Transurban to trial motorcycle response crews to keep toll roads moving

They’re rapid-response riders trained and equipped for any situation. But they’re not out to bust wayward motorists.

RAPID response motorcycles that can reach incidents sooner and get traffic moving again will be trialled from today on two of Brisbane’s busiest roads.

Toll operator Transurban is launching the Australia-first trial as a potential congestion-busting measure that could be expanded to its road networks in Sydney and Melbourne.

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The new bikes will be equipped with water, diesel, petrol, defibrillator, basic first aid, tyre puncture repair kit and jump-start kit.

Riders will be able to weave through traffic jams that previously held up regular response vehicles and relay critical information back to incident controllers.

Incident response supervisors Darren Nolan and Paul Hillman with the new bikes. Picture: Annette Dew

Transurban Queensland general manager operations David McLoughlin said the trial on the Gateway and Logan motorways would improve safety and efficiency and keep traffic moving.

“The motorcycles will be able to get through congestion sooner and provide basic support to motorists like fuel and water, while making an assessment to ensure our response team know exactly what’s happening at the scene,” he said.

“The trial builds on significant improvements to our incident response capability on these motorways over the past year, including the introduction of a new fleet consisting of four trucks fitted with crash cushions, two tow trucks and four utes, making it the largest fleet of its kind in Australia.

“Since 2017, our average incident response times on these motorways has reduced to just over eight minutes and we expect this trial will result in further benefits for motorists.”

Darren Nolan and Paul Hillman test the new bikes that will be used in the trial on the Logan and Gateway motorways. Picture: Annette Dew

Nearly half a million trips are logged each work day across Brisbane’s network of six toll roads, all operated by Transurban.

The company records about 1000 traffic incidents including breakdowns, debris clean-up and motorists running out of fuel each month.

Results of the trial are expected in mid-2019.