half an hour. Think Boundary Rd on the southside or Hamilton Rd on the northside.

Been saying that for ages. It's why I want the 335 to p%ss off Gympie Road. Its why I want the 330 to go via Kittyhawke Drive. Its why I want the...... well you get it by now. The Translink review (as much as people hated it/knitted coozies for some bus shelters/brought up the flaws no one mentioned how great the northside network became) really went to town on all the routes west, north, east and south of Chermside and provided better access to PT and better access to the local shops, rsl's, clubs, train stations, interchange hubs, schools, points of interest. It created a public transport network that people would use locally and also to get to/from the city with most of the emphasis put onto connections with the railway lines. That northside loop route had to be the best proposed route for the northside. It just offered so many connections to local shops, railway lines, bus interchanges, schools, points of interest etc with its design coming from simply merging a bunch of the currently existing city routes where they crossed over such as the 325 to the east. The 335/340 for the north. 346 for the west. etc, etc, etc.

The area directly north of Chermside is really hilly - some parts can overlook the airport but the majority of it is constantly going up and down up and down. Same with the east where there's limited to no PT access with the elevation constantly up and down to the areas where there is pt you gotta climb there to get it. The west is very similar but on a larger scale.

As the northside was the last to have its modified network rolled out its sad to think the northside would have been getting that network around now/later this year. But instead we have this...... what ever this is now.

[#Metro]

Been saying that for ages. It's why I want the 335 to p%ss off Gympie Road. Its why I want the 330 to go via Kittyhawke Drive. Its why I want the...... well you get it by now. The Translink review (as much as people hated it/knitted coozies for some bus shelters/brought up the flaws no one mentioned how great the northside network became) really went to town on all the routes west, north, east and south of Chermside and provided better access to PT and better access to the local shops, rsl's, clubs, train stations, interchange hubs, schools, points of interest.

Might be better to do reform by parts. Smaller target. More manageable.

[ozbob]

Brisbane bus network remains shambolic
> https://t.co/acdhWcr3r2#qldpol@StirlHinchliffe @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/llvzDkTVyB

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) September 1, 2016

[Stillwater]

Mr Hinchliffe said: "The start of passenger rail services on MBRL will also usher in a new-look bus timetable. The bus network changes will support and complement the new MBRL train timetable and achieve a better integrated public transport network for the Moreton Bay region, delivering more buses and high frequency services and improve transport connections across the community."

If this is good enough for residents of the Moreton Bay Regional Council area, why not the residents of Brisbane also?

Why is the government baulking when it comes to taking on BCC to provide, within Brisbane:

- a 'new-look' bus timetable
- changes to the bus network to support and complement the train timetable
- a better, integrated public transport network
- high frequency services via faster turn-around of buses linking to rail for journeys to and from the city
- improved transport connections across the community.

The minister says these are the objectives for the MBRL and the Redcliffe Peninsula more generally.  Why a different approach to how public transport works within the Brisbane City Council area?

[petey3801]

By what I have been hearing, there are big changes afoot in certain bus operating areas..

[#Metro]

The minister says these are the objectives for the MBRL and the Redcliffe Peninsula more generally.  Why a different approach to how public transport works within the Brisbane City Council area?

Because BCC could turn around and threaten to rip out 25% of the funding it contributes. Which is strange because no other state or territory allows a council to run PT. And, the Queensland Government is contributing 75-80% of the funding, so if anyone has the $$$ you would think it was the Queensland Government.

The Queensland Government doesn't want to run the buses. We know this because it was explicitly tested when Newman offered the ENTIRE bus network to then PT minister Rachel Nolan, including all funding for future years, and she rejected it.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Been saying that for ages. It's why I want the 335 to p%ss off Gympie Road. Its why I want the 330 to go via Kittyhawke Drive. Its why I want the...... well you get it by now. The Translink review (as much as people hated it/knitted coozies for some bus shelters/brought up the flaws no one mentioned how great the northside network became) really went to town on all the routes west, north, east and south of Chermside and provided better access to PT and better access to the local shops, rsl's, clubs, train stations, interchange hubs, schools, points of interest.

Might be better to do reform by parts. Smaller target. More manageable.

Hence rerouting the 335 off Gympie Road part (sending it down Kittyhawke Drive and then to Ellison Road before resuming at Kirby Road - Also then ha the added benefit of sending it along Hamilton road instead of that detour through the backstreets inbound where there are no stops) and sending the 330 down Kittyhawke Drive. You know, past all those massive high rise apartment buildings and the rsl that pretty much have no public transport access without having to walk to the Chermside interchange. And that's not including the ones now on Hamilton Road! Those two things are simple to be done yet nothing. Also remember Translink or someone was considering a second interchange on Kittyhawke drive a while back.

