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

[BrizCommuter]

Just went to one of the community consultation sessions. Looks very positive.

All door boarding for all buses (not just metro buses) to decrease dwell times and allow buses to travel in convoy rather than leap frogging. Off bus go card readers at "metro" bus stops. New portal in Adelaide St to bypass QSBS congestion.

[ozbob]

 

[Aircooled]

With a carrying capacity of only 150 per vehicle, I can't see how this will provide rapid enough evacuation.. The spiffy design might afford reduced dwell times, but what good is that if you can't actually get on..?  I think queues will easily be snowballing in some instances.

I get that they want to avoid laying track, but rapid evacuation is the key. Surely these vehicles have got to be bigger/longer.

I would hate for them to invest in all this and look back and say, you know we should have just built a metro after all.

[#Metro]

^ I agree. It's a high volume busway, they should get the largest vehicle possible. Ferny Grove line is wholly contained within BCC boundaries 1000 pax train, easily fills during peak hour. No hospitals, universities or very large shopping centers on that line.

Go as big as possible.

[ozbob]

I am sure the bi-artics will have a capacity of around 250 pax +

[aldonius]

Nah, I heard ~150 pax nominal as well. I believe that'll be a downrating from what the equivalent rollingstock is rated for overseas. They should be kitted out with standing capacity in mind.

[BrizCommuter]

With a carrying capacity of only 150 per vehicle, I can't see how this will provide rapid enough evacuation.. The spiffy design might afford reduced dwell times, but what good is that if you can't actually get on..?  I think queues will easily be snowballing in some instances.

I get that they want to avoid laying track, but rapid evacuation is the key. Surely these vehicles have got to be bigger/longer.

I would hate for them to invest in all this and look back and say, you know we should have just built a metro after all.

Larger buses, high frequency services, and shorter dwell times due to all door boarding will allow for better spreading out of loads and better efficiency than the current busway, even though the actual theoretical capacity may not be too much higher. Buses have the advantage over trains in that platform re-occupation times are much shorter - given the limited platform lengths on the busways, it would be difficult for metro or light rail to achieve a higher capacity.

[ozbob]

150 was a ball park figure.  When they get to actually getting the vehicles sorted I think the max capacity will be higher than 150 in the end.

Yo, they will have to work on a comfortable 150, crush up to 250.  Otherwise they will really struggle at peaks.  Bit like our trains, 6 car comfortable for 500, optimal for peak 750, crush for short periods 1000 pax max.

Bi-artics capacities are up to 300 pax.  It really depends on the design they settle on.  It could well be a purpose built bi-artic for Brisbane too, rather than straight off the shelf.

[verbatim9]

Labor are still going with light rail in the long term. I think there is room for both Metro and Light rail coexisting. But prefer a mainly underground, driverless (weather proof) Metro on tracks. I think this whole Articulated bus thing is very experimental on how its powered, the number of people it will carry and the popularity of the system when running. Transfers from mode to mode is inevitable but not popular with general  commuters and disability groups.

[Cazza]

Just a question I'm hoping someone can answer:

If the bus stations have 'go card gates' (like at train stations), what will happen to people either wanting to purchase a ticket on board that don't have go cards or have a valid ticket to show to the driver?

Someone said that all bus routes will be all door boarding (I'm pretty sure) at busway stations and this will mean that the only way that these people can get through the gates is if they are staffed from first service till last. But this would be unreasonable. But if they left one gate open for these people without go cards, then this is where fare evasion occurs costing TransLink millions each year. People will then be just walking through and jumping straight onto a bus.

All the other aspects of the metro sound good, especially the new underground station at the Cultural Centre (I'm a bit concerned about flooding though).

Thanks, Callum

[verbatim9]

^^People will be able to touch on and off with a Credit or Debit card by then. **We are moving to a cashless society pretty fast anyway.

[aldonius]

Ticket machines outside the fare-gate area; print a barcode on the ticket and have a barcode reader on one of the gates.

[verbatim9]

Ticket machines outside the fare-gate area; print a barcode on the ticket and have a barcode reader on one of the gates.

