On the Buses

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Double-decker buses bound for Brisbane

Brisbane's hop-on, hop-off tourist bus service has a brand new operator and its bringing two London-style, open-top double-decker buses to ferry visitors around the River City from the beginning of November.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced on Tuesday morning that tourism specialist City Sightseeing was soon to take the reins of the City Sights tourist bus service from Brisbane Transport, which runs the city's commuter bus network.

The company runs similar hop-on, hop-off services for tourists in Sydney, Bondi Beach, the Blue Mountains, Mornington Peninsula, Canberra, Darwin, Cairns, Perth, and Hobart.

"City Sightseeing has a world-class globally-recognised service, that offers multilingual commentary in eight languages, and specialised open top, double-decker buses, that will be a boost for Brisbane tourism," Cr Quirk said ...

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/doubledecker-buses-bound-for-brisbane-20141021-119b1s.html

Twitter

Amy Remeikis ‏@AmyRemeikis

How long has this been a thing in Brisbane? And what exactly does it show?



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^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow

@AmyRemeikis replaced the City Sights bus .. > http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/doubledecker-buses-bound-for-brisbane-20141021-119b1s.html ... you are most welcome! #qldpol

[red dragin]

Does this mean that a bus route was tendered to a private contractor on BT's turf, by the BCC?

[ozbob]

Does this mean that a bus route was tendered to a private contractor on BT's turf, by the BCC?

Yes Sir!   

[HappyTrainGuy]

Is that a NSW phone number I see aswell??

[red dragin]

Does this mean that a bus route was tendered to a private contractor on BT's turf, by the BCC?

Yes Sir!   

Your keeping that tidbit handy for a media release I hope 

Liking the post PTAG RailBOT by the way 

[techblitz]

Missed my usual archerfield 110-103 connection to ipswich line due to g20 lateness......not to worry.....110-100-463 @ grand ave west.....worked out perfect..no more than 3 mins wait between connections

[ozbob]

RCH Herston - busway station renamed Herston

>> http://translink.com.au/travel-information/service-notices/28541/details

[techblitz]

Britain's first 'poo bus' hits the streets



http://www.engadget.com/2014/11/20/uk-first-poo-bus/

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Rusting Brisbane buses need $2.5 million in repairs

[#Metro]

^ These are the kind of examples of commercial risks impacting on ratepayers by running a commercial bus operation. Last time it was the cost explosion in staff sick pay/leave IIRC.

[ozbob]

For interest:

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Twitter

Alex Carr ‏@alexbcarr 3h3 hours ago

Bus turntable! Creative way to turn a bus round in a pinch from Spain ... | cc @humantransit

[techblitz]

Noted 525pm 524.....12 passengers onboard leaving goodna rail...left 4 mins late...

[ozbob]

Noted 525pm 524.....12 passengers onboard leaving goodna rail...left 4 mins late...

Good.  Usually picks up a dozen or so at St Ives as well.

[techblitz]

Another intersting obs on the f/lake bound 463..... Noted 3 people connected at the wacol station bus stop....2 hopping off@ carole park......not many but at least the service is being used...

[ozbob]

Twitter

Nine News Brisbane ‏@9NewsBrisbane 6 minutes ago

Witnesses rushed to bus fire after seeing smoke and hearing explosions in Townsville. No-one was on board. #9News



=================

Townsville Bulletin --> Sunbus catches on fire on The Strand

[techblitz]

4.20pm 101 ex richlands to inala etc 16 pax onboard....bout 10 off at inala...
Also noted masters workers using this service.....gain for the 101...and does highlight the side-benefit of serving major hardware stores with bus services 
Also a passenger at inala had no money but refused to get off the bus when asked....bus driver didnt cave in...but passenger wouldnt give in either....5 minutes later...a fellow passenger just gave in and paid his fare...

110 inbound 5pm...12 pax board at moorooka shops....30+ onboard leaving moorooka...and a corridor already on 20min inbound freq at this time...

[SurfRail]

^ Really beggars belief that Moorvale is not on a high frequency route.

[#Metro]

4.20pm 101 ex richlands to inala etc 16 pax onboard....bout 10 off at inala...
Also noted masters workers using this service.....gain for the 101...and does highlight the side-benefit of serving major hardware stores with bus services 
Also a passenger at inala had no money but refused to get off the bus when asked....bus driver didnt cave in...but passenger wouldnt give in either....5 minutes later...a fellow passenger just gave in and paid his fare...

110 inbound 5pm...12 pax board at moorooka shops....30+ onboard leaving moorooka...and a corridor already on 20min inbound freq at this time...

Really beggars belief that Moorvale is not on a high frequency route.

I think the answer is it used to be with the tram era. It can be so again by slightly altering the BUZ 100. The Ipswich Rd corridor is covered by the upgraded 15 minute rail frequency at Moorooka now.

[dancingmongoose]

Caught the 2:21 Canossa to Mt Ommaney 106, departed a staggering 8 minutes early

[ezekial]

Caught the 2:21 Canossa to Mt Ommaney 106, departed a staggering 8 minutes early

I notice early running tends to be more prevalent in the holiday period - with less people in Brisbane and less people going to work there's less traffic in general and less pax getting on and off, so drivers can suddenly find themselves having got through a normally busy patch of road really quickly. 

Doesn't mean it should happen though and it seems BT is aware of it - I got this in a response to a recent complaint I made to TL "...the operator involved has been identified and they will be interviewed and instructed to check their run-print and not to pass timing points ahead of the scheduled running time, especially during the school and University Christmas holiday period so as not to inconvenience intending passengers...".

From other responses I've received it seems evident that communication b/w BT and TL is lacking (big surprise) I say that because they'll start off by answering your question with something like 'We made enquiries with BT/QR and they told us this...' in areas where you think that information would be automatically provided as part of usual operations. 