[techblitz]

just a few current and un-surpsrising obs on the BT network....

590 continuously runs late and/or bunches up when it hits high frequency weekday peaks.
340 carries ridiculous amounts of air at high frequency between Chermside/Carseldine station off-peaks
100 carries ridiculous amounts of air between forest lake/inala during off-peaks and suffers bunching issues during peaks/counter peak courtesy of Ipswich/blunder rd traffic.
330 continues to struggle with peak o.t.r meaning any increased frequencies(p332) become nullified and you still have "sorry bus full"
77 still struggles to get decent numbers...

and last but not least...still plenty of air being carried on the mains,old Cleveland,gympie,ipswich rd corridors late nights...

[verbatim9]

just a few current and un-surpsrising obs on the BT network....

590 continuously runs late and/or bunches up when it hits high frequency weekday peaks.
340 carries ridiculous amounts of air at high frequency between Chermside/Carseldine station off-peaks
100 carries ridiculous amounts of air between forest lake/inala during off-peaks and suffers bunching issues during peaks/counter peak courtesy of Ipswich/blunder rd traffic.
330 continues to struggle with peak o.t.r meaning any increased frequencies(p332) become nullified and you still have "sorry bus full"
77 still struggles to get decent numbers...

and last but not least...still plenty of air being carried on the mains,old Cleveland,gympie,ipswich rd corridors late nights...

Where are the passenger number hourly breakdowns for each service?

[James]

Where are the passenger number hourly breakdowns for each service?

Somewhere in a TransLink database. Go card data would have all the raw data for this already, it'd just be a matter of extracting it for each service.

Without any breakdown of specific route performance though, RBoT anecdotes are really the best we have on patronage numbers, aside from the patronage classifications (Low/Medium/High/Very High) used in the Bus Network Review in 2013, and even they could skew the picture a bit.

[ozbob]

TransLink does have the bus patronage for all routes, and even stops of course. 

It is a state secret.

We are left to best guess from our observations ... 

[aldonius]

This reminds me, I was going to do an RTI request for data at a comparatively coarse level of detail. I was informed that something much better was being prepped for public release... several months have now passed. 'Sunshine' State, my arse.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

5th September 2016

Buses: The Palaszczuk Government's Greatest Electoral Weakness?

Greetings,

If any political parties or candidates are looking for a headline issue to run on in an early Queensland Election, this is it.

Right now, our bus networks are in the first stages of collapse.

In Ipswich, buses are regularly cancelled or massively delayed. Passengers can no longer be sure that their bus will actually turn up.
Local MP Jo-Ann Miller has raised the issue in Parliament. For a region of around 200,000 people and growing rapidly, this is terrible.
People need to get to jobs, find work, access education and health services. A lot of votes are at risk, don't you think?

Similar problems are emerging in Brisbane.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk now realises that he cannot add more buses to Brisbane's bus network without degrading service and congesting the entire city even worse than it already is.

A stark contrast to the Lord Mayor's statement "the bus network is not broken and does not need a radical overhaul."

Why the need for a ' metro ' then, Lord Mayor?

A Bus Review Taskforce led by Ex-BCC transport staff could fix the problems.

In November 2014 we submitted our New Bus Network Proposal to Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government.

Our proposal is public here > http://tiny.cc/newnetwork. What has happened since? Just more bus-jam, 'no shows' and late buses and developing ' bus-rage'.

Central to solving Brisbane's bus crisis is cancelling the renewal of Brisbane City Council's bus contracts.  Genuine bus network reform can then proceed.

The Palaszczuk Government is asleep at the wheel on the bus crises.

The door is now wide open for others, including non-major parties, to run with this issue and take the balance of power in the next Queensland Parliament in our opinion.

Best wishes
Robert

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

Reference:

Bus Reform: Lord Mayor Graham Quirk Still Not Listening
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=11047.msg161913#msg161913

[ozbob]

Media: Buses: The @AnnastaciaMP Govt's Greatest Electoral Weakness?
> https://t.co/JARgvMV517#qldpol pic.twitter.com/5MMbUs6Fm7

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) September 4, 2016

[ozbob]

Letter to the Editor Queensland Times 6th September 2016 page 19

Ipswich on cusp of transport meltdown