Brisbane: Bus Electric Rapid Transit (' Brisbane Metro ')

[SurfRail]

I believe the system will be capable of 30 000 pphd (120 buses/hour x 256 passengers/bus)

Multiplying the vehicle's maximum capacity by an arbitrary headway does not prove anything. 

We know the busway has a notional capacity of 18,000 now, but we know for a fact that it never carries anything like that because of the low occupancy of the current services and the fact the system STILL gets congested beyond belief when somebody sneezes in the wrong direction. 

I don't get your preoccupation with this magic number.

[ozbob]

For the casual reader.

The Brisbane 'metro' #2 is bus rapid transit system using bi-articulated buses. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with this as we have a good busway system and it makes sense to optimise the busways.

It is not a big deal that bi-articulated buses are to be used.

We did point out that ' metro ' #1 was nonsense and would never be achieved ( you did swallow it ), so don't be surprised with this outcome.

So  ..

[#Metro]

Multiplying the vehicle's maximum capacity by an arbitrary headway does not prove anything. 

We know the busway has a notional capacity of 18,000 now, but we know for a fact that it never carries anything like that because of the low occupancy of the current services and the fact the system STILL gets congested beyond belief when somebody sneezes in the wrong direction. 

I don't get your preoccupation with this magic number.

It is worth considering a few points:

1. It's a standard way to calculate the theoretical line capacity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_capacity

We do need to know that number as we need to make comparisons. You are right that practical capacity is lower/varies due to pax not packing perfectly, but that is true of any system and we are after the ability to draw reasonable conclusions, not perfection.

For a metro system, route capacity is generally the capacity of each vehicle, times the number of vehicles per train, times the number of trains per hour (tph).

2. I didn't make up the number and it isn't "magic". It's actually what was promised in BCC material. I'm simply pointing out that BRT actually meets that promised target and thus no wheel-on-steel technology is necessary now or in the future for the busway. BCC is meeting their promised capacity with this.

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/20160513_communications_-_tagged_newsletter_-_brisbane_metro_subway_system_-_12_may_2016.pdf

This is a transport solution built for future growth and and needs. It will provide a reliable, comfortable and high-frequency transport option carrying up to 30 000 passengers per hour...

3. I think I was the only person on this forum to say that a (wheel-on-steel) metro down the SE busway was a great idea.
It was my consistent position for years due to the high capacity and automation. And I got so much criticism for that.

And then the Lord Mayor took up the idea... how about that?

Now that I am satisfied that the BRT proposed is capable of meeting metro capacity (that 30 000 pphd number) if configured correctly, and that I fully support the BRT option, I am getting criticised for NOT supporting wheel-on-steel on the SE Busway (either now or in the future). 

A truly remarkable position to be in.

I am satisfied that the bus solution will work and if configured right, and its ultimate capacity negates the need for wheel-on-steel metro now and in the future along the SE busway alignment.

It does the job. I'm happy, everyone else on the forum agrees it is a good idea. Very well.

[SurfRail]

I'm not going to bother. 

[BrizCommuter]

BrizCommuter: Brisbane Metro - Why Bus is Best.
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/brisbane-metro-why-bus-is-best.html

[SteelPan]

It's a Brissy special....the "Metro" you have when you......have a bus!   

[ozbob]

BrizCommuter: Brisbane Metro - Why Bus is Best.
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/brisbane-metro-why-bus-is-best.html

Thanks!   

Sent to all outlets, including all BCC Wards.   

BrizCommuter:
Brisbane Metro - Why Bus is Best
> https://t.co/fgQq9hJMCo#qldpol@Schrinner @Team_Quirk @jackietrad @CrPeterCumming pic.twitter.com/t4hbo0blUu

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) March 14, 2017

[BrizCommuter]

^ Thanks Ozbob!

It's a Brissy special....the "Metro" you have when you......have a bus!   

Quite the opposite, as explained in detail in my blog post (did you actually read it?) there are far more compelling reasons why a bus based Metro is a better solution than a train based Metro, at least for the next few decades. It is one of the few sensible transport decision made recently in Brisbane, and good on Quirk for not persisting with something that was not going to stack up.

[Arnz]

It's a Brissy special....the "Metro" you have when you......have a bus!   

I recall you were a strong supporter of the original proposal which was also a glorified Bus on tyres with a pantograph attached posing as a "metro train".  So why the opposition to this improved bus metro?

