On the Buses

[ozbob]

Forest Lake Village


463 bus




534 bus



Photographs R Dow 26th October 2011

[colinw]

7:50AM route 554 from Kuraby to Garden City had crush loading by half way along Stiller Dr this morning.  It might be time to boost the peak frequency of this service from half hourly, as it wouldn't take much and people would be getting turned away.

[STB]

I decided to go for a quick run around some of the southern routes today before I headed in to the PA Hospital.

Caught the 181 from Mt Gravatt TAFE to Elizabeth St and had about a 50% load on arrival at Elizabeth St - depart Mt Gravatt TAFE at 8:07am (on time according to my Go Card record), arrived at 8:40am (7 minutes late according to my Go Card record).

Transferred to route 100 that departed on time at QSBS at 8:50am to Inala.  Had about a 20% load where the last person to get off (except myself and 1 other passenger) was at Moorooka station and myself and that other passenger both got off at Inala, didn't see anyone board the 100 from Inala.  Arrived at 9:25am according to my Go Card records (7 minutes early; scheduled 9:32am).

Transferred to route 466 at Inala to get to Richlands station.  I was the only one on board for the entire trip to Richlands and according to the driver, no one got on board between Willawong and Inala (apparently this is fairly common during the off peak hours - not sure during peak).  Overheard passengers wanting access to Corinda and asking when the next 101/102 departed as they wanted to head to Ipswich NOT the city!  Believe it or not!  Departed on time at 9:38am, arrived at Richlands with a minute or so to spare at 9:45am (2mins late - we didn't stop anywhere nor get caught up in any traffic so just a touch of not enough runtime between Inala and Richlands?).  Made the train with about 10secs to spare (I picked up some timetables on the way there).  Saw the 460 pull in and quite a few passengers got off that service.

In the 3rd car about a 40% load out of Richlands, departed on time.  Arrived on time at Corinda.

Transferred to route 104 at Corinda to PA Hospital.  Departed on time at 10:18am, arrived slightly early at PA Hospital at 10:41am, and arrived 3 mins early at Yeerongpilly where we dwelled a bit to catch up to the timetable.  About 10 people caught the service en-route to PA Hospital.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that there was a fairly significant busjam between Southbank and Cultural Centre busway stations with buses backed up to nearly Southbank station! (at about 8:55am).  Also, Bus Control were ordering/reminding drivers to not exit QSBS unless they were on a revenue route run, or if they had to get somewhere to start a new run, probably in order to try and prevent busjams occurring at QSBS.  Finally, I overheard on the radio at about 9:15am, that Indoorooopilly Shopping Centre was in full emergency evacuation (perhaps a fire drill??) and that all bus services were not to services the Indooroopilly bus interchange until further notice.  I didn't hear when this resolved itself, and I'm not sure where those buses go to drop off if they can't service the interchange.

[somebody]

Re: Indro - perhaps the drop offs could be done at the stop approaching Station Rd.  Only served by the AM peak 460, apparently.  Or stop 24.

Most impressive re: 40% load on out of Richlands after 9am.  I presume 40% seated load.

I'm very unsurprised that a number of Inala-ites wanted to go to Ipswich.  This is where the BUZ 103 and improved counter peak service comes in IMO.

[STB]

Re: Indro - perhaps the drop offs could be done at the stop approaching Station Rd.  Only served by the AM peak 460, apparently.  Or stop 24.

Most impressive re: 40% load on out of Richlands after 9am.  I presume 40% seated load.

I'm very unsurprised that a number of Inala-ites wanted to go to Ipswich.  This is where the BUZ 103 and improved counter peak service comes in IMO.

Honestly I don't think there is really that many wanting to go to Ipswich via Darra from what I saw, ie that's worth upgrading the 103 to a BUZ, when I was there there was a bunch of people but not a busload.  I would need to sit there all day for a week to get a good solid idea of how many passengers are heading to Ipswich via Darra. The majority of the people I saw were only going as far as Inala shops.  I would suspect that those wanting to go to Ipswich would be those heading to work, whether shift work or 9 to 5.  By the way, those people were asking about the 101/102, not the 103.  It seems that, from what I saw and heard, they are going via Corinda or Oxley, not Darra, amazingly.