Also, while I'm not familiar with 106 so not sure if it fits in this category, I sympathise with the drivers on some of the underused routes.  I would get mighty bored driving empty buses all day and you'd start thinking 'why care for service standards when there is nobody using the service, lets just get to the terminus/tea break'.

Anyway hopefully real-time will improve things in this area and that'll take us one step closer to.. BUS REFORM 

[#Metro]

Had dinner in Bulimba tonight (Sunday). Caught the last bus out from the stop near the Cinemas/bar. Last service was a 235 bus which went up Riding Road and then terminated at the Balmoral Cemetary (this is REALLY late at night). The bus stop timetable says this Stop *** Wynnum Rd and the bus driver warned me about this quirk before I got on. I got on just to see how crazy it is.

Sure enough, bus stopped at just before the Cemetery and I walked to Morningside Station.

I'm trying to look up which bus I caught in the timetable, no luck, it was X:44, perhaps 9:44 or 10:44 PM Sunday.
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/131014-230,P231,235,P236.pdf

This is a truly crazy crazy bus network.

[kazzac]

Had dinner in Bulimba tonight (Sunday). Caught the last bus out from the stop near the Cinemas/bar. Last service was a 235 bus which went up Riding Road and then terminated at the Balmoral Cemetary (this is REALLY late at night). The bus stop timetable says this Stop *** Wynnum Rd and the bus driver warned me about this quirk before I got on. I got on just to see how crazy it is.

Sure enough, bus stopped at just before the Cemetery and I walked to Morningside Station.

I'm trying to look up which bus I caught in the timetable, no luck, it was X:44, perhaps 9:44 or 10:44 PM Sunday.
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/timetables/131014-230,P231,235,P236.pdf

This is a truly crazy crazy bus network.

yes ,  Bulimba definitely needs a 230     Buz or a Glider service,should have been done years ago

[ozbob]

RCH Herston - busway station renamed Herston

>> http://translink.com.au/travel-information/service-notices/28541/details

Visited Herston bus station earlier today ... - RCH







Dead PIDs



Emergency Help Point



Photographs R Dow 9th January 2015

[techblitz]

Noted 3 passengers hopping off a 463 grand ave west and connecting to an inbound 100....they no doubt boarded @ carole park....would be very intersting to know if they were headed direct to city....if so..then classic case of avoiding the ipswich line....or just wanting direct trip to pa hospital,southbank,qsbs...

[ozbob]

http://translink.com.au/travel-information/service-notices/31911/details

UQ Lakes station - temporary stop closures

Last updated: 12.01pm Monday 12 January 2015

From late January until Tuesday 24 February bus stop closures will be in place at UQ Lakes station, due to the construction of a walkway.

If you normally catch routes 29, 66, 139, 169, 192 or 209 from platform A or E, please use the alternative stops shown below.

Please note: construction dates may vary slightly due to weather conditions.

[dancingmongoose]

Congestion, what congestion?

[2 minutes earlier it was backed back from Mater Hill past the intersection down towards Buranda]

[bcasey]

Ended up waiting almost half an hour for my bus (335), then both it and the 325 came together at once. The bus bunching was most likely a combination of the wet weather and the majority of school kids now going back to school today. Completely forgot to take this into account, I probably just missed my previous bus. Definitely looking forward to real-time info so I can avoid this in the future.

[ozbob]

Yo, the inbound 524 due at Curnow 10.28am was only 7 minutes late.  Real time is going to be neat to know where the critters are ... about 30 pax ..

Now at Ippy, just got off a 509 ...  about a dozen pax

[James]

Real time was actually due to be rolled out on the Brisbane Transport bus network by late January - although that was quietly pulled from the TransLink website sometime in December, so who knows when we'll get it now.

Real time info will be a wonderful thing, I should have to do less olympic sprints for a bus service only for it to run late...

[HappyTrainGuy]

Congestion, what congestion?

[2 minutes earlier it was backed back from Mater Hill past the intersection down towards Buranda]

Stop posting photos from inside the bus depot.

[SurfRail]

^ This is an example of the space-saving "one lane" approach to depot management.  Means you need to keep a crane handy to lift dead vehicles out of the way, but still...

[techblitz]

Interesting obs on my o/b 115 today @ sunny hills plaza
A passenger jumped off and went straight onto a 130
Meanwhile another passenger hopped on the 115 @ this stop.....always intersting to observe where people use the 115...seems to be handy for pax accross its entire alignment...

[techblitz]

6pm ex coorparoo i/bound 222
40-50 pax onboard..another. 6 jump on stones/langlands

[Gazza]

Woah, since when has a BT region map been in the new style?
http://translink.com.au/sites/default/files/assets/resources/travel-information/network-information/maps/141205-nightlink.pdf

PS, I feel like riding the N449 so I can pretend I'm on the CentenaryGlider.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Bus shelters lure commuters out of city

[ozbob]

Twitter

Paul Pisasale ‏@PaulPisasale now

Checking out the wifi enabled @usq shuttle bus with @usqvc Professor Jan Thomas #usq #phoenixcarnival

[ozbob]

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 4 minutes ago

Rare visitor to Oxley rail station .. Caboolture bus doing rail replacement ..

[techblitz]

1.35 @ kgbs 333 outbound
40+ pax with some standing(newer model eagle farm bus)...and this is with 330's which also get similar o/b loadings at this time of day....
about 10-15 boarding from cultural center....

[ozbob]

Bus near misses caught on camera > http://media.brisbanetimes.com.au/video-news/video-qld-news/bus-near-misses-caught-on-camera-6268517.html

[#Metro]

^ So it is not just light rail!