‘Vulture Street is hilly for starters’: Passengers put out as free bus ride nearly over

The axing of one of Brisbane’s free inner-city bus loops has sparked community outcry, with a petition quickly attracting 1200 signatures from passengers and critics.

West End retiree Jan Wild said the public transport infrastructure had already helped her sell one of the two cars she owned with her partner.

Wild moved to the suburb from Noosa just over a year ago, and cited the readily available free bus transport as a reason.

Despite reporting lower patronage than other free city loop services, West End resident Jan Wild said the service has seen good use from students and seniors alike.Credit: Jan Wild

“We really hardly use our car … a key factor in our moving here was that there’s really good public transport, including the number 86 [bus route],” she said.

The South Brisbane Bus loop – route 86 – ran in an extended trial from the beginning of 2024 but in late October the city council revealed it would stop funding the route by the end of the year.

Despite a petition launched by Gabba Ward councillor Trina Massey, Deputy Mayor Krista Adams said the service had been intended as a temporary stand-in while the city’s Metro was under development.

“We weren’t sure if people were actually going to use [the South Brisbane loop],” Adams said.

“Getting those people in the practice of catching public transport is a good thing.”

Locals indicated they were not prepared to let the free loop go.

Adams said many options remained for residents in the inner south wanting to travel by bus, including the City Glider, 196 and 199 routes.

The council also revealed it would introduce five new bus routes in a transit network shake-up revealed at the end of October – including a new South Brisbane bus loop, number 197.

However, it would run through the South Brisbane and Woolloongabba suburbs, meaning people in West End currently benefiting from a service running down Vulture Street, one of the suburb’s arterial roads, would miss out.

“Vulture Street is hilly for starters, all the way up pretty much for Montague Road,” Wild said.

“There are businesses along Vulture Street and one of the ways I use [the 86] a lot is to … go to businesses on Boundary Street, [or] be at the library when I’ve got heavy books to return.

“I have a pretty rubbish spine. Walking and carrying heavy loads is not my idea of fun.”

Wild said the service had been used by an “incredible mix of people” from the suburb, from retirees like herself to school students.

Massey said the council owed West End residents a permanent loop, saying the trial had been “a resounding success”.

“It is a much-needed, interconnected public transport bus,” the councillor said.

But Adams said permanency was never on the cards, and the patronage numbers had always been much lower compared with other loops in the area.

“Olympics infrastructure is going to make significant public realm improvements,” said Adams said.

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