I do think that the 460 could be canned completely or cut off to Mt Ommaney and those heading to the city can use the train from Richlands or to catch the 450/453/454.  I'm not sure about the 461 though as it's impossible for me to be there when it's running, except if I have a look in the evening peak.

Yes - 40% seated load in Car 3 from what I saw, which is pretty good I must admit.  If there are standees I will say so eg: 100% + 10 for example.

[jouzocha]

I took the P88 from KGS to EMP this afternoon.  I was in fact waiting at the 111 stop when a P88 went by, leading to many people rushing to the P88 stop to board it.  Why doesn't 111/P88 have common stops southbound at KGS?  It shares a stop with 444 which makes sense westbound but not southbound.

[somebody]

Re: Indro - perhaps the drop offs could be done at the stop approaching Station Rd.  Only served by the AM peak 460, apparently.  Or stop 24.

Most impressive re: 40% load on out of Richlands after 9am.  I presume 40% seated load.

I'm very unsurprised that a number of Inala-ites wanted to go to Ipswich.  This is where the BUZ 103 and improved counter peak service comes in IMO.

Honestly I don't think there is really that many wanting to go to Ipswich via Darra from what I saw, ie that's worth upgrading the 103 to a BUZ, when I was there there was a bunch of people but not a busload.  I would need to sit there all day for a week to get a good solid idea of how many passengers are heading to Ipswich via Darra. The majority of the people I saw were only going as far as Inala shops.  I would suspect that those wanting to go to Ipswich would be those heading to work, whether shift work or 9 to 5.  By the way, those people were asking about the 101/102, not the 103.  It seems that, from what I saw and heard, they are going via Corinda or Oxley, not Darra, amazingly.

I do think that the 460 could be canned completely or cut off to Mt Ommaney and those heading to the city can use the train from Richlands or to catch the 450/453/454.  I'm not sure about the 461 though as it's impossible for me to be there when it's running, except if I have a look in the evening peak.

Yes - 40% seated load in Car 3 from what I saw, which is pretty good I must admit.  If there are standees I will say so eg: 100% + 10 for example.

The major problem with cutting the 460 is that it cuts service to Sumners Rd.  That should be combined with a full revamp of the Centenary area if it is to be done.

Not sure why the 103 would be not thought of - perhaps it came later or the potential users don't realise it serves the train station.  102 would be FAR slower than that run.  Without improving the train service you are probably correct that BUZification would be overkill.  There could be merit with the Sinnamon Park side though.

[Arnz]

Punters on the trunk route between Maroochydore and Caloundra (Route 600) got a treat today with 2 of the piecarts (Mercedes L0814 with the old CC body) being dispatched to the route today.  Not very often we get pie-carts outside the University/Nambour routes (as those buses are nearing withdrawal/retirements).

[Gazza]

Who was it that said the 66 was an air parcel service inbound from Roma St in the AM peak?



8m this morning, approaching the KGS tuhnel after Roma St.

[STB]

Pfft, that's a light load compared to what one would normally see, especially at the start of each semester .

[somebody]

I wonder where those people are going on that 66?  Sth Brisbane with the station closure?  Gabba?  Maybe South Bank, which is faster on the train, but less frequent. Only the former makes sense to me.

[BrizCommuter]

The other direction would be a full bus.

[STB]

I wonder where those people are going on that 66?  Sth Brisbane with the station closure?  Gabba?  Maybe South Bank, which is faster on the train, but less frequent. Only the former makes sense to me.

On my observations catching the 66, most get off at King George Square, Roma Street and Cultural Centre (although less than Roma Street and King George Square).  There are even some who catch the 66 to go from King George Square to Roma Street.

[STB]

The other direction would be a full bus.

Probably not as bad now that uni is on a break.

[somebody]

The other direction would be a full bus.

South of Roma St?