[ozbob]

We need to move past constant narky politics & accept there are solutions.
Or we will never have nice things that Adelaide has .#qldpol O_o https://t.co/9YmFZ7ld3H

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) March 14, 2017

^

BrizCommuter:
Brisbane Metro - Why Bus is Best
> https://t.co/fgQq9hJMCo#qldpol@Schrinner @Team_Quirk @jackietrad @CrPeterCumming pic.twitter.com/t4hbo0blUu

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) March 14, 2017

[#Metro]

Quite the opposite, as explained in detail in my blog post (did you actually read it?) there are far more compelling reasons why a bus based Metro is a better solution than a train based Metro, at least for the next few decades. It is one of the few sensible transport decision made recently in Brisbane, and good on Quirk for not persisting with something that was not going to stack up.

+++

(Blog Post) Excellent piece of writing BrizCommuter. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Well done. 

[Stillwater]

Queensland politicians need to stay out of PT infrastructure design and have confidence in the professional engineers.  The pollies are there to back the engineers when they arrive at a solution.  A lot of double guessing goes on in Qld -- and power plays within the public service, where silo mentality prevails too often (TMR, QR, TransLink).

[#Metro]

This is a win for math.

BCC was going all out with its proposal and PR. Unfortunately, math overrules PR. Always.

It scares me just how far the BCC metro got given that it would have a capacity of around 9000 pphd. Which is half the current busway capacity?

The media were completely complacent. Even red team did not execute this line of inquiry. Very scary.

[Gazza]

Multiplying the vehicle's maximum capacity by an arbitrary headway does not prove anything. 

We know the busway has a notional capacity of 18,000 now, but we know for a fact that it never carries anything like that because of the low occupancy of the current services and the fact the system STILL gets congested beyond belief when somebody sneezes in the wrong direction. 

I don't get your preoccupation with this magic number.

It is worth considering a few points:

1. It's a standard way to calculate the theoretical line capacity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_capacity

We do need to know that number as we need to make comparisons. You are right that practical capacity is lower/varies due to pax not packing perfectly, but that is true of any system and we are after the ability to draw reasonable conclusions, not perfection.

For a metro system, route capacity is generally the capacity of each vehicle, times the number of vehicles per train, times the number of trains per hour (tph).

2. I didn't make up the number and it isn't "magic". It's actually what was promised in BCC material. I'm simply pointing out that BRT actually meets that promised target and thus no wheel-on-steel technology is necessary now or in the future for the busway. BCC is meeting their promised capacity with this.

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/sites/default/files/20160513_communications_-_tagged_newsletter_-_brisbane_metro_subway_system_-_12_may_2016.pdf

This is a transport solution built for future growth and and needs. It will provide a reliable, comfortable and high-frequency transport option carrying up to 30 000 passengers per hour...

What my question is, is why is 30,000 the magic number?
It was trotted out as a theoretical capacity during the election campaign.

Nobody has actually questioned why that figure was decided uppn for the SE busway catchment.

Eg why not 20,000, or 25,000, or 60,000.

Tldr, is the capacity being judged on the ability to meet forecast demand, or ability to meet an election promise?

[Derwan]

I had a day off yesterday and caught a bus from Cultural Centre at 10:30am.  I had to wait about 15 minutes for my bus so had time to observe what was going on.  Even at that time, it was absolute chaos on the outbound platform - with buses being held up because of the two sets of lights just after the station.  Buses were half-pulling out, holding up buses behind them trying to stop.  Buses were edging past others living millimeters in between.  I admire the skills of our bus drivers!

I didn't take much notice of how many people were in the buses, but I'm going to guess they were less than half full... probably less!

I wish people would get past the "they're just bigger buses" mentality and look at the bigger picture.  As well as the vehicles, they're planning to solve the major hold-up area at the Cultural Centre.  This has been left in the "too hard basked" for far too long.  While the Cultural Centre is the worst, there are hold-ups at every bus station close to the city - due to the number of buses trying to access the relatively short platforms.  The larger buses will reduce congestion around the stations.

Who cares whether it's called a metro!  Who cares if they're buses and not trams, trains or whatever else people believe constitute a "metro".  Look at the PLAN and decide whether it's the right one.

[Aircooled]

Who cares whether it's called a metro!  Who cares if they're buses and not trams, trains or whatever else people believe constitute a "metro".  Look at the PLAN and decide whether it's the right one.

