INB Discovery Day (4th May 08) and Articles

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!

Public invited to walk through new bus tunnel

Public invited to walk through new bus tunnel
Andrew Wight | May 2, 2008

There's nothing quite like a party in a giant underground tunnel to celebrate the completion - six months early - of a $330 million infrastructure project.

A spokesman for Queensland Transport Minister John Mickel said the early finish to the Inner Northern Busway (INB) meant Queensland Transport could hold an open day in the very place buses will soon run around the clock.

Crowds of over 4000 are expected to descend beneath the surface of Brisbane to sample rides, food and information on the project.

Premier Anna Bligh will open the proceedings on Sunday, assisted by Transport Minister John Mickel and former Transport Minister Paul Lucas.

Proceeds from gold-coin donations on the day will go to local charities, including the Red Cross Cafe, Rosies, the Salvation Army and Foodbank.

The spokesman man said the project would help Brisbane to move forward, and had also helped it rediscover a part of its past.

Remnants of the Wheat Creek culvert will be on display before they go to their new home at the museum of Brisbane and excavators also discovered a Second World War-era air raid shelter.

Another important feature of the INB being unveiled is a dedicated transport information desk, extolling the virtues of non-car, low congestion transport like cycling and ferries.

"We believe this is an Australian first," the spokesman said.

The INB Open Day will be on Sunday May 4 from 10am until 2pm.

[ozbob]

From Sunday Mail click here!

Underground busway unveiled

Underground busway unveiled
Article from: The Sunday Mail (Qld)

May 04, 2008 12:00am

THE mysterious hole growing beneath Brisbane's CBD for the past two years is about to be unveiled.
The results of all the digging, noise, road closures and traffic chaos in the city centre will be revealed when the Inner Northern Busway tunnel is opened for public viewing today.

The $333 million project ? completed eight months ahead of schedule ? features a 1.2km busway, 500m tunnel and new underground stations at King George Square and Roma St.

As many as 100,000 commuters a day will pass through the tunnel when it officially opens on May 19, reducing bus travel times by up to 20 minutes.

Premier Anna Bligh ducked out of Parliament last week to get an early look as the finishing touches were being put to station platforms. Ms Bligh said the "congestion buster" would be welcomed by commuters and motorists.

"I think it's fantastic," she said.

"People will be surprised at what has been happening under their city. They will be surprised at how large it is. It is a very modern facility and a great addition to the city."

About 10,000 people are expected to visit the busway today and walk the route from Queen St to Upper Roma St. No buses will be running yet, although bus drivers have been training for the past couple of weeks.

TransLink spokesman Daniel Pollard said the busway would run 250 buses in the morning peak hour ? which meant they would be off the CBD roads.

A ball will be held in the King George Square station on  Saturday.

[ozbob]

The INB 'Discovery Day' was held on 4th May.  A great success judging by the crowds.  Estimates of 10,000 are probably a little under I think. When I arrived at 10am sharp there was a few hundred which by 11am had grown to many thousands.

A number of groups from engineers to QR Heritage were represented with stands.

Translink staff were in attendance with the Go card promotional bus, and handing out a lot of go cards 
Lots of free souvenirs and stuff for children, and snacks for all.

Free travel courtesy of the coupon in today's Sunday Mail.




Roma St Station Sign to busway and rail platforms



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


Roma St Bus Platform 1



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


Looking back to the rail platforms from busway



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


Heading down busway looking back at bus platform 2



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


Heading down into the busway tunnel connecting to King George Square



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008



Exit to Roma St between Roma St Station and King George Square Station



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


King George Square Station Information Screens at Stop 2f



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


King George Square Station Information Display at Stop 2e



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008


King George Square Station Sign



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008



In the main tunnel between King George Square and Roma St



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008





Heading back up to Roma St Station



Photograph R Dow 4 May 2008

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

New busway open to public

New busway open to public
Article from: AAP

May 04, 2008 12:28pm

BRISBANE'S newest piece of road infrastructure has been opened by Premier Anna Bligh for a public inspection, before it opens to buses.
Ms Bligh today opened the $333 million Inner Northern Busway, which will take 900 buses off city roads every day and save bus passengers up to 20 minutes travel time in peak hours.

The public was today allowed to tour the busway stations, underneath King George Square and at Roma Street rail station in the CBD.

Ms Bligh said the site of the King George Square station, underneath Ann Street, had previously been a car park, a World War II bunker and part of the city's earliest water infrastructure.

"There's a lot of history here, but this is now a modern, safe, accessible, state-of-the-art busway for the commuters who live and visit this city," she said.

