Brisbane bus timetables undergo changes to remove some services

A major change to Brisbane’s bus services has seen some routes being split up, while others have been removed altogether, in a move claimed to produce faster travel times and deliver more services.

Some Brisbane City buses will operate on new timetables following the review Picture David Clark

A council review into the current bus network could see faster travel times and more services across Brisbane.

The Brisbane Bus Network Review incorporated customer patronage data, popular travel patterns and extensive community consultation to help deliver a major boost to the network.

Designed to improve traffic congestion and ease bottlenecks, five new routes would be added to the bus network and another twelve routes redesigned to end at metro and busway stations.

The review found 85 per cent of routes would be faster or similar during peak periods and would mean an extra 160,000 services a year.

To help reduce congestion in the city and specifically, the cultural centre, fewer buses would travel over the Victoria Bridge.

Another three routes would be divided to boost reliability and reduce delays.

Divided routes include:

1. Route 375 – Bardon to Stafford will be divided into:

– Route 348 – Stafford to City via Lutwyche (a new route number for the northern alignment)

– Route 375 – Bardon to City

2. Route 379 – Ashgrove to Stafford via Grange will be divided into:

– Route 347 – Stafford to City via Grange (a new route number for the northern alignment)

– Route 379 – Ashgrove to City

3. Route 470 – Toowong to Teneriffe Ferry will be divided into:

– Route 470 – Toowong to City

– Route 309 (renumbered from Route 393) – RBWH station to City, via Teneriffe

While the boost would provide more services, more passengers would be required to transfer and use several routes to get to their desired location.

Bus stops in the CBD would also be moved – several peak-hour services in the city would change to run along Elizabeth Street, Edward Street and Alice Street in both directions.

While no date has been set, the council said the changes would coincide with the launch of the fully electric Brisbane Metro services.

Several routes will also be combined to improve efficiency in suburban area without decreasing the total number of trips or coverage.

Three routes will be removed due to low patronage, they are:

1. Route 28 – Langlands Park to the University of Queensland

2. Route 145 – Browns Plains to Griffith University Nathan Campus

3. Route P151 – Calamvale to City

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner confirmed Council would seek to meet with the Crisafulli Government’s new Transport Minister to discuss the timing of implementation.

“David Crisafulli has been a long-time supporter of Brisbane Metro and we’re excited by the prospect of being able to work with the new government to make long-overdue improvements to Brisbane’s public transport network,” he said.

“I’m confident these improvements, along with the introduction of Brisbane Metro, will encourage even more people to ditch the cars, easing congestion and keeping Brisbane moving.”