On the Buses

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

On the buses: 50 Cent Fare issues

21st July 2024

Greetings,

Yesterday (20th July 2024) a number of the rail replacement bus services were cancelled due to ' staff availability '.

E.g.

https://x.com/Translink_QLD/status/1814580849217597685

There were other reported bus disruptions as well.

We have raised our concerns directly with Translink about arrangements for rail replacement bus services when the 50 Cent Fares are in place.

We expect a lot more passengers will be travelling on weekends with the 50 Cent Fares when track closures often occur.

If operators cannot maintain the rail replacement bus timetables now, how will they in a few weeks?

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

Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=285693

====

 

Mega-clusterfuk seems a totally inadequate descriptor to describe the circus about to unfold ...

[ozbob]

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1815118588501803382?t=EFOsrOF8nxpO0EBdmUUmRw&s=19

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

Re: On the buses: 50 Cent Fare issues

23rd July 2024

Greetings,

Great that an extra 50 buses have been made available for bus operators. 
( Made in Queensland: Brisbane built buses ready to roll for 50 cent fares https://statements.qld.gov.au/statements/100870 ).

But the big question remains:  Who will be driving these buses?

Reported bus service disruptions continue at a high level ( https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15659.0 ).

An example of how operators are struggling. 
Clarks Logan City Bus Service report each morning the trips that will be cancelled each day on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/clarkslogancity



source: https://www.facebook.com/clarkslogancity/posts/pfbid02rAyoQZuPHDfA13QCenBZBGfgyRwjmuRccVCbA6sf7U7qWGG6SfbHRpkztqGhcFMNl

Seems a lot of hope and not much reality around at present.

The fact is our public transport network is very ill prepared for the expected patronage surge, despite the very best efforts of Translink and PT operators.
They have been left in the lurch by an ill thought out Government policy.  Please don't blame Translink or our PT operators when it very likely all falls over.

Don't miss the bus!

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

Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=285716

[ozbob]

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1815588460117574071

[ozbob]

Oh no!  Not the 524 !!

https://x.com/Translink_QLD/status/1815595297621282840

 

[ozbob]

https://x.com/railbotforum/status/1816500164414275860

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

Re: On the buses: 50 Cent Fare issues

26th July 2024

Greetings,

Translink daily reported bus service disruptions now at a very high level, driver shortages impacting significantly.

Looking like a real mess for the 50 cent fares !
See > https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=15659.0



Passengers are being stranded again, particularly in the outer regions with low frequency services e.g Ipswich bus region.

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

Attached: https://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?msg=285767

[ozbob]

Translink even have an image now to cover multiple bus service cancellations ... 

E.g.

https://x.com/Translink_QLD/status/1816332704213778834

[ozbob]

https://x.com/railbotforum/status/1816508077749027086

[ozbob]

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1816570311883862380?t=u1_J4bu53Mco2ejXq5jlHQ&s=19

[ozbob]

Utter fuking shambles ... 

This service is an important feeder.  Multiple other Ipswich bus cancellations.

https://x.com/Translink_QLD/status/1816577804688924753

[ozbob]

[#Metro]

Price isn't Quality.

There is a reasonable possibility the bus network could collapse, sealing the current administration's electoral fate.

I generally dislike gimmicks, whether free parking or free PT and for good reason. Focus should be consistent improvement that is permanent, not temporary but intense sales.

[achiruel]

Bus Qld (PRT/Westside) services are only going to get worse in the coming months, due to the company's refusal to increase driver wages. This may benefit other operators in the short term, but does nothing for the network overall.

Might be time DTMR examined the terms of the contracts very carefully, and found a way to kick them out. Give it to an operator with a modicum of sense. I hear Kinetic are (relatively) good to work for.

[ozbob]

^ yes agreed.  Time they were given the  ...


ICC have been made aware of the situation.

[#Metro]

Maybe ICC should buy out the bus operator, and finally get the same leverage that BCC already has.

[ozbob]

ABC News --> Bus Queensland refuses to hire safety officers as Transport Workers' Union demands review

. In short:Bus Queensland has declined to hire safety officers despite being offered government funding to do so.

