On the Buses

[techblitz]

Well until you do SR don't sit there and mock serious observations to make it look like I'm on a 314 or whatever......if you want I could pull some pathetic stats on your gold coast routes that would make the 110 look like the 66.....

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Dozens of Brisbane City Council bus drivers dismissed since 2016

A BRISBANE bus driver who failed to collect fares for a year, one who took his bus home on a meal break and another who was twice caught reading a book while behind the wheel are among hundreds of drivers who have been sacked or warned.

New documents released under Right to Information reveal at least 28 Brisbane City Council bus drivers were dismissed between 2016 and 2018 for a range of reasons, while dozens more were hit with warnings.

Incidents included a driver who allegedly assaulted a passenger and another who was accused of barring a woman from boarding because she was wearing a burqa.

One driver was disciplined after they were accused of distributing religious materials on their bus.

It was claimed that another bus operator was caught out driving with an expired driver's authorisation three times, while another allegedly failed to check their bus before leaving the terminus and left a passenger trapped on board.

Other allegations made about individual drivers during the period included:

● using a mobile device and driving through roundabouts with one hand;

● receiving two speeding fines in one day from the same camera, travelling inbound and then outbound; and,

● striking and injuring a pedestrian crossing the road on a green walking signal.

The documents also suggest a driver was given a final warning because he admitted to allowing elderly commuters to travel for free.

Another was dismissed over allegations they were demonstrating "unsafe driving behaviour at (a) level crossing".

Several bus operators were accused of leaving a child behind at a bus stop, speeding or running red lights.

The council said drivers were forced to pay for any fine they received while driving a bus at work.

The Rail, Train and Bus Union says, in some instances, it was obvious why a driver had been dismissed, while at other times, it wasn't.

RTBU assistant state secretary Tom Brown said the union did not condone assaults by bus drivers but said they should be able to defend themselves if attacked.

He said drivers were under workload and time pressure, claiming the council was trying to "cram more and more work into less and less time".

"What I'd say about drivers is that they're on edge," Mr Brown said.

"Every time there's even a hint of an argument on the bus, the driver's stress level goes through the roof."

The union is concerned some drivers are being performance-managed for running behind their schedules, something it says is largely out of their control with worsening congestion.

The union also says if a bus driver authorisation document has expired, it should be red-flagged on the council's system.

The council's Public and Active Transport Committee chair Krista Adams said only a small number of drivers had flouted the road rules or had acted inappropriately, but condemned bad behaviour.

"These incidents involving our bus drivers are completely unacceptable and residents deserve better," she said.

"I want to reassure residents that we uphold the highest standards for all our employees and every single one of these incidents has been investigated.

"I remind our bus drivers that they are employed as professional drivers and encourage them to maintain a strong focus on ensuring our residents and visitors get to their destination safely."

Cr Adams said every operator was made aware of their requirements to adhere to the road rules.

"Council regularly gets feedback from commuters about what a great job our bus drivers do," she said.

[Paul B]

110 and 110 should've been half hourly all day.
I used to catch them in 2009/2010 when they were both hourly outbound in the afternoons (i recall 10 and 40 past the hour) So the 2:40pm 100 and 3:10pm 110 used to get slammed from mostly people getting off in Moorooka. The you'd get a heap of schoolkids on the 110 out near the Tafe. Once you left the Acacia Ridge area the 110 would only have 5-10 people wanting Durack/Inala plaza.

[ozbob]

Couriermail Quest --> TransLink and Brisbane City Council respond to bus driver safety demands

The two levels of government responsible for Brisbane's bus network have responded to drivers' concerns about safety amid rising attacks on the frontline transport workers.

AS ATTACKS on Brisbane bus drivers rise, the two levels of government responsible for the network have responded to drivers' concerns about safety.

Scores of bus drivers rallied outside the Brisbane deputy mayor Krista Adams' office this week with a list of demands to improve safety on the bus network.

