Connecting service fail

[Mozz]

On Saturday I needed to go to west end to meet up with friends. I dutifully checked the translink website to see how to get there and it provided a good result for a train/bus solution. Catch the 1.10pm from Oxley to Central arriving at 1.35pm then get off and catch the 196 bus from outside Anzac Square at 1.42pm. Because of the track closure I left home 40 minutes early to ensure I would get the railbus to corinda. The railbus arrived at 12.55pm and took us to Corinda then the train onto central - actually a minute or so early into Central. So off I hopped onto the central concourse, down the escalator, through anzac square building and out onto the street........ only to see the 196 bus heading across the adelaide street/edward street intersection towards the river damn it - checked the watch and it was 1.37pm. Just for kicks I went to bus stop 36 to check the times and saw that the bus stop displays the bus as leaving at 1.41pm - only a minute difference to the translink website but that plus an early bus means no connection was made between train and bus and it was another 30 minutes for the next one. Not a great inconvenience all in all as I hiked it over there by active transport rather than public transport. End of story. I am sure others have worse but just thought I would share.

[somebody]

And Adelaide St is a timing point.

The other problems here are: how come the journey planner didn't think of staying on the train until Fortitude Valley and getting on the bus in Warner St?
And how come the journey planner didn't advise you of the trackwork?  www.131500.com.au (Sydney's version) can do it.

[ButFli]

The other problems here are: how come the journey planner didn't think of staying on the train until Fortitude Valley and getting on the bus in Warner St?

Because there'd be even less chance of making the connection. It would take a few minutes extra on the train to FV and the bus would leave Warner St a few minutes before it was supposed to be at Adelaide St (at least). There were only 7 minutes leeway at Central, so that makes one minute tops if you stayed on the train to FV. Even if it is a slightly shorter walk in the Valley, you'd have far less chance of actually making it.

[somebody]

The other problems here are: how come the journey planner didn't think of staying on the train until Fortitude Valley and getting on the bus in Warner St?

Because there'd be even less chance of making the connection. It would take a few minutes extra on the train to FV and the bus would leave Warner St a few minutes before it was supposed to be at Adelaide St (at least). There were only 7 minutes leeway at Central, so that makes one minute tops if you stayed on the train to FV. Even if it is a slightly shorter walk in the Valley, you'd have far less chance of actually making it.

Checked the timetable, and it's theoretically a 9 minute run between Adelaide St.  It's only 5 minutes for the train, even with the recovery time.  And you save on the walk.

[WTN]

There's still the need for the bus to arrive several minutes after the train, even if the interchange point is moved to FV.  Remembering that both modes are travelling in opposite directions, the meeting point should theoretically be earlier.  I could hazard a guess that it could be easier to change to a Cultural Centre bus at Roma St, then change to the 196 at the Cultural Centre.  Ironically, the offpeak transit time between Roma St and South Brisbane/Cultural Centre is quicker on the bus than the train.  So the Roma St-Cultural Centre run might be a useful "catchup".

I had the same problem when planning my journey home after a night shift.  The connection time at Central/Adelaide St was too short or just missed. 

[somebody]

There's still the need for the bus to arrive several minutes after the train, even if the interchange point is moved to FV.  Remembering that both modes are travelling in opposite directions, the meeting point should theoretically be earlier.  I could hazard a guess that it could be easier to change to a Cultural Centre bus at Roma St, then change to the 196 at the Cultural Centre.  Ironically, the offpeak transit time between Roma St and South Brisbane/Cultural Centre is quicker on the bus than the train.  So the Roma St-Cultural Centre run might be a useful "catchup".

I had the same problem when planning my journey home after a night shift.  The connection time at Central/Adelaide St was too short or just missed. 

Huh?  Adelaide St to Warner St is exactly the same direction as Central to FV.  Why on earth would you detour to CC?

The rail travel time between Central and South Brisbane is pretty awful.  I'm not sure what the problems are, but I suspect one is that the points on the turn off to the Merivale Bridge are low speed.

[Emmie]

Bus timetables have to be approximate because road traffic is unpredictable.  What does a bus driver do if s/he arrives at a stop ahead of schedule?  In most suburban areas, the bus can just sit it out and get back on schedule - but in Adelaide St?  I don't have any solution, but I can sympathise with the timetabling problem.

[somebody]

Bus timetables have to be approximate because road traffic is unpredictable.  What does a bus driver do if s/he arrives at a stop ahead of schedule?  In most suburban areas, the bus can just sit it out and get back on schedule - but in Adelaide St?  I don't have any solution, but I can sympathise with the timetabling problem.

This point is why it is stupid to have the Cultural Centre as a timing point, especially for inbound QSBS terminators.

But I think the answer to your question is that the bus has to wait on Adelaide St, and there has to be either a large enough gap between services, or stands which can fit multiple buses.

[ButFli]

Huh?  Adelaide St to Warner St is exactly the same direction as Central to FV.  Why on earth would you detour to CC?

But the bus that Mozz wanted to catch isn't traveling from Adelaide St to Warner St, it's traveling from Warner St to Adelaide St. This is quite clearly in the opposite direction to the train he was catching. You would consider detouring to CC because Mozz was headed in that direction - to West End. In fact, depending on where in West End Mozz was headed, it might be easier just to catch a bus to CC and walk from there.

Just looking at the timetables for Mozz's services, the train he was on wouldn't arrive at FV until 1:39pm and the 196 doesn't even stop at Warner St. All buses to West End stop on Ann St. FV Station to Ann St is a 300m walk compared to the 150m walk between Central and Adelaide St.

How anyone could suggest changing in FV as a better alternative is beyond belief!

[somebody]

Just re-read his original post.  The only clue as to which direction he was heading was "the 196 bus heading across the adelaide street/edward street intersection towards the river".  Of course, the river is in both directions, but I would assume he was heading west based on that statement.  I was thinking he was heading east. 

Sorry for the confusion.

[ButFli]

First sentence says he was going to West End. I thought that would have made it pretty obvious which way the bus was heading.

[somebody]

First sentence says he was going to West End. I thought that would have made it pretty obvious which way the bus was heading.

Does too.  <red face>

[longboi]

That counts as another connecting service fail    

[somebody]

At the risk of embarassing myself further, Anzac Square is not a timing point.  BCC/Translink only have a case to answer here if the bus did not wait at the City Hall stop on Adelaide St.