. The network officer program was designed to crack down on violent and anti-social behaviour on buses.

.What's next? The Transport Workers' Union has asked the government to review the company's taxpayer-funded contract.

One of Australia's largest bus companies has repeatedly refused to hire security officers to protect its passengers and drivers despite being offered government funding to do so.

Translink has confirmed that Bus Queensland has on three occasions refused to accept a deal to hire network officers, despite the positions being fully state funded.

The Network Officer Program is part of a $60.7 million state government scheme to crack down on fare evasion, violence and anti-social behaviour on the riskier bus routes.

Bus Queensland has not responded to ABC Radio Brisbane's repeated requests for comment. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1816642218045899053

[SurfRail]

I'd be happy if the Pulitano family sold their operation to somebody a bit more competent.  They are persistently among the worst performers in the reliability stakes (as proved by the data) and I cannot see how that is solely for reasons beyond their control.

Every driver should be on the same base pay scale, which should be above award and partly funded by TransLink.  If some operators want to pay more than this then fine.

[achiruel]

^ well that article about them refusing to hire safety officers really takes the cake. Agreed Bob, time they got the boot. They are clearly hopeless.

Also, I don't agree with ICC buying them. Exactly what we don't need more of in SEQ transport, a pile of little fiefdoms.

[Cleveland Line]

Another looong string of bus service cancellations due to staff availability coming out from TransLink again this afternoon...

[ozbob]

https://x.com/QldPolice/status/1816672551508320546

[ozbob]

PDF be-kind-A3-poster-seq-waving-passenger.pdf


 

[nathandavid88]

The Route 573 that came into Elizabeth Street at the same time as my 569 this morning was using this completely Translink-branded bus. I'm assuming this is one of the four of these State Government-acquired buses that have been allocated to Clarks ahead of the 50c Fare introduction.

[achiruel]

A friend who works for Westside has reported they've received 1 x Translink-branded bus yesterday also.

[SurfRail]

I understand some have already been used for normal route services by other operators (eg Thompsons).

There really shouldn't be any difference, a bus is a bus and they would all be equipped with the necessary gear.

[ozbob]

 

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1819858647692030080

[RowBro]

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1819858647692030080

The weekend frequency is still better than the Route 320 which literally goes to a Shopping Centre which has higher traffic on weekends, but I digress... the worst bit is, the route 327 runs more frequently on Saturdays even though it is less patronised!!!!

[ozbob]

https://x.com/9NewsQueensland/status/1822192261137879222

[achiruel]

There were four State Government Protective Services officers at the Hyperdome bus station at around 1 pm today. Not sure what that was all about. They didn't seem to be doing much, they were all standing around in a group talking about...something, I guess.

[tazzer9]

King George Square outbound platform now fully open. 
With this, the 385 and 61 has not returned to it.  And signage at queen street bus station advising of the "temporary" changes is now gone. 
I think the 385 and the 61 are getting permamently rerouted out of king george square. Which I think is incredible considering the outbound service having to loop through queen street  us station and then make the right hand turn is incredibly slow and slows down the efficiency of the entire bus ststaion. 

[GonzoFonzie]

King George Square outbound platform now fully open. 
With this, the 385 and 61 has not returned to it.  And signage at queen street bus station advising of the "temporary" changes is now gone. 
I think the 385 and the 61 are getting permanently rerouted out of King George Square. Which I think is incredible considering the outbound service having to loop through queen street  us station and then make the right hand turn is incredibly slow and slows down the efficiency of the entire bus station.

Strangely, I can see the 385 staying at QSBS, but not the 61, as the 385 terminates at the Cultural Centre.

The 385 and 61 probably won't move back to King George Square, as those new electric bendy boi's have taken up their platforms at King George Square. Not sure if the 444 has also been booted from King George Square?

The 61 should use the new Adelaide Street tunnel when its completed, as well. Stopping at QSBS will slow down that service. It should be bypassing QSBS, as it always has.

Will the new Adelaide Street tunnel reduce traffic on the Victoria Bridge... who knows?