Last month, The Courier-Mail revealed attacks against bus drivers had risen by about 40 per cent, and there have been high profile incidents in the intervening weeks.

Rail Tram and Bus Union Queensland secretary Tom Brown listed drivers' wishes, three for City Hall and two for the State Government, to improve safety for drivers.

Brisbane City Council, through Transport for Brisbane, operates the city's bus services under a contract with TransLink.

"As a group, what we want is the same level of safety and security that other workers have, particularly other council workers have," Mr Brown said at the rally.

"You couldn't walk into a library and assault the librarian, you couldn't walk into Krista Adams' office there and assault the receptionist, you just could not do it.

"That's the level of protection that we want."

He said the council needed to double the number of security guards it hired, double the number of rapid response vehicles it had, and admit its half-width safety screens did not work.

He also demanded the State Government double its Senior Network Officers (SNOs), who can issue fines, detain and handcuff offenders and take passenger details, from 50 to 100.

He said the sentences for attacks on drivers should also be doubled, a change the deputy mayor also called for earlier this week.

Deputy Mayor Krista Adams said the council was investing in keeping drivers safe, which included installing anti-shatter windows, duress alarms, CCTV and new driver-protection barriers.

"I want the union to know that I have heard what they have to say, and I will continue to stand up for their safety and hope that the State Government will do the same," she said.

Cr Adams said she respected the drivers' right to protest but suggested they had rallied "at the wrong location".

"They should have been rallying at the State Government," she said.

"It's the State Government Senior Network Officers who have the power to issue fines, detain an offender and take people's details.

"Council will continue to call on the State to provide these officers."

A spokesman for Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath confirmed earlier this week she was considering the proposal to increase sentences for attacks on bus drivers.

A TransLink spokesman said the Queensland Government was "serious" about providing a safe work environment for bus drivers, other frontline transport workers and passengers.

"TransLink has committed to hiring up to 21 more SNOs to join our current pool of 50, who work across the South East Queensland network," he said.

"While Senior Network Officers play an important role in safety on public transport, this is a complex community crime issue involving the community and multiple agencies.

"Queensland Police Service remains the lead authority for responding to and investigating any assaults or anti-social behaviour."

[SurfRail]

Well until you do SR don't sit there and mock serious observations to make it look like I'm on a 314 or whatever......if you want I could pull some pathetic stats on your gold coast routes that would make the 110 look like the 66.....

What are you, 12 years old?  I think you have read a lot more into what I said than is there, so please do either grow up or act your age (as appropriate).

My observation, in case you completely missed it, was this.

Hourly bus services will attract more passengers per trip, in general, than more frequent services, because you are dealing (especially out of peak) with a captive market that does not have the choice of spreading to adjacent services. 

What I said was if you increased the frequency, you'd probably get more patronage on the whole but loadings would spread out, because doubling the frequency does not generally result in doubling the patronage.

Seeing 40 people on a bus in the early afternoon is evidence the route needs more investment but it doesn't mean there's some magical formula about the route of the 110.  You've as much as admitted it - any service connecting to the CBD (regardless of what is at the other end) is clearly going to perform better than a bus that just does a loop of western Nerang.

[techblitz]

Seeing 40 people on a bus in the early afternoon is evidence the route needs more investment but it doesn't mean there's some magical formula about the route of the 110. 

I was more stating how its dynamic frequency(hourly at that time) has made the bus fuller....its why translink wants to dynamically change the buzes at night.......to increase the passengers per service to make them fuller......hence more efficient...

For the record I am not full turbo gung ho everything to the CBD at one end.....I do highlight x-town services with major trip generators at each end as well....
I will be getting far more vocal over the coming months on this because there is a clear pattern of patronage demand at both ends.....the origin-trip destination data exposes that (to an extent)

[#Metro]

Nobody should be touching late-night BUZ frequency for any reason. The guaranteed service level makes them extremely reliable to make plans around, even when plans change.

Removing service from late night in an attempt to make each bus run fuller will just see people switch over to Uber. Something that wasn't around 10 years ago.

