Brisbane Metro is changing the city bus network. Here’s what you need to know

Brisbane City Council is bringing the NBN above ground – the public transport overhaul it has dubbed the “New Bus Network”, that is.

The updates come with the launch – or relaunch, depending who you ask – of the Brisbane Metro, with megabuses starting on the M2 route, which takes over from the 66 service, from Tuesday.

At the same time, the council is tweaking eight public bus routes and making broad changes across school bus routes in a joint initiative with the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR).

The official Metro launch has been coupled with the early introduction of several new bus services.Credit: Felicity Caldwell

Here’s what you need to know about what’s happening to the bus network.

Metro services now run every five minutes from Tuesday along the M2, covering 12 stops from the University of Queensland to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

The council said last year the bi-articulated vehicles would carry twice the occupancy of a regular bus, and were hoped to cut traffic, particularly in the CBD.

As a result, there are significant changes for inner-city stops and routes.

Seven routes have been permanently shifted above ground, from CBD busway stations to street-level stops along Adelaide and Ann Street.

Further minor changes to public buses included stop changes for the 444 to accommodate the Metro megabuses stopping at King George Station.

The council has also tweaked the routes of 10 school services for the start of the school year, and added nine new routes, while axing two it said had low numbers of passengers.

TMR said it had made almost 900 changes to school services across the state as part of an annual review process, and worked with Brisbane City Council to tailor route changes to community needs.

The rest of the new bus network is expected to come midyear, when the M1 line – which follows the 169 bus route and ran for a limited period last year – will also come online.

The megabuses will continue to use Brisbane’s existing underground busway infrastructure, relying on the Queen and Roma Street tunnels, until the third quarter of 2025, when the new Adelaide Street tunnel is expected to open.

The 139 and 169 services will also change stops at UQ Lakes station once the M1 comes online.

The council has terminated several bus routes from Tuesday, including the 66 – replaced by the M2 – and the free South Brisbane bus loop, route 86.