Major shake-up on Brisbane bus network as two-third to see changes next month

The new Brisbane Metro service will be fully operational next month, bringing with it a major change for the city’s network.

Buses cross Victoria Bridge towards South Brisbane. Picture: Lachie Millard

Two-thirds of Brisbane bus services will have major changes next month as Metro permanently operate a second route.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner on Sunday announced that M1 and a brand new bus network will come on board on June 30.

“It will be the biggest change that we have seen in the Brisbane bus networks in decades,” he said.

“We’re also adding new bus services; we’re adding extra capacity; we’re boosting frequencies, and it’s all about keeping Brisbane moving and getting more people on public transport.”

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner talks to media at Cultural Centre Station on Sunday to announce new bus routes for Brisbane. Picture: Lachie Millard

The upcoming M1 will connect Roma Street Parkland and Eight Mile Plains, replacing the existing 111 and 160 bus routes.

Bus route 169 was trialled as a permanent Metro route last year but led to community confusion. It was not included in the two services that will run at five-minute frequencies and throughout 24 hours on the weekend.

About 70 per cent of the bus network will also see changes as the council add five new routes, extend the four peak-hour services to all-day operations, and launch 12 combined routes to eliminate duplicate buses and retiring three divided services.

This comes after more than 1.1 million trips were taken on M2 between the University of Queensland and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital stations since its launch in January.

Transport Chair Ryan Murphy said 30 million additional trips will be available on the network that carried 80 million passengers annually. 

“Eighty-five per cent of the trips will be faster or the same, and 15 per cent of trips will be slower, but overall, what we will see is a significant reduction of the buses that are clogging CBD streets during the morning and evening peaks,” he said.

“We will take buses out of the CBD and reallocate them into the suburbs. Metro has always been about replacing large numbers of those smaller buses that carry 70 people with mega buses that carry 170 people.

“We expect that we’ll be one of the first cities in the world to have public transport patronage now exceed its pre-Covid levels.”

■ Brisbane Metro: All your questions answered

But Mr Murphy said the Adelaide Street tunnel and its adjourning busways – King George Square, Queen Street and Roma Street stations – will be closed for six consecutive weekends between June 21 and July 27 to further improve the turnaround time to three minutes.

“This tunnel is almost complete. We’re going through finishing activities at the moment, and some of the tests that we have to do inside that tunnel involve literally burning cars to test all the fire equipment, the smoke detectors and the deluge system,” he said.

“There’ll be some smoke coming out of the tunnel over the next few weeks as we head into June and July, and we’ll commission that tunnel in September.

“A large number of bus services will be affected on those weekends if your bus comes into or through the CBD, so we’re working on lots of planning for those changes to make sure they’re as seamless as possible.”

Buses will run on surface streets across the CBD as diversions will be in place. Travellers are advised to plan their trips ahead closer to the date.

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie at Cultural Centre Station on Sunday to announce new bus routes for Brisbane. Picture: Lachie Millard

Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the Metro vision was an amazing opportunity for Brisbane.

“We need the Metro to go to other places like the Wave on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.

“Lord mayor, (we’re) copying your vision of Metro into other areas of Queensland as well.

“We will now work with the Brisbane City Council over the next few years to work out the connection plan, the connectivity between cities, the fast rail to the Gold Coast, the Wave to the Sunshine Coast and at the heart of all of that is Brisbane.”

Originally published as Major shake-up on Brisbane bus network as two-third to see changes next month