[techblitz]

Id be interested to see how perth fares......they give 15 min frequency the turf after 7pm.....everyday.....
For me.....sun-wed 9-12 half hourly....
retain thu-sat..
Thursday at discretion though due to late night shopping....
I know that garden city bus routes get hammered right up to 9.30......due to students ferrying back to their dorms after their thursday social commitments...

[James]

I was more stating how its dynamic frequency(hourly at that time) has made the bus fuller....its why translink wants to dynamically change the buzes at night.......to increase the passengers per service to make them fuller......hence more efficient...

For the record I am not full turbo gung ho everything to the CBD at one end.....I do highlight x-town services with major trip generators at each end as well....
I will be getting far more vocal over the coming months on this because there is a clear pattern of patronage demand at both ends.....the origin-trip destination data exposes that (to an extent)

I would also be curious to see where those forty passengers got off. If they're using it to travel along Ipswich Rd & to the Moorooka shops, that's demand that is already captured by other services (100 BUZ) or provided for by combined frequency (from the 115/124/125).

The 4XX services on Adelaide St often do better than other 4XXs as they are the quickest single-seat option from Riverside and they don't get caught in the kerfuffle of leaving QSBS. However, while some services go out with standees, often the loading is back to half-seated by the time the service branches off to do its local run (411/415/417 past Toowong, 433/445 past Indro). It's not an indication of any of those routes requiring BUZ-level service.

[AnonymouslyBad]

^ You're not wrong on the 115/124/125, but I'd argue that's the point. Much of the corridor is a gaping hole in the express, high frequency network. Passengers have to choose one or the other, and that's not an attractive option for anyone. A combined frequency from a mess of local routes looks "just as good" on paper but it really isn't.
This situation isn't unique in Brisbane, but it is somewhat unique on the southside where BUZes are everywhere and their impact is self-evident. Yes the all stoppers become welfare routes, but overall many more people catch the bus once a legible quality service exists.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Nobody should be touching late-night BUZ frequency for any reason. The guaranteed service level makes them extremely reliable to make plans around, even when plans change.

Removing service from late night in an attempt to make each bus run fuller will just see people switch over to Uber. Something that wasn't around 10 years ago.

Inbound routes can have a look at. Not uncommon to see empty 330/340 departing/running along gympie Road empty. But that also reflects on how poor the network actually is.

[achiruel]

Nobody should be touching late-night BUZ frequency for any reason. The guaranteed service level makes them extremely reliable to make plans around, even when plans change.

Removing service from late night in an attempt to make each bus run fuller will just see people switch over to Uber. Something that wasn't around 10 years ago.

Inbound routes can have a look at. Not uncommon to see empty 330/340 departing/running along gympie Road empty. But that also reflects on how poor the network actually is.

The simple solution for that is for late-night 330/340 services to terminate at Chermside. There's really no need for 12 bph down Gympie Rd at 10pm.

[techblitz]

I would also be curious to see where those forty passengers got off.

Most of them get off at acacia ridge where the 125/100 don't go.....sizeable demand from Moorooka shops to inala plaza too..

If they're using it to travel along Ipswich Rd & to the Moorooka shops, that's demand that is already captured by other services (100 BUZ) or provided for by combined frequency (from the 115/124/125).

The 3 ippy rd 'workhorses' as I call them all take care of city to beaudesert/ippy rd junction demand quite well.....the 110/125 act as a cushion should the 100`s go awol........the vast majority of patronage on these routes stay on after Moorooka shops(110/125) or rail station(100).
If one needs to get from city to Moorooka shops the 110 will get you there quicker and if one doesn't want to traverse the hills at Clifton/Moorooka south/annerley then the 125 all stops will do the trick......they really do complement each other well...

[HappyTrainGuy]

Code Select Expand

Nobody should be touching late-night BUZ frequency for any reason. The guaranteed service level makes them extremely reliable to make plans around, even when plans change.