[Mr X]

When I was in high school I'd walk to Woolloongabba to take the 66/200 to the cultural centre rather than using the pathetic 230/235. It was normally pretty empty on that leg of the trip.

[Fares_Fair]

Feedback received at 1:24pm today, thank you.

ABC 612 is talking about commuters (mainly bus) leaving public transport because of the soaring costs.
I have just tuned back in and there was one commuter from the Gold Coast sounding off about the trains.

A number of callers called for the reinstatement of the daily ticket where passengers can travel all day for the one fare.
They cursed the Go Card like we all do.

[Gazza]

I made this suggestion to TL ages ago, and it appears to be finally implemented 

The Destos for TX5 buses now cycle through all the theme parks they stop at. Previously, a bus departing Helensvale would have only Dreamworld on the desto, which would slow down boardings because every 2nd pax would ask "Does this bus go to Movie World/Wet n Wild?"...They thought it only went to Dreamworld.

But now, no such problem.

[SurfRail]

I made this suggestion to TL ages ago, and it appears to be finally implemented 

The Destos for TX5 buses now cycle through all the theme parks they stop at. Previously, a bus departing Helensvale would have only Dreamworld on the desto, which would slow down boardings because every 2nd pax would ask "Does this bus go to Movie World/Wet n Wild?"...They thought it only went to Dreamworld.

But now, no such problem.

The new set looks appalling though...inconsistent font sizes for the route numerals, chopped off text on the side boards, limited information on the other displays (eg Route 14 just says "Southport", same as Route 3...).  Some are better than before, but big technical problems.

I have some familiarity with the software and have suggested how they can fix it, it is pretty simple.

[somebody]

Massive bus jam heading across the Victoria bridge out of the city around 9:20am today.  Not sure if there was some problem.  Inbound was OK.

[colinw]

Route 554 has just had a new stop added, at Settler St on Levington Road, about here.

This morning was the first time I've seen a passenger use the new stop. Interestingly, the Go Card system did not seem to be aware of the stop and the driver had to override to enable the reader.

Question: when a new bus stops are added, how are they added to the Go Card system?  Presumably a central database somewhere needs to be updated with the stop location, zone, etc.

I am also somewhat bemused by the addition of a stop near this new roundabout, as it is not more than 200 metres from the existing stop at Underwood Road & Levington Road, and maybe 350 metres from the Levington & Logan Road stop outside the RACQ head office (a surprisingly well used stop).

OTOH it is good to see a bus stop go into a brand new subdivision fairly soon after the houses went up. The convenience of this stop should hopefully attract of the McMansion dwellers out of their RAV4s.

[SurfRail]

Today saw an enthusiasts' tour to mark the withdrawal of BCC's last high-floor articulated buses, which will occur on Wednesday this week.  Bus 379 was used.

Consequently, BT's fleet will be 100% air-conditioned by the end of next week, and around 85% low-entry.

[Fares_Fair]

Is it true that current Brisbane natural gas run buses are going to be made electric very soon?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[SurfRail]

Is it true that current Brisbane natural gas run buses are going to be made electric very soon?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

The recent announcement relates to a test-bed which I understand is an ex-Council low-floor bus.  It has been handed to the manufacturer so they can play with the chassis and drive.  Council will end up with it again at some point to try out.

There are currently 569 gas buses in the fleet (around 48-49% of the total).

It would not suprise me if the next big order of buses is CNG as BCC have said they want to maintain competitive fuel prices and locally produced CNG is plentiful and clean-burning - however diesel can now be used at the same emission standards as CNG.

[ozbob]

Street poll published South West News 30th November 2011

[STB]

Caught route P88 today after visiting a friend of mine at Mount Ommaney (caught route 454 to Indooroopilly - 80% load heading inbound, departed at 3:19pm ex Mt Ommaney shops.

02-Dec-11 04:16:03 PM   Touch off   'Buranda' Busway Station OB [BT010813]
02-Dec-11 03:42:21 PM   Touch on transfer   Indooroopilly Shopping Centre - Platform B [BT002200-2]

Standing load on route P88 ex Cribb St, about a 30% load after Roma St, then standing room only again departing KGSBS.  I got off at Buranda as you can see and caught a near fully seated route 250 from Buranda to Capalaba.

