Gold Coast rapid buses: First look at council’s plans for electric bus service to link with light rail

More than $100 million will be spent building an electric bus rapid transit system connecting the light rail to the Gold Coast’s western suburbs.

MORE than $100 million will be spent building an electric bus rapid transit system connecting the light rail to the Gold Coast’s western suburbs.

Long-proposed plans for east-west fast public transport will today be unveiled with buses initially before tram links are eventually built.

Artist impression of the proposed Gold Coast electric bus system, known as the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

There are three prospective routes:

* Nobby Beach to Robina’s Green Heart Parklands via Pizzey Park, Bond University, Varsity College, Robina Town Centre and Cbus Super Stadium. (Expected cost unknown).

* Broadbeach to Nerang town centre, stopping at Pacific Fair, Carrara Markets, Emerald Lakes, Metricon Stadium and Nerang heavy rail station. (Expected cost $55.2 million).

* Gold Coast University Hospital to Harbour Town, stopping at Southport Sharks. (Expected Coast $28.1 million).

A station at Robina.

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The proposed routes are not final and will be subject to a business case and community consultation.

Planning is well underway on the Robina and Nerang links while the Harbour Town connection is in its early stages.

Mayor Tom Tate said the project would be jointly funded by the council and the state, and work to relieve congestion on some of the city’s busiest arterial roads.

The buses will arrive every 10 minutes.

“Light rail is a proven success and has taken 48 million passengers since 2014 so it is only natural we look at going east and west,” he said.

“This allows us to tap into the light rail and have people be able to walk off the tram and straight onto the bus.

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“It will be a frequent, modern and reliable system.”

Cr Tate said he hoped to fast-track the Nerang and Robina routes to have them funded, built and ready by 2023 when the light rail’s Broadbeach to Burleigh link opens.

It will connect with light and heavy rail.

He said it would build the case for east-west light rail links while the Burleigh to Gold Coast Airport connection is completed.

Councillors will be briefed on the system at today’s final council meeting before this month’s election.

No decision will be made on funding the project at the meeting because the council is in caretaker mode.

Following the poll, the new council will consider funding a business case which will be put to both the State Government and opposition before October’s state election.

The plan will be unveiled at council today.

Existing local bus routes would remain largely unaffected.

At today’s briefing, city leaders will be told the buses would be able to carry up to 100 passengers and arrive at stops at maximum intervals of 10 minutes, operating all day.

Stations would be similar in design to the light rail and those retained when east-west tram connections are built would simply be expanded.

Similar systems are operating in nearly 200 cities around the world including Adelaide, Jakarta, Auckland, Bogota, Manchester and Brisbane.