^^Are you serious? A bit archaic! That means a software upgrade for all ticket printers network wide to allow for bar or QR codes to be printed and upgrade to the fare gates to allow dual ticketing options. Just go cashless and paper free. An account based ticketing system will be operational by then.

[aldonius]

Also, I actually don't think fare evasion will be that much of a problem. Most people will still need to touch on or off in the suburbs, and the busier stations can be staffed in the busier times.

^^Are you serious? A bit archaic! That means a software upgrade for all ticket printers network wide to allow for bar or QR codes to be printed and upgrade to the fare gates to allow dual ticketing options. Just go cashless and paper free. An account based ticketing system will be operational by then.

The fare free days recently demonstrated that we'll also need a software upgrade on all the buses just to disable the readers while leaving the real-time tracking in place. Otherwise people will by force of habit touch on at the bus as well as the fare gate and cause all sorts of weirdness.

As you say there might already be the new ticketing system by then, though I believe that a cash option needs to be retained for as long as cash remains, y'know, legal tender.

No need to upgrade any existing fare gates though.

[James]

Ticket machines outside the fare-gate area; print a barcode on the ticket and have a barcode reader on one of the gates.

There's no need for this at all. Open payment (PayWave cards etc.) should be up and running by then, if not at the very least you can have single-use smart cards like they have in Brussels and elsewhere in Europe.

If there's an issue with fare gates, pax can always use help phones on the platforms.

[tazzer9]

Don't even need gates, they just need something like the standard train station readers.  Hire of few SNO's to patrol it, lost revenue would be minimal. 

[Gazza]

Most busway stations have too many entrances for gates anyhow.
I literally would say KGS is the only one to gate easily.

[verbatim9]

Yes I can't see the government paying for all the Busway stations to be gated. Probably something similar to what occurs with the light rail on the Gold coast. Stand alone touch off/on stations on platforms and entrances to the Busway be best. Mater Hill, Southbank could be gated as well as Cultural Centre and KGS. But how would it work with people touching on and off on regular buses that use the Busway from the suburbs. It would take high tech programming to overcome geo touch on and off errors?

[Mr X]

Some thoughts about the metro that I don't think have been answered anywhere.
1. Is a bus/vehicle on both lines every 3 mins in peak going to be enough, if everyone has to transfer to the metro? That's only 20bph on line 1 and 20bph on line #2... As it is you've got the 111,130,140,150,160 all running at high frequencies and I imagine all these people will now be going on the metro.
2. Will current peak hour only rockets + other services be retained or scrapped? Not everyone needs to go via south bank in the morning peak.
3. Will pax from the east (who might use the 209 for example) have to switch lines at both Buranda and again at Mater Hill to get to UQ?
4. What about pax going to UQ from the southern suburbs? Do they switch, and where?
5. Will buses coming in at Woolloongabba eg. 174/175/230/235/204 etc. have a forced transfer to the metro?
6. City stop locations. Will the metro only stop at KGSBS/QSBS?

[#Metro]

I have a feeling that 209 and 222 could be merged into a cross town. A great question though, and a reason why I support getting the largest buses possible.

[Mr X]

The blue for the bus to Carindale looks like a different shade to the colour of the bus which goes to the city and to the valley. SO I'm assuming that's the current 61.

[Cazza]

The blue for the bus to Carindale looks like a different shade to the colour of the bus which goes to the city and to the valley. SO I'm assuming that's the current 61.

What they should have done with the 61 in the first place is run it from Enoggera Interchange -> Carindale Interchange via Wardell St, Ashgrove, Paddington, City, Buranda, Eastern Busway and Old Cleveland Rd. It would bring high frequency to Wardell St, keep the high frequency through Ashgrove and Paddington and replace route 222.

I'm not sure whether it would stay the normal route via W'Gabba or Buranda (I feel like W'Gabba would be better as it links with both Suncorp and the Gabba).

But this is the concept that should have occurred when it opened. It completely eliminates the stupid little half-arsed section from the City to Langlands Park and patronage will actually be existent on the eastern side of the city. I caught the city glider home today (getting on at Roma St @ 4:22pm) and had to walk to the second last row to find a seat. Even during schools holidays just after 4pm, the western side of the route is standing room only whereas I can only assume the eastern side struggles to get double digits in peak.