Removing service from late night in an attempt to make each bus run fuller will just see people switch over to Uber. Something that wasn't around 10 years ago.

Inbound routes can have a look at. Not uncommon to see empty 330/340 departing/running along gympie Road empty. But that also reflects on how poor the network actually is.

Or remove the 333 at xpm and terminate the 340 at Chermside with the 330 being all stops.

The simple solution for that is for late-night 330/340 services to terminate at Chermside. There's really no need for 12 bph down Gympie Rd at 10pm.

[Golliwog]

Code Select Expand

Nobody should be touching late-night BUZ frequency for any reason. The guaranteed service level makes them extremely reliable to make plans around, even when plans change.

Removing service from late night in an attempt to make each bus run fuller will just see people switch over to Uber. Something that wasn't around 10 years ago.

Inbound routes can have a look at. Not uncommon to see empty 330/340 departing/running along gympie Road empty. But that also reflects on how poor the network actually is.

Or remove the 333 at xpm and terminate the 340 at Chermside with the 330 being all stops.

The simple solution for that is for late-night 330/340 services to terminate at Chermside. There's really no need for 12 bph down Gympie Rd at 10pm.

I think you're right that Chermside - CBD should be reviewed later at night. But I'd be hesitant to change a route's stopping pattern depending on time of day - it just confuses people. Even if you do literally the same thing by instead of scrapping the 333 and having the 330 do all-stops, scrap the 330 and extend the 333 to follow the 330 north of Chermside.

I catch the 385 and they've recently put up signage at KGS about how it runs express Roma St - Bardon in the peak direction. I assume this is due to people getting confused / caught out by it despite the fact it's been like that for years now.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> SA manufacturer Precision Buses merges with Gold Coast-based Bustech

ADELAIDE-BASED Precision Buses will merge with Gold Coast bus manufacturer Bustech  as both companies move to meet growing demand for their vehicles in Australia.

Under the merger deal, each company will continue to operate their respective factories in South Australia and Queensland and retain their own brand identities. But strategic management and direction will be combined under a new holding company, Australian Bus Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Precision Buses owners Fusion Capital Holdings. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The merger is the next step in a partnership that started in 2016 and a joint venture between the two firms was recently awarded the 10-year Adelaide Metro bus supply contract for the South Australian government.

Bustech employs about 140 workers on the Gold Coast while Precision Buses employs 80 people in Adelaide. Bus production is expected to exceed 300 within the first year.

Bustech was established by Joe and Tony Calabro in 1998 and together with Luke Gray became industry leaders in bus manufacturing and operations for more than 20 years.

"When the opportunity to merge with Bustech arose we jumped at it," said Fusion Capital director Mat Fitch. "Bustech has long been recognised as an innovator in the bus industry."

Precision Buses said it was seeing strong demand from customers across five states and combining the two firms' engineering and technology strengths provided new opportunities.

Bustech was until earlier this part of Transit Australia Group. TAG announced in April its shareholders had agreed to sell the Robina-based operator of Surfside Buslines to AATS Group, which owns and operates airport mass transit operator, SkyBus.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Brisbane's busiest buses revealed ... and how many people were left behind

More than 400 buses on Brisbane's busiest bus route - the route 66 between UQ Lakes and the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital - were so packed during August they were unable to pick up more passengers.

Across the month, there were 6678 trips on route 66, with about 6 per cent of those buses reported as a "full standing load".

Brisbane City Council data show the top-10 full standing load routes for August were almost entirely the BUZ and Glider routes, rounded out by daily bus routes 66 and 169.

Route 66 topped the list, with the 169 Eight Mile Plains-to-UQ route third, reporting 104 full standing loads in August, or 3 per cent.

Midway through August, the state government began its trial of additional buses on those two routes, in a bid to ease pressure on the public transport system.

That two-year trial saw extended bus operating times for routes 66 and 169, plus extra services scheduled on Saturdays for UQ exams.