"It will serve this city for decades.

"This busway is great for those on our buses, but it's a congestion buster for this city ... we will be taking hundreds of buses off our roads and putting them underground."

The project was finished eight months ahead of schedule, allowing buses to begin using the route on May 19.

[ozbob]

From Brisbane Times click here!

Thousands take a peek at Brisbane's newest tunnel

Thousands take a peek at Brisbane's newest tunnel
Marissa Calligeros | May 4, 2008 - 3:42PM

What has long been a bare concrete tunnel beneath King George Square, seemed more like a shopping mall today, as thousands of Brisbanites swarmed the new Inner Northern Busway (INB) for a sneak peak.

As more than 2000 people descended beneath Queen and Roma streets for a preview of the busway this morning, whispered words of amazement could just be heard above the sound of clicking cameras and the hum of the escalators.

"It's really great," seven-year-old Dylan Farrugia said.

"It's pretty big," Dylan's older brother Caleb added.

The $330 million busway, delivered six months ahead of schedule, has connected Brisbane's western and northern suburbs with the CBD. More than 240 buses will run along the busway during morning peak hours from May 19, and bus stops from more than 120 bus routes will also change.

Premier Anna Bligh said the INB would be a real "congestion buster" with commuters expected to save up to 20 minutes of travel time in peak hours.

Retirees from the north-side suburb of McDowell, Sheila and Ray Thurlow went this morning to familiarise themselves with the new busway they plan use twice a week.

"We're very excited about it," Mr Thurlow said.

"I think Brisbane has been behind the eight-ball for a long long time, but this shows that something can be done to solve our public transport problems."

The Thurlows will use the busway to get to the University of the Third Age in Edward Street, where they learn Latin and Spanish.

A sausage sizzle manned by members of Brisbane's Rotary Club was a sight surely never to be seen again inside the tunnel.

The club expected to fry off more than 2000 sausages and 60 kilograms of onions, by 2pm today.

Amid the glossy outfit of the tunnel, were remnants of the past - sections of the Wheat Creek culvert, which once formed part of the city's storm water system were also on display, before they go to their new home at the museum of Brisbane

Mayor Campbell Newman dubbed the busway a "magnificent achievement" for Brisbane.

"It's just so central and so convenient," Mr Newman said.

The Thurlows gave the tunnel the thumbs-up, "Especially if it can make more buses run on time and quicker," they said.

[stephenk]

I had a look around the INB this afternoon with my wife, and new camera. It was great to experience the once only opportunity to walk through the busway, and it was much busier than I expected. I wasn't complaining about the free Krispy Kreme donut either. Although to the pervert who thought it was OK to grab and kiss one of the girls giving out the donuts - shame on you!

I took a couple of artistic photos. Larger versions here http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenk1977/

[Otto]

I missed it... Just got back from my cruise..

[ozbob]

Hi, welcome back Otto!   

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

Busway is signpost to future

Busway is signpost to future
Article from: AAP

By Alison Sandy

May 04, 2008 12:28pm

THOUSANDS of people have had a glimpse of Brisbane's underground transport future with the public opening of the Inner Northern Busway.

For Lord Mayor Campbell Newman it proves there is light at the end of the tunnel for the city's transport woes with the Clem Jones Tunnel also on track to be completed almost a year ahead of schedule.

RiverCity Motorways yesterday confirmed the cross-river tunnel project was expected to be finished by the end of next year, with 2.5km of the 10km route excavated.

Cr Newman welcomed the progress, which he said would complement the $333 million Busway and a new Road Traffic Management Plan.

"The two projects mean for the first time in many, many years, we've got major infrastructure projects coming together to tackle congestion," Cr Newman said.

"People on the north side will particularly benefit from the Inner Northern Busway and the Clem Jones Tunnel."

Brisbane City Council lost 400 car parks in King George Square and up to $35 million in associated revenue through the deal, but Cr Newman said benefits outweighed the problems.

"It will provide people on the north side of the city with the same sort of quality of services as there are on the south side."

Cr Newman said the council was in the process of devising the traffic management plan, which would require State Government support.

Some of the thoroughfares mooted for upgrade include Kingsford Smith Drive, Lytton Rd and Progress Rd.

Deputy mayor and Infrastructure chairman Graham Quirk said the council needed to change its focus to minimise costs.

"We've got to be a bit more creative with these corridors, because what's tended to happen is council has worked on an intersection-by-intersection basis and we have to move away from that and look at an entire corridor and look at what needs to occur," he said.