Because calling it a metro triggers a certain set of expectations in the public's mind. It may have metrolike features, same as a billy cart is ' carlike '. But it shouldn't be hyped on that basis. Especially by politicians. The public aren't fools.

Call it for what it is so at least the public knows where they stand and what they're getting - a BRT.

[ozbob]

Welcome Aircooled !

Yes they are dancing around a bit - BRT it is .. but the Team Quirk need a political escape hence ' metro ' ...

Someone on twitter suggested calling it ' Briz-Bahn '   

[#Metro]

Because calling it a metro triggers a certain set of expectations in the public's mind. It may have metrolike features, same as a billy cart is ' carlike '. But it shouldn't be hyped on that basis. Especially by politicians. The public aren't fools.

Call it for what it is so at least the public knows where they stand and what they're getting - a BRT

Hi Aircooled,

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your first post.

Yes, you are right that it triggers ' a certain set of expectations '. It was a votebait proposal cooked up in a panic to derail the Rod Harding Red Team Light Rail proposal. The only thing bigger than light rail was metro, obviously. (This is how we plan PT in Brisbane by the way, symbol and emotion led/directed planning).

It was supposed to be rail, and I am sure if they had the means it would be genuine wheel-on-steel rail. However, the maths does not work and no amount of PR overrules math so finally BCC hit this wall of reality barrier and they have now resorted to a bit of a sleight of hand to save face.

The good news is that it is a sound proposal, despite not starting out that way.

Back to your point though - you do have to ask what these 'expectations' are. If it is service standards - high ultimate capacity, frequency, reliability, span of hours, etc, the BRT meets all of those criteria just as a metro. As technology advances, it might also meet the automation criteria.

One of the advantages the BRT will have over a true wheel-on-steel metro is that you can still run a limited form of express service even at high frequency. So, for example, if a BRT bus comes from Browns Plains, you could still run those express.

I put the ultimate capacity at 120 buses/hour x 256 pax = 30 720 pphd, which is the same as a true metro system (1000 pax trains at  30 trains per hour, a train every 2 mins). There thus appears to be no advantage (perhaps automation for now) to having a rail based metro over the BRT proposal. Indeed it would likely cost $500 million more.

My position on this is pretty much the same as Derwan's.

[HappyTrainGuy]

The platforms aren't too short. The issue is how poorly Brisbane's PT is designed. Everyone has a bus direct to the city. And there is so much duplication of routes. There are many things at play that refuses to get addressed. Pre paid only at bus stations is another problem.

All they are doing is designing a fix for the problem without addressing the core problem.

[Aircooled]

Thank you ozbob and @Metro for the warm welcome and the excellent forum! It's great to be here.

[BrizCommuter]

Someone on twitter suggested calling it ' Briz-Bahn '   

That's excellent!

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

16th March 2017

CRR and Brisbane ' Metro ' are an integrated public transport solution

Good Morning,

It is now appropriate to join Cross River Rail (CRR) and the Brisbane ' Metro ' Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) plans together conceptually and promote the integrated public transport solution they are for Brisbane and SEQ. Both projects are integrated from an operational perspective, CRR and BRT ' Metro'  should not be seen as competing projects, but as two elements of the single public transport solution.

Presenting both projects in this light will be seen by many, including the Federal Government and Infrastructure Australia, as the correct path now to public transport resilience, capacity, and hence successful delivery and outcomes. Both projects will provide the economic stimulus that is needed.

It is sad that the  Queensland LNP seem to be the only major player that does not understand the need for Cross River Rail.
[ LNP Opposition Media release  STATEMENT: Brisbane Metro http://www.timnicholls.com.au/statement-brisbane-metro/ ]

The Queensland LNP has previously stamped their public transport credentials as very mediocre with such absurd proposals as the ' Cleveland Solution ' and the ' Bus and Train ' tunnel.  They are consigning themselves to irrelevancy once again unless they come on board with the integrated public transport solution that CRR and the BRT ' Metro ' now promises for SEQ and Brisbane.

Best wishes
Robert

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

References:

1. Cross River Rail --> https://www.crossriverrail.qld.gov.au/

2. Brisbane ' Metro ' -->  https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro

[ozbob]

[verbatim9]

^^I noticed in the interior shots of the video (1.53) (2.03) the activated next stop info displays. These are very similar to the interior display panels of the new BT Translink buses which are yet to be activated. (which have "bus stopping")

[ozbob]

Want to know more about #BrisbaneMetro? Attend one of the community info sessions in April. Details on our website. https://t.co/CsXNAukBEV pic.twitter.com/PaEkcPVSa6

— Brisbane City (@brisbanecityqld) March 28, 2017

Community information sessions

>> https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro/brisbane-metro-have-your-say-0

[ozbob]

Sunday Mail 2nd April 2017 page 70

Traps with Peter Cameron

Metro Moves

[aldonius]

I went to the consultation session in Brisbane Square this afternoon.