There are now 282 daily buses on route 66, and 154 daily buses on route 169 services.

"TransLink is aware of the extremely high demand for travel to UQ," a TransLink spokesman said.

"As a result, routes 66 and 169 are two of the highest-frequency services on the TransLink network, with services operating as frequently as every five minutes at times throughout the day."

The spokesman said TransLink expected full standing loads to decrease in the weeks ahead as passengers became used to the new service frequency.

Route 412, which runs express from UQ to the city, was second on the list, with 232 full standing loads in August leaving passengers behind.

Across the entire month on the Brisbane bus network there were 238,298 total trips, of which 3228 were full standing loads.

That was an average of 807 full standing loads each week - up 13 trips from August 2018 - of which most occurred in the morning and afternoon peak periods.

Across the whole year from August 2018 to August 2019, route 66 continued to show high peaks of full buses.

In August last year there were 487 full buses, declining over the Christmas holiday period before peaking again in March 2019 with 595 full buses.

The route 169 also saw similar trends in fewer packed-out buses during holiday periods, before increasing over semesters.

Lord mayor Adrian Schrinner said there had been 2300 full buses across August on the Brisbane bus network.

He said the $944 million Brisbane Metro would "triple" the number of buses on the 66 and 169 routes.

Bus patronage data had previously been released monthly by Brisbane City Council in years gone by, before that practice was halted under an agreement between the council and TransLink, Cr Schrinner said in July.

At the time he announced that he would again release monthly data.

https://twitter.com/railbotforum/status/1176161571174633472

[Gazza]

Jeez why is the 66 not a full BUZ yet?

The last service is at 7:30pm.

[Cazza]

The 345 (coming in 4th for the number of full services) is the first route on that list to not serve UQ. Being a fairly regular commuter on this route I can say that services leaving the City as early as 2:30pm on weekdays are standing room only after Roma St, yet the 10 min frequency doesn't kick in until 3:20. Buses running past Kelvin Grove outbound at just after 3pm get smashed by kids from the school there (one that has a student population of around 3000, plus the QUT there too drawing even more patronage at this time).

Even the 10 min inbound frequency in the later morning (around 9-10am) sees standees gathering by Alderley and Newmarket. I think it's time that we got some longer buses on the northside!

The last service is at 7:30pm.

They've now changed that last month so the last northbound service is 10:30pm Mon-Fri and 7:15pm weekends (with additional services put on for Saturday exams).

[verbatim9]

The 412 should be upgraded to articulated buses.

[verbatim9]

The 412 should be upgraded to articulated buses.

In Europe, Sydney on the Bondi 333 and other routes and even in LA articulated buses are pretty much the standard. Solves alot of congestion issues.

[AnonymouslyBad]

Jeez why is the 66 not a full BUZ yet?

The last service is at 7:30pm.

It runs until ~10pm now. Not quite a full BUZ, but getting closer.
Personally I think they should just say it's the Yellow CityGlider and be done with it. 24/7 on weekends, the whole deal. But I suspect that a) UQ wouldn't allow this, and b) council has zero interest until they can promote it as a Metro improvement.

[verbatim9]

Jeez why is the 66 not a full BUZ yet?

The last service is at 7:30pm.

It runs until ~10pm now. Not quite a full BUZ, but getting closer.
Personally I think they should just say it's the Yellow CityGlider and be done with it. 24/7 on weekends, the whole deal. But I suspect that a) UQ wouldn't allow this, and b) council has zero interest until they can promote it as a Metro improvement.

That's what Schrinner wanted a couple years back, more HF services that were specifically colour coded. But Translink didn't come to the party.

[AnonymouslyBad]

^ Translink literally proposed the 66 CityGlider in their ~2012 network review.

[aldonius]

UQ buses are always going to rank highly on raw numbers of full buses because of UQ's timetabling of classes starting on the hour and finishing at ten minutes to.

