Cairns buses

[ozbob]

Cairns Post --> Passengers say free airport bus to and from Cairns is unreliable

CRACKS are starting to appear in Cairns Airport’s free bus service, less than halfway through its three-month trial.

Airport Connect, which started on March 27, has so far attracted 8-10 passengers a day, according to airport data.

But passengers claim the service, which runs a loop from the airport to each side of Sheridan St near the Tobruk Pool, has been arriving up to 45 minutes late and, on occasion, not at all.

The service was a safety initiative implemented after mother-of-two Dinah Boughton was killed when struck by a sedan while walking along Airport Ave in January.

Public transport campaigner Geoff Holland said the service, operated by Sun Palm Transport, was unreliable.

“Sun Palm Transport is not meeting its commitment to pick up passengers from the Cairns North Community Health building on Sheridan St,’’ he said.

“This is serious as people could miss their plane.”

Airport Connect operates each day, going to the airport between 4.15am and 10.15pm, and coming out of the airport from 4.30am until after the last flight for the day.

Mr Holland, who met with airport representatives yesterday, said service was difficult for passengers to hail and ride.

“The Cairns Airport website shows a view of the Sun Palm van from the side and rear,’’ he said. “But if anyone was going to hail it, they need to see a view of the van from the front.

“Also, at night time, identifying the van in a sea of headlights is nigh impossible.”

There also did not appear to be any proactive promotion of the service, he said.

A survey of about 20 tour agencies in Cairns revealed that only three had heard of the service, but have no details.

Cairns Airport CEO Kevin Brown said the two-month review of Airport Connect would be carried out later this month.

“We are implementing a range of improvements and opportunities to further promote the service,” he said.

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[ozbob]

Cairns Airport --> Airport Connect Shuttle

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[SurfRail]

What they really want is Sunbus to do it, but probably too expensive for what the airport and council are prepared to pay.

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[ozbob]

Cairns Post --> Calls for City Loop bus service to promote Cairns growth

A CITY Loop bus service for Cairns could promote economic growth by providing public transport to two CBD university campuses, the ­marina and the airport.
City Councillor Richie Bates says it is time for Cairns Regional Council to discuss a much-needed public transport upgrade, particularly given CQUniversity and James Cook University’s growth plans for the Far North.

CQU has officially opened its Cairns campus on Abbott St, while JCU is seeking a location for its own inner-city campus.

Cr Bates said with high visitation and residential projects, there needed to be a dedicated City Loop bus route.

“Such a service would convey passengers between key locations in the city area, reducing journey times and bottlenecks,’’ he said.

He envisioned the service linking shopping centres, office and residential towers, carparks, the two university campuses, tourist attractions, and even the airport.

A free public transport trial at the airport, operated by Sun Palm Transport, has been branded a success by the airport, however it only ran between Sheridan St near Tobruk pool to the domestic and international terminals.

It requires a fare to remain viable.

“Why wouldn’t you include your Reef Fleet terminal, your airport, maybe a couple of office towers or residential towers in the CBD, shopping centre, and then Lake St as well?’’ Cr Bates said.

“You need to look at all those as well.

“Because you don’t want the loop too big, because then it takes too long to get around.

“The loop’s got to be compact enough, so you can run two buses in opposite directions or something like that.

“So it’s got to be compact enough but also long enough to also take in those key areas where you want it to go.”

He said he had not yet put any formal proposals forward for a City Loop service, only had informal discussions about it with Mayor Bob Manning.

Townsville has, for the past decade, had its own city loop service, operated by Sunbus.

The service, which travels between major carparks and the CBD, is funded by the Townsville City Council.

Townsville Acting Mayor Vern Veitch said the service had worked very well for a number of years, connecting the CBD, the Strand and the ferry terminal as part of regular public bus operations.

“The convenience of good bus services is extremely important to support our local businesses in the inner-city and to attract more people to places like the Strand and other attractions,’’ he said.

A TransLink spokesman said there were no plans to introduce any new bus services to Cairns, with the city’s public transport network reviewed in September last year as part of the Lake St redevelopment.

“Council is welcome to submit a formal request to TransLink for consideration,” he said. “TransLink works with councils and operators right across Queensland to make improvements to the public transport network, and considers any request for a new service in light of competing statewide priorities, as well as recent reviews and changes.”

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[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/TransLinkSEQ/status/890044019685953536

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