Came away very happy. I wasn't really aware of the changes at Adelaide St.

CBD summary: new busway portal to KGS and QSBS at Adelaide St. QSBS starters to use existing portal.

Through services to use middle two lanes on Victoria Bridge. Big new Cultural Centre station diagonally under Grey St. Other services to use outer Bridge lanes and surface platforms around current location.

Confirmed: all door boarding and off vehicle fares are for ALL services at the relevant stations.

Some stations to be lengthened (Roma St north, Griffith, Mt Gravatt, 8MP).

TBD: exactly which services will be feederised and how exactly it will all be funded.

[verbatim9]

^^I too attended the Metro project community feedback session.
Questions I had were
1. Access for cyclists if bikes are allowed on board?
2. Truncated services feeding into the Metro. Guaranteed services levels to meet first and last Metro services?
3. How is it going to be powered?
Hybrid?
Regular Combustion engine?
Over head wiring ?
Rapid recharge vehicles?

They found my questions above challenging, yet valid.

[Derwan]

I also went to the consultation.  Some of the things I was curious about were answered, such as the lengthening of some platforms at other stations and how the Cultural Centre would be done.  It still looks like it's very much in a concept phase - with diagrams being very indicative.  Nothing like the detailed design specs we've seen for CRR.  Timelines are very optimistic.

[#Metro]

I don't have any preference for propulsion fuel but am intrigued about how they would decide which one to use.

[Gazza]

^Predicted lifecycle costs and reliability.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

8th April 2017

Comment: Brisbane Metro to expand to Chermside, Carindale and Springwood

Greetings,

Deputy Mayor Adrian Schrinner has announced that ' Brisbane Metro ' lines to Chermside, Carindale and Springwood will be considered. RAIL Back on Track supports additional Metro lines to these locations.

RAIL Back on Track is a strong supporter of the Brisbane Metro project using bi-articulated buses.

An additional Metro line should be considered to the Centenary Suburbs via Indooroopilly. Too many bus routes are coming into the CBD via Coronation Drive and that means higher costs and an overly complex bus network. A Western suburbs line on the Brisbane Metro could simplify that significantly, increase efficiency and free up even more buses for deployment to increased frequency on feeder and coverage routes.

RAIL Back on Track also supports running Brisbane Metro vehicles in dedicated bus lanes or ' transit-ways' . This approach could be used on Old Cleveland Road as the Eastern Busway entails extremely high expense and timing of that project is uncertain.

Best wishes,
Robert

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

Reference:

Brisbane Metro to expand to Chermside, Carindale and Springwood
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/brisbane-metro-to-expand-to-chermside-carindale-and-springwood-20170407-gvgf0j.html

[ozbob]

Comment: Brisbane Metro to expand to Chermside, Carindale & Springwood
> https://t.co/BcsiZChrQF#qldpol@Schrinner @jackietrad @Team_Quirk pic.twitter.com/aJzfc6GjjT

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 7, 2017

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane Metro to expand to Chermside, Carindale and Springwood

Brisbane City Council's proposed metro system will eventually be extended to Chermside, Carindale and Springwood, deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner said, as more details of the revised project were revealed.

According to the council's plans, the new Chermside line would feed into the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital station, while the Carindale line would feed into the Buranda metro station.

The Springwood line would be an extension of the already announced Eight Mile Plains line, along the South East Busway.

The revelation came weeks before the business case for Brisbane Metro 1 (between Eight Mile Plains and Roma Street) and 2 (between the University of Queensland and the RBWH) was due to be released.

Cr Schrinner said, ideally, the expanded Brisbane Metro would run along the yet-to-be built Eastern Busway and Northern Busway extensions, but it could still be delivered prior to those state projects being completed.

All that would be required in that scenario would be dedicated bus lanes and the construction of Brisbane Metro platforms.

Having the Brisbane Metro mixing with general traffic, Cr Schrinner said, would "defeat the purpose" of the high-frequency service, which would have a service every three minutes during peak times.