[STB]

Street poll published South West News 30th November 2011

I know it's only one trip but the 454 I caught yesterday out of Mount Ommaney ran pretty much on time.

02-Dec-11 03:34:27 PM   Touch off   Indooroopilly Shopping Centre - Platform B [BT002200]
02-Dec-11 03:19:26 PM   Touch on   'Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre' [BT005271]

Scheduled departure at 3:19pm ex Mt Ommaney, scheduled arrive at Indooroopilly at 3:29pm (5mins down).  The other services also seemed to be on time while I was waiting as well.  The P88 also ran on time (in fact arrived 1 min early at Buranda!  According to comparing my Go Card data to the timetable).  I know that this was one trip on one day, but could there sometimes be a difference between almost instinctive/knee jerk negative perception of arrival/departure times and the reality?  Or someone's personal clock is off kilter to what the buses are running to?

[Set in train]

Buses were warned after 6:30pm on Thu of an intoxicated young man on the platform of the Toombul interchange. Was a detailed message asking all buses to give him and the platform a wide berth.

[Arnz]

32 people inboard the 4:47pm 603 from Caloundra to Corbould Park via Aroona and Little Mountain.  Most days you'd be lucky to get no more than 4 people on the Little Mountain/Corbould half of the 603.

Free Bus period must've work wonders for the Milk/Local runs which usually gets less people than the trunk routes like 600/610/620 etc

[ozbob]

32 people inboard the 4:47pm 603 from Caloundra to Corbould Park via Aroona and Little Mountain.  Most days you'd be lucky to get no more than 4 people on the Little Mountain/Corbould half of the 603.

Free Bus period must've work wonders for the Milk/Local runs which usually gets less people than the trunk routes like 600/610/620 etc

[ozbob]

Redbank rail



Photograph R Dow 26th January 2012

[ozbob]

Park St stop Ipswich, 515 bus Ipswich's 15 minute frequency bus



Photograph R Dow 30th January 2012

[ozbob]

Bulimba





Photographs R Dow 1st February 2012

[Arnz]

BT's Sherwood depot will be opening tomorrow.

As others had reported over at Bus Australia, the 'huge transfers' of buses between depots has been done.

Buses will be working for their new allocated depots tomorrow, some may still carry their old depot codes for a few days as it'll take a while for some depots to put their codes on their transfers.

[Gazza]

So is it pretty much a 'big bang' once it opens, in other words the depot will be generating close to the the projected (in current - near future terms) number of movements in and out?

Just want the NIMBYs who opposed it to see its not so bad afterall.

[ozbob]

Richlands



Photograph R Dow 20th February 2012

[SurfRail]

Richlands



Photograph R Dow 20th February 2012

Interesting they have picked an orange background for the PIDS.  It's consistent with station colour and branding and there is no "orange" QR line, but half of me suspects they have just copied the programming over from the Varsity Lakes ones (Gold Coast bus timetables are orange).

[ozbob]

BT's Sherwood depot will be opening tomorrow.

As others had reported over at Bus Australia, the 'huge transfers' of buses between depots has been done.

Buses will be working for their new allocated depots tomorrow, some may still carry their old depot codes for a few days as it'll take a while for some depots to put their codes on their transfers.

http://yfrog.com/od6ssycj

[HappyTrainGuy]

Sigh. Its all just numbers to them... wait..... more buses... more often... Must not apply to route 354.... or the 336..... or the 337..... or the 314.... or the 338... or the.... well, you know where I'm going

[STB]

Caught route 66 today at about 1:30pm and it was a Metroliner, so much for all the advertising around using low floor 18.5m buses .  On top of that, some passengers got stranded at QUT KG Busway Station on the inbound at about 2:30pm, and it isn't even start of the semester yet!  Yes, the 393 went flying past, empty, while everyone on the platform waited for a late running 340 and late running 66.  Sigh.

Oh and the PIDS weren't working either, totally blank.