[aldonius]

According to the BCC bus planner I had a chat with at the Metro consult, they'd like to do more through-routing, but they believe that reliability would be too horribly impacted. I expect we'll see more through-routing as we get more bus priority.

Incidentally, I learned that one of the reasons the 66 isn't called a 'Glider' is because 'Glider' implies that BCC pays 50% of operating costs.

[#Metro]

A bit rich for BCC to complain about reliability when they give all priority to SOVs and not PT.
Duh!!

[aldonius]

A bit rich for BCC to complain about reliability when they give all priority to SOVs and not PT.
Duh!!

Believe it or not, BCC are not a monolithic entity. I highly doubt the guy I spoke to is (BCC internally, at least) supportive of the current lane allocations on Lutwyche Rd and the like.

[newbris]

Odd they mark the 61 Ashgrove / The Gap when it currently heads towards Enoggera, not The Gap.

[Gazza]

(I feel like W'Gabba would be better as it links with both Suncorp and the Gabba).

Why though?
Is there a reason to link the stadiums other than being symbolic?

[Cazza]

(I feel like W'Gabba would be better as it links with both Suncorp and the Gabba).

Why though?
Is there a reason to link the stadiums other than being symbolic?

I do see your point and feel running via Buranda would be the better option (quicker etc.). I guess from a tourists perspective, it would be handy to know if travelling to a sporting event that the 61 goes to Suncorp or W'gabba. But you are right, if it was to extend to Carindale, Buranda would be the way to go.

[James]

Believe it or not, BCC are not a monolithic entity.

There are multiple arms of BCC as a corporate organisation. The attitudes of those in the bus planning section may differ significantly from those responsible for maintaining and expanding the road network. I'll believe it when I see it.

I do see your point and feel running via Buranda would be the better option (quicker etc.). I guess from a tourists perspective, it would be handy to know if travelling to a sporting event that the 61 goes to Suncorp or W'gabba. But you are right, if it was to extend to Carindale, Buranda would be the way to go.

In the era of a simplified bus network, there is no need to have such "flagship" routes linking stadiums. It's not like we're linking the MCG and Flemington Racecourse, we're linking Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba. Neither are exactly historical stadiums, or traffic generators outside of game days. Taking it out of the busway and putting it back in after Buranda just means slow on-street running for the sake of serving Wooloongabba and a poorly patronised stop on Logan Rd which is already near a railway station anyway.

What I'd like to see with the Carindale superbus in the long-term is it to run from Indooroopilly to Carindale via UQ & Buranda. If the state government can get moving and build a bus tunnel from lakes to near Indooroopilly, a cross-town service can then be run. Passengers coming from Carindale can do a same-platform transfer to the Chermside - 8MP route (while pax for UQ from 8MP do the same), or transfer to rail at Park Rd. Much like how Vancouver operates the Millenium line, the superbus will never actually proceed into the CBD, instead passengers can transfer.

In the short term, just make sure it does what the 222 does.

[ozbob]

Brisbane --> Will Brisbane Metro business case be on time? Budget review throws up questions

The delivery of the next stage of the $1.54 billion Brisbane Metro has been thrown into question after the release of Brisbane City Council's third review report of the 2016-17 budget.

Council opposition leader Peter Cumming said the review laid bare the LNP administration's failure to deliver on its signature election promises.

The document, discussed in council chambers on Tuesday, showed $3.7 million of the $16 million in this year's budget dedicated to the planning and delivery of Brisbane Metro's business case was rolled over into the 2017-2018 financial year.

The business case was scheduled to be delivered by the end of May 2017.

The budget review document explained the change as "carryover of capital to 2017-2018 to complete the detailed business case".

"This document recalls the chronic mismanagement of council projects by the LNP administration in City Hall," Cr Cumming said.

"Millions of dollars worth of projects were supposed to be finished this financial year but Graham Quirk has failed to deliver.