"If, for example, you had bus lanes along Old Cleveland Road to Carindale, then you could potentially run metro along those bus lanes all the way out to Carindale," he said.

"There would be a cost in making some modifications to the infrastructure with the platforms, it could be done relatively quickly.

"We'd need to procure additional vehicles to do that, but in the scheme of things, once we've got the model in place and it's operating with Metro 1 and Metro 2, I think it could be scaled quite quickly."

The Chermside connection was mooted by Rail: Back on Track public transport lobbyist Robert Dow earlier this week as a future Brisbane Metro route.

Cr Schrinner said the council's abandonment of its original $1.54 billion Brisbane Metro proposal, which had rubber-tyred trams running along tracks between Woolloongabba and Herston, allowed its future expansion.

Instead, bi-articulated buses would run the high-frequency routes.

"It's a scalable and expandable project now, which is wasn't in its original form," Cr Schrinner said.

"When you're relying on the tracks, that then limits your flexibility essentially, so that's one of the advantages of the new (Brisbane Metro), that you can extend it further."

Details of the new Cultural Centre underground metro station have also been released, although detailed plans of the new station, including artists' impressions, had not yet be drawn up.

The station would be built about seven metres below the intersection of Grey and Melbourne streets, adjacent to the existing South Brisbane train station.

It would include two 100-metre platforms (inbound and outbound), platform screen doors, real-time passenger information displays, off-board ticketing and escalators.

The existing Cultural Centre busway station platforms would also be replaced, to cater for bus services connecting West End, the CBD and Fortitude Valley, such as the existing CityGlider services.

Upgrades to six existing busway stations – Eight Mile Plains, Upper Mount Gravatt, Griffith University, Buranda, Mater Hill and Roma Street – would see platforms lengthened, while another 11 stations would need modifications.

Platform screen doors, which would provide a physical barrier from the busways, would also be installed at Brisbane Metro stations.

Cr Schrinner said the final cost of Metro 1 and Metro 2 would be revealed in the business case due next month, but it was expected to be "less than $1 billion".

"With the new metro, the fact that we're not worrying about tracks means that we can essentially extend it, provided you have infrastructure like a busway or dedicated right of way," he said.

"At the very minimum, you'd need dedicated bus lanes. Ideally, you'd need proper stations as well, because these are long vehicles that can't use a normal bus stations.

"But if you had a busway extended to Carindale or Chermside, you could easily run the metro out to those areas. Wherever the busway is extended, we can look at an extended metro as well."

At its launch, the Brisbane Metro would require about 60 bi-articulated buses, each with a capacity of about 150 passengers.

The council has announced public information sessions about its Brisbane Metro project would be held at:

    King George Square on Saturday, April 8, between 10am and 1pm.
    Queen Street Mall main stage (outside Myer) on Monday, April 10, between 11am and 2pm.
    Holland Park Library at 81 Seville Road on Tuesday April 11, between noon and 2pm.
    Diana Plaza Hotel's Aventine Room at 12 Annerley Road, Woolloongabba, on Thursday, April 20, between 4pm and 7pm.
    Garden City Library at Upper Mount Gravatt on Saturday, April 22, between 10am and 1pm.
    Queen Street Mall main stage (outside Myer) on Thursday, April 27, between 11am and 2pm.

[SurfRail]

I'm really coming to like this project more and more.  It's basically just making the busways shedloads more productive, which is long overdue.

[ozbob]

I'm really coming to like this project more and more.  It's basically just making the busways shedloads more productive, which is long overdue.

+1  ...  getting better, lots!

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane deputy mayor says BaT Tunnel demise was good in the end

The scrapping of the Liberal National Party-preferred Bus and Train Tunnel was a blessing for the people of Brisbane, the city's LNP deputy mayor Adrian Schrinner says.

The Newman LNP government announced the BaT Tunnel in 2013, after Labor's Cross River Rail project was scrapped. The $5 billion project would have been a two-level tunnel, with trains running below the buses.

Upon its election in 2015, the Palaszczuk Labor government in turn scrapped the BaT Tunnel in favour of a resurrected Cross River Rail.

That decision was met with anger at City Hall, with Lord Mayor Graham Quirk threatening to bypass the state government and lobby the federal government to get the BaT Tunnel built.

But following the release of the council's revised Brisbane Metro transit system, which would use bi-articulated buses on high-frequency routes, Cr Schrinner said it was a good thing the BaT Tunnel had been abandoned.

