14 May 2024: Better buses needed while SEQ waits

[ozbob]

Better buses needed while SEQ waits

14th May 2024

RAIL Back On Track welcomes the announcement today that is locked in for rail to Caloundra.
This project will be a game-changer in terms of improving mobility, saving residents time and allowing them to bypass congestion.

But as one milestone is reached, there are several new ones that present themselves, and the task of fulfilling our regions transport plans is never complete.

It's fantastic that the Sunshine Coast has finally had a win, but the fact is people continue to move to South East Queensland, growth is happening in all directions, and much of this growth is happening outside the catchment of the current rail system.

This is even true of state led "Priority development areas" such as Yarrabilba, Flagstone and Ripley, which are growing every week with minimal public transport available.

Whether it's project like Cross River Rail,  trains to Redcliffe or trains to Maroochydore, what we've seen is that time and time again is that delivering a new rail line tends to be a painful multi decade process for the Queensland Government, with "stalling tactics" tending to be quite obvious.

So what's the solution in the meantime for "everywhere else"?

We know that growth areas like Maroochydore, Coolangatta, Ripley, Redbank, Flagstone, Yarrabilba, Hamilton and Southern Redlands can't just have nothing until rail eventually reaches them.

What is needed is a broader roll-out of high frequency bus routes (Operating at least every 15 minutes, 7 days a week)  outside of traditional inner city areas, running direct along arterial roads.

This is the type of policy that can be implemented in months or within a couple of years, not decades, can be done relatively cheaply, and it would introduce more people to the concept of useful public transport, not just those who can afford to live in Brisbane's inner suburbs or near an existing station.

Buses are not necessarily the most glamorous part of the transport network, but a decent bus system should always be a starting point for getting people out of cars.

It shouldn't be the case where you have entire council areas Moreton Bay or Redlands with populations bigger than Cairns that don't have a single high frequency bus corridor.

Nor should it be the case where the state government is opening up areas like Yarrabilba yet only funding bus 6 days a week at a 2 hour frequency at times.

Most of Translink's improvements in more recent times have been fairly lame offerings such as timetable tweaks or hourly bus routes. Treasury needs to allocate more funding for Translink to allow service improvements, it is not all about infrastructure.

The SEQ Regional Transport Plan (2021) calls for around 25 new frequent bus links to be implemented over the next 18 years, but at present there is no implementation plan and no funding pipeline to roll it out.

This needs to change urgently.

TMR's bus vision



Source:
https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/-/media/aboutus/corpinfo/Publications/regionaltransportplans/RTP-SEQ-web.pdf

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

[ozbob]

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