The pragmatic solution is to run an uneven timetable, with extra services arriving between :40 and :55, and departing between :55 and :10, and the biggest vehicles available used for those runs. I have no doubt that this already happens with sweeper services.

[Stillwater]

Noosa Council on Tuesday will debate a plan to introduce free bus travel on bus routes within the shire for a 12-month trial, with the council using $912,000 it raises from ratepayers through a transport levy included in rates to meet the shortfall in fare revenue that Sunbus will experience as a result. The plan is likely to get up. Also likely is introduction of a new free shuttle bus at Christmas (for one month) running at high frequency around a loop connecting most of the major coastal tourist 'hot spots'.

Both initiatives are designed to reduce traffic congestion at Noosa at peak times when the tourists flock to the place.

Increasing the frequency of the weekend hinterland bus service to Cooroy, Pomona and Cooran to the same frequency as weekdays is also up fore debate. And even little Kin Kin, in the hills behind Noosa, looks set to have a Flexilink taxi service whereby people can book a cab one day in advance of travel and catch the taxi for a fare of $2 each way. The cab won't operate if there are no bookings.

[ozbob]

Noosa Council on Tuesday will debate a plan to introduce free bus travel on bus routes within the shire for a 12-month trial, with the council using $912,000 it raises from ratepayers through a transport levy included in rates to meet the shortfall in fare revenue that Sunbus will experience as a result. The plan is likely to get up. Also likely is introduction of a new free shuttle bus at Christmas (for one month) running at high frequency around a loop connecting most of the major coastal tourist 'hot spots'.

Both initiatives are designed to reduce traffic congestion at Noosa at peak times when the tourists flock to the place.

Increasing the frequency of the weekend hinterland bus service to Cooroy, Pomona and Cooran to the same frequency as weekdays is also up fore debate. And even little Kin Kin, in the hills behind Noosa, looks set to have a Flexilink taxi service whereby people can book a cab one day in advance of travel and catch the taxi for a fare of $2 each way. The cab won't operate if there are no bookings.

[techblitz]

this is how you do things......bravo noosa 
Put a levy on all those car-dependant *public transport is for losers* sprouting locals.......their levies then pay for the ones who are really doing the hard yards.....the ones who walk up to 1 km to their bus stop and put faith in public transport even when their bus is delayed due to congestion by the very car users that are car dependant....

And when these car dependants see it on their annual bill.....they think to themselves......bugger this...im paying for this levy how about I get my moneys worth and start using these buses....
Everyone wins...

If this trial turns out to be a success then its time for other 'coasts' to offer up the same thing.......anywhere that has too much car dependency...

[Stillwater]

Read the full details in the report to the October Services and Organisation Committee meeting.  Meeting agenda here: https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/meetings-minutes


>> https://www.noosa.qld.gov.au/documents/40217326/41799453/2019-10-08 Services %26 Organisation Committee Agenda.pdf

[verbatim9]

Jonathan Sri Facebook-----> Articulated buses earmarked for Blue City Glider services

Good news for passengers of the Blue CityGlider...

For quite some time now, I've been raising concerns through council that Blue CityGlider services running between West End and Teneriffe are often over capacity, particularly in peak travel periods.

During yesterday's Public and Active Transport committee, we received a firm commitment from the Deputy Mayor that the existing buses servicing this route will soon be replaced with new larger buses (the extra-long 'articulated buses' with the bendy bit in the middle) so that they can carry a lot more passengers.

The new buses are expected to hit the roads sometime in the next six months. (I believe the Deputy Mayor said "Definitely this financial year")

There are a few bus stops along the Blue CityGlider route that might have to be upgraded and extended in order to accommodate the longer buses. This might also mean one or two extra parking bays have to be removed, but that will be more of an issue on the north side of the river, as most of the West End and South Brisbane bus stops are already long enough.

Of course, I haven't taken my off the need for broader improvements to public transport within the Kurilpa peninsula, and I'm continuing to also push for a new CityCat terminal for the western side of West End.