"The intent of the BaT Tunnel was good because it was trying to solve two problems with one project and it's good to have that kind of thinking," he said.

"But still, it was a $5 billion-plus project and it would have also created significant challenges in terms of the bus network and how the bus network flowed through the infrastructure.

"The key challenge with BaT was that the buses would have had to go through the entire tunnel and come out the other end – there was no turning ability so they could have turned around at the city and come back.

"That meant they would have had to go all the way through, up to beyond Roma Street, and that created some dead running in itself."

Cr Schrinner said while that would not have been an insurmountable problem, it would not have been an efficient use of buses.

"So I think, with the revised Cross River Rail and the revised Brisbane Metro, overall we have a much better solution," he said.

It was revealed on Saturday that the Brisbane Metro project would eventually be extended beyond its initial termini of Eight Mile Plains, the University of Queensland and Herston to take in Springwood, Chermside and Carindale along dedicated busways or bus lanes.

It was a move welcomed by Rail: Back on Track public transport lobbyist Robert Dow, who said the extensions could go even further.

And the Labor opposition's public transport spokesman, Jared Cassidy, noted its similarity with 2015 lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding's 2015 transitway election commitment.

"I don't think banana buses are bad, but it's certainly not the Brisbane Metro that was promised at the election," Cr Cassidy said.

"We're not opposed to this plan, although we do want to see details. Getting this humming along is great, but what's next?"

Cr Cassidy said Labor's proposed light rail system that it took to last year's election remained a part of its platform going forward.

"If you deal with this capacity issue on the busway, it still leaves open the possibility of light rail," he said.

"It changes slightly in terms of if the UQ link with the banana buses works out, so the route could look a bit different – there could be a river crossing at a different point for us.

"But we're still committed to a light rail at this stage."

Mr Dow, who had been a vocal critic of the BaT Tunnel and the original Brisbane Metro plans, said he had been turned around with the council's new Brisbane Metro project.

But he said it could go even further.

"An additional metro line should be considered to the Centenary Suburbs via Indooroopilly," Mr Dow said.

"Too many bus routes are coming into the CBD via Coronation Drive and that means higher costs and an overly complex bus network.

"A western suburbs line on the Brisbane Metro could simplify that significantly, increase efficiency and free up even more buses for deployment to increased frequency on feeder and coverage routes."

Cr Schrinner said he was pleased to have won some of the Brisbane Metro's most vocal critics over.

"It just goes to show that when you're doing a genuine business case process and you're doing genuine consultation, then good things often come out of it," he said.

"During the initial phase of developing the metro concept, it was all about clearing some of the key bottlenecks in the network, but when you start thinking outside the square and looking at options through a business case process, then it can be really positive.

"It wasn't just the project team that gave really worthwhile feedback; it was particularly the community and external groups like Rail: Back on Track and other interested parties.

"So it's been a great collaborative process that has made the project better and I think the project will continue to improve."

Cr Cassidy had another theory about the change of heart.

"My general view on a lot of things the deputy mayor is saying and doing is that he's trying to put his stamp on things, particularly around cycling and public transport and things like that," he said.

"My guess is that he's trying to set up his run for the mayoralty as well and that's why we're seeing a softening on certain things and him changing his language here and there."

The political snipes continue 

We have pushed for this for years in effect.  It is sensible and the way forward for Brisbane that is uniquely placed in terms of busways and other bus infrastructure.  The Deputy Mayor is now talking the talk and doing the walk.  I pushed the ALP (Harding et al.) to do similar for #BCCvotes.  They just dreamed up idiocies like ' Fare Free Friday '    They dismissed me and went for light rail, a proven non solution for Brisbane and its busways.  The rest is history. At least something appears to be on track for PT for Brisbane ...

[ozbob]

Brisbane deputy mayor says BaT Tunnel demise was good in the end https://t.co/nRun1xRRVI via @brisbanetimes #qldpol
spot on @Schrinner ! pic.twitter.com/29wAcjESCE

— Robert Dow (@Robert_Dow) April 8, 2017

[ozbob]

@CameronAtfield @brisbanetimes It's healthy that council is capable of admitting error. All politicians should take note.

— Terry Sweetman (@Terrytoo69) April 8, 2017

[wbj]

@CameronAtfield @brisbanetimes It's healthy that council is capable of admitting error. All politicians should take note.

— Terry Sweetman (@Terrytoo69) April 8, 2017

LOL  Admit error?  "metro" anyone?