"When will the highly secretive business case, which is to be hidden from the public, actually be completed?"
The council defended accusations the business case was delayed.

The council defended accusations the business case was delayed.

Despite the review document saying the funds rollover were to "complete" the case, on Thursday a council spokesman said the business case would be delivered in May.

"The $3.7 million represents savings in the originally allocated business case budget," the spokesman said.

"These funds will be invested into the overall Brisbane Metro project to progress plans, following delivery of the business case."

Cr Cumming also criticised the LNP administration's delay of major road upgrades, including the $650 million Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade, Boundary Road upgrade and Wynnum Road Stage 1B project.

Finance boss Krista Adams was quick to shut down the opposition's claims in the chamber.

"When it comes to this third budget review we have got projects and carryovers that run in calendar years, not financial years," she said.

"We employ people over January to December, so obviously in a budget financial year they need to roll over to continue into those contractual arrangements.

"What this review clearly shows is we are committed to responsible financial management."

The 2017-2018 Brisbane City Council budget will be released on Wednesday, June 14.

[Derwan]

We can expect further "delays".  As I mentioned earlier, the timelines presented at the community consultation were extremely optimistic.  They really weren't realistic at all considering the full business case hadn't even been developed.  They've got a lot of hoops to jump through before they can formally ask the feds (and maybe state) for funding.  And that'll be another story.

Of course if they get to the request for funding stage before any more elections, they'll have the advantage of asking their own party (feds) for funding.  We could just see the "Metro" prioritised ahead of CRR.

[ozbob]

LM: Council will deliver a business case for #BrisbaneMetro this month #qt #bnepol

— Team Quirk (@Team_Quirk) May 16, 2017

[ozbob]

Brisbane Metro newsletter - April 2017 (PDF - 1.9Mb)

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane Metro will operate high-frequency services 20 hours a day

THE high-frequency, high-capacity Brisbane Metro public transport system will operate 20 hours a day during the week, with vehicles leaving every three minutes at peak times, the project's business case says.

Officially released today, it shows up to 150 passengers will be able to board one of the 60 Brisbane Metro vehicles, which will leave every three minutes during peak periods.

Bi-articulated buses equipped with free wi-fi would run every five minutes between morning and afternoon peak periods, and every 10 minutes at night.

The service would run up to 24 hours a day on weekends.

Commuters would save about an hour each week, with morning peak travel times to drop by 30 per cent and afternoon peak times to be slashed by 50 per cent.

The $944 million public transport system is due to be completed by 2022.

Brisbane Metro would feature two distinct lines running 21km along Brisbane's existing busway route. Metro 1 would run from Eight Mile Plains to Roma St, while Metro 2 would run from the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital to the University of Queensland.

In October, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced $10 million to go towards planning the State Government's proposed Cross River Rail and its integration with Brisbane Metro.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk yesterday emphasised Brisbane Metro was part of a "broader network" and would be integrated with Cross River Rail and other rail systems.

"The Brisbane Metro will demonstrate our credentials as a vibrant, 24-hour, new world city, with services operating around the clock on weekends," he said.

"Our existing bus infrastructure is already at capacity in a number of areas and cannot cope with the continued forecast growth of our city."

The project was originally set to cost about $1.5 billion, however the council unveiled a drastic design overhaul in March, with tracks removed, saving $500 million.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane Metro business case to reveal 24-hour weekend services

The Brisbane Metro rapid transit system will operate 24 hours a day on weekends, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced ahead of the release of the long-awaited business case on Tuesday.

The business case for the $944 million project was set to be unveiled at City Hall at 10am, with just two days to spare before the council's May release deadline.

Cr Quirk said metro services would run non-stop on weekends and at least 20 hours on weekdays once it was operational in 2022.

"The Brisbane Metro will demonstrate our credentials as a vibrant 24-hour, new world city with services operating around the clock on weekends," he said.

"Each metro vehicle will have free Wi-Fi internet, so passengers can stay connected while travelling along the metro lines."

Brisbane City Council abandoned its original $1.57 billion proposal for rubber-tyred trams between Woolloongabba and Herston in March.