[Cazza]

^Will there be new buses built for this (as promised in the budget) or will they reallocate the 20 current ones at Sherwood to do the City Glider runs? I assume the first option would seem to be the best and most likely way to go.

[achiruel]

^ Which routes do Sherwood operate with artics?

I was hoping one day they'll convert the 66 to all-artic operation.

[Cazza]

The Sherwood arctics operate a lot of routes from what I've seen. Here's what I have seen them do off the top of my head:
-66
-111
-P119
-120
-P137
-139
-160
-169
-P179
-180

They are my personal observations. I think I may have missed a couple of others (including possibly the 140 which I may have seen once, but I could have mistaken the number whilst passing by).

Someone has noted one on a 444 before but I think that was a replacement bus covering the run.

[AnonymouslyBad]

Will the artics have USB ports and all that other nice stuff the Gliders have?

On the surface the blue Glider always should've had higher capacity buses than it does. On the other hand - as ridiculous as it sounds in the Brisbane context - I really don't think it's frequent enough a lot of the time.

Maybe the blue Glider should get Metro vehicles! Alas, that would reveal they're just a bus with some long stops and wide turns 

[achiruel]

The Sherwood arctics operate a lot of routes from what I've seen. Here's what I have seen them do off the top of my head:
-66
-111
-P119
-120
-P137
-139
-160
-169
-P179
-180

They are my personal observations. I think I may have missed a couple of others (including possibly the 140 which I may have seen once, but I could have mistaken the number whilst passing by).

Someone has noted one on a 444 before but I think that was a replacement bus covering the run.

Is it slightly odd that buses that originate/terminate at Garden City or nearby such as EMP are being run out of Sherwood depot? e.g. 111, P119, 120, 160, 169, P179, 180? Is this simply because there isn't enough space at GC Depot to store more buses? I wonder if BCC has ever considered taking over the old ATO carpark to expand their depot. It might reduce a lot of dead running.

[AnonymouslyBad]

^ Too expensive maybe? Buses are better than cars, but I suspect there's a more beneficial (and more lucrative) use of this land than parking of any kind.

[achiruel]

^ Too expensive maybe? Buses are better than cars, but I suspect there's a more beneficial (and more lucrative) use of this land than parking of any kind.

Possibly, but:

• It's already a carpark (not sure how the tarmac will hold up to buses though).
• Dead running is expensive and inefficient, and wastes a lot of fuel (greenhouse gas emissions).
• The ATO has been out for a few years now and no-one else seems to be showing any interest.

[Cazza]

Will the artics have USB ports and all that other nice stuff the Gliders have?

One would assume so. All new B8's being pumped out of the Eagle Farm factory have USB charging facilities.

Is it slightly odd that buses that originate/terminate at Garden City or nearby such as EMP are being run out of Sherwood depot? e.g. 111, P119, 120, 160, 169, P179, 180? Is this simply because there isn't enough space at GC Depot to store more buses?

Yes, it would seem to be slightly odd. But as you alluded too, I don't think GC had the capacity available to take on the new artics. Most would have also noted that the run sheets for TfB are very weird, meaning that plenty of dead running occurs. I believe it was here that I read a while back that 20% of all km's driven were blank runs (either to/from the depot or between routes). This is obviously very inefficient and one of the main reasons why we still see buses running halfway across the city to start another trip when they could have run the same route in the reverse direction.

On that note, a lot of Sherwood buses come across to GC anyway to start runs, particularly in the peak times. Sherwood buses are commonly seen on Routes 120, 170, 174/5, 180 and 184/5, as well as the occasional Sherwood TAG heading down to Parkinson or Browns Plains for a run back into the City (on 130, 140/P141 and 150).

[City Designer]

Having a depot with more than 200 vehicles is not practical.

[SurfRail]

There should be twice as many depots with half the buses allocated.  BCC's dead running costs are phenomenal in part because all the depots are towards the periphery of town or in the middle of nowhere instead of where many services actually terminate.  Closing Bowen Hills was insane.