If only the Brisbane Metro had a final report released, and not that garbage draft from 2018, we would know these things. Neither the 385 and 61 changes were not in that draft report or in the southside bus network review.

[tazzer9]

Every service that uses king george square should be using the adelaide street tunnel.    No ifs or buts.  The new tunnel is only needed because the current route is effectively single lane. 

QSBS is a terminal station and should be used only as such. 

It's very frustrating see another 1 step forward, but one step back situation. 

[Jonno]

QSBS should be phased out as should all CBD/Valley Terminators.  The days of CBD centric transport are long gone and a likely a reason behind such poor public transport patronage.

[achiruel]

QSBS should be phased out as should all CBD/Valley Terminators.  The days of CBD centric transport are long gone and a likely a reason behind such poor public transport patronage.

This is a terrible idea. It will make already unreliable services even less reliable. We don't need longer routes.

[AnonymouslyBad]

The 61 should use the new Adelaide Street tunnel when its completed, as well. Stopping at QSBS will slow down that service. It should be bypassing QSBS, as it always has.

Agree. It's pretty clear that KGSBS is intended as the premium station for "flagship" routes. While this has its own compromises, it is what it is. The 385 can go, but there's a bunch of other commuter BUZes I'd take out of there before even thinking about the Glider.

QSBS should be phased out as should all CBD/Valley Terminators.  The days of CBD centric transport are long gone and a likely a reason behind such poor public transport patronage.

For your average bus coming in from Brisbane's sprawl, there's no meaningful benefit to running through.

And while QSBS is a relic, there's no reason to mothball hard infrastructure that already exists and serves a purpose. The main problem with QSBS is that its location, effectively a spur of the busway, is not great for legibility. But re-organising CBD stops would help, as would giving a bit more thought to maps/destination boards/signage.

The solution is certainly not to close it and have more buses through-running on every second city street. You'd hope that between the busway, QSBS, Adelaide St and Mary St (if we really must) there's barely any buses elsewhere in the CBD at all.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> 'Decades behind': Alarm over Qld school bus safety $

Queensland's motoring body has slammed the state's lack of retrofitting school buses with seatbelts, saying it is almost 20 years behind other states.

RACQ has joined concerned parents calling for buses to be retrofitted with seatbelts after a string of accidents on the Bruce Highway.

RACQ's head of Public Policy Dr Michael Kane said the state needs to be doing everything it can to keep kids safe, especially those on rural school buses who don't have seatbelts.

"There's no reason why Queensland school kids should have lower safety standards than other Australian kids," Dr Kane said. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1835688399136796685

[SilverChased]

Jumped on one of the new Translink branded buses (7162) and noticed they are fitted out with several Hikvision cameras. No security concerns on buses I suppose.


https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-64577641

[RowBro]

Does anyone know if the 320 has always had these services departing 2 minutes apart in the afternoon peak? It seems awfully bizarre to me, and I don't remember seeing it in the past. Are these extra services due to increased patronage with 50c fares?? 



Edit:
Can confirm from the printable timetable that these services weren't there in the past.

[Cazza]

Next week, the 306, 310 & 320 will all have some sweeper services added to assist with the rail closure between Northgate and Bowen Hills.

[verbatim9]

Couriermail --> 'Decades behind': Alarm over Qld school bus safety $

Queensland's motoring body has slammed the state's lack of retrofitting school buses with seatbelts, saying it is almost 20 years behind other states.

RACQ has joined concerned parents calling for buses to be retrofitted with seatbelts after a string of accidents on the Bruce Highway.

RACQ's head of Public Policy Dr Michael Kane said the state needs to be doing everything it can to keep kids safe, especially those on rural school buses who don't have seatbelts.

"There's no reason why Queensland school kids should have lower safety standards than other Australian kids," Dr Kane said. ...

https://x.com/ozbob13/status/1835688399136796685

Does anyone think that these safety concerns are overstated when most school kids around SEQ get regular Translink  services/vehicles?

Longer distance coaches in regional areas could be another story though where they travel on uneven roads at higher speeds that may lead to rolling.