In its place was a two-line network, with Metro 1 (between Eight Mile Plains and Roma Street) and Metro 2 (between the University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital) serviced by a more flexible fleet of bi-articulated buses.

The cost of the new configuration, $944 million, was expected to be confirmed in the business case to be released on Tuesday.

Eventually, the Brisbane Metro could expand to Chermside, Carindale and Springwood.

The high-frequency, high-capacity Brisbane Metro would run across 21 kilometres of existing busway infrastructure.

Cr Quirk said it would reduce travel times by about 30 per cent in the morning peak and 50 per cent in the afternoon peak.

"The Brisbane Metro corridor links key employment areas with a high-frequency passenger transport system to support business and enable these locations to thrive," he said.

"Brisbane Metro will be part of a long-term plan for a broader metro network as extensions are made to the state government's busway network and will be integrated with the proposed Cross River Rail project and other existing rail."

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last year linked federal Cross River Rail funding to its integration with the Brisbane Metro.

The metro would include upgrades to 17 existing bus stations, two Cross River Rail interchanges and a new underground station at South Brisbane.

That 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 Victoria Bridge would also be closed to general traffic to allow metro and bus services exclusive road use.

Each of the 60 Brisbane Metro bi-articulated buses would carry up to 150 passengers.

[ozbob]

Thanks to the Lord Mayor and Deputy Mayor for the invitation to the launch of the Business Case for the Brisbane Metro this morning.

Heading home now on the 11.30am Ippy ex Roma St.

More later but basically the project is looking good. BCR is 1.91 for a cost of $944 Million thereabouts.

Don't forget a large part of the cost is already there in part - the busways, but in their words this project is ' super-charging ' the existing busway network.

Hopefully some documentation will be available soon at > https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro

Eight mile plains is the preferred location for stabling and maintenance facilities for the bi-artics.

Did some media for television news and Brisbanetimes.  Stressed a couple of points not really mentioned in depth - this project will free up buses for better frequency for feeders and coverage & force network reform and the fact that bi-articulated buses can easily run in transit ways on surface roads further out, expensive bus-ways not always needed.  The LM did mention the possibility of further extensions.

Cultural Centre Bus station underground, Victoria Bridge green, 300m Tunnel in Adelaide St.

Final vehicles not yet determined but they are considering all options - electric & hybrid closely.

They are working on 150 pax per vehicle but I suggested to DM that they could probably achieve 180 pax in the end.

All door boarding of course with ticketing as per rail stations (off bus).

[verbatim9]

Sounds good, better infrastructure for Brisbane and hopefully better cross town connections until midnight 7days when more busses are available? I can see the merits but would like to see an underground all weather grade seperated driverless Metro sometime in the near future.

Sent from my XT1562 using Tapatalk

[verbatim9]

Cultural Centre Bus station underground, Victoria Bridge green, 300m Tunnel in Adelaide St.

Final vehicles not yet determined but they are considering all options - electric & hybrid closely.

They are working on 150 pax per vehicle but I suggested to DM that they could probably achieve 180 pax in the end.

All door boarding of course with ticketing as per rail stations (off bus).

I saw that Adelaide St tunnel in a building render a couple of weeks ago the new one getting built next to Brisbane Sq on George St. The render suggests Adelaide St will become a pedestrian mall between George St and North Quay.



The tunnel can be seen here when zoomed in.

[ozbob]

Proposed initial frequency is 3 minutes peak each route, which gives 90 sec frequency core overlap for the bi-artics.

5 minute off peak, 10 minute at night.

20 hours weekdays, 24 hourly Friday Saturday nights.

[ozbob]

https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro

Council has developed a Key Findings Report, which summarises the key outcomes of the Brisbane Metro Business Case. The report discusses the following:

    need for Brisbane Metro
    current bus network challenges
    development and evolution of Brisbane Metro
    key elements of the project
    future transport network
    next steps.

The Key Findings Report is available to download.

>> Brisbane Metro Business Case Key Findings Report (PDF - 3.7Mb)

Other documents/video > https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/brisbane-metro#documents