"It's thinking a little bit outside of the square of where things have been operating in the past and driving up efficiency at the lowest possible cost.

"There are plenty of challenges ahead because of suburb and arterial road costs."

The Lord Mayor is expected to deliver the budget on June 11, and said while it would be "strongly focused on infrastructure", it wouldn't be at the expense of community programs.

[ozbob]

From Courier Mail click here!

A busway that needs buses

A busway that needs buses
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Alison Sandy

May 14, 2008 12:00am

BRISBANE'S new busway is at risk of becoming a $333 million white elephant because City Hall is struggling to find enough buses to service it.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman yesterday admitted the city's bus network would be stretched to the limit when the Inner Northern Busway opened on Monday.

The withdrawal of more than 60 buses over the past few weeks has put the bus system in crisis, with the council being forced to bring in vandalised buses to try to make up the shortfall.

The INB was meant to take the pressure off. But, with commuters already experiencing delays, fears are held that the opening of the busway could make things worse.

Cr Newman said there were more buses on the road than ever before and the difficulty was increased passenger numbers.

"It's not through negligence, it's not through mismanagement . . . it's through demand," he said.

"This financial year we're going to carry 67 million.

"The point is, what we're putting on the road is unprecedented. Our fleet is 899.

"Only 18 of the 63 buses that were taken off the road following a gas bottle explosion have been returned after it was revealed the council had not followed appropriate safety checks."

Opposition Transport spokeswoman Victoria Newton said the bus network couldn't cope, with the number of overcrowded buses trebling last month, compared to the same time last year.

"These figures are extremely alarming as April is traditionally a quieter time of year due to university and school holidays," she said. "The fact is patronage has jumped by 35 per cent while the Lord Mayor has only budgeted to increase the bus fleet by 16 per cent."

[ozbob]

The only solution for the long term is to ramp up rail to take pressure of our bus network.
See --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=83.msg3839#msg3839

Years of neglect of QR urban and interurban services are obvious to all except the Minister of Transport, the Queensland Government and Translink.

[ozbob]

Staff handing out TRANSLink Brisbane CBD bus service guides this morning in the CBD.

32 page booklet, complete with go card advertisement inside the front cover.

Changes for CBD bus services for INB summarised here  --> http://servicechanges.translink.com.au/db/servicechange.php?id=78

[SockGap]

I saw a Translink staff member wandering from bus stop to bus stop handing out Bus Service Guides on Thursday night at about 5:30pm.   Good idea.  I spoke to someone I work with who wasn't aware they had such a thing available and she was wondering where her bus stop was moving to.  With the list of routes and the great map in the middle it very easy to work out with the Bus Service Guide.

My one big peeve with the new INB tunnel is mobile phone coverage.   They installed base stations in the rail tunnels between Roma Street and Brunswick Street so people can chatter away annoyingly without loss of signal - why didn't they do the same for the INB???   I was in the middle of the tunnel on 4 May and had one bar of service.   When I walked out of the tunnel I had a message from a missed call - so I didn't have enough service down there to receive a call.

P.S. - stephenk - you take some GREAT photos...   

[ozbob]

Have received a response from Translink today, the 26th May.

The winning card in the $2000 go card give away was distributed on Sunday 4
May 2008. The winner has yet to contact TransLink to claim their prize. The
prize remains valid and TransLink awaits contact from the winner.

If you went to the INB Discovery Day on the 4th May and picked up a go card, check it!  You might have won $2000 worth of free travel!!

[Zoiks]

You know what would be the best thing.
Someone winning it... then auctioning it off to someone off (making sure they get media attention) because even at $1750  its cheaper and more flexible to use that money for dailys

[mufreight]

Just goes to show the levels of use of Go cards, obviousaly the receipient of the card with the $2000 of travel on it has not presented or used the card since they got it, was it actually handed out or is it still sitting somewhere in a bundle of cards that was not handed out, or was it one of the many that were taken then simply thrown away or into a drawer as a souviner of the day because the recipiant having knowledge of the failings of the system has no intention of using a go card anyway and until the holder of the card goes to load money on the card or to use it they will not know that they have the winning card.
As a Public Relations exercise like most of Translinks ideas the concept had legs but it died in the implimentation and did not last the distance to achieve anything, much less the hoped for publicity.
It might have had more of a chance if they had a couple of lesser prizes as well and had publicised the winning card numbers, that would have motivated most to at least open the envelope and check the number but once more the bean counter in charge tried to do it on the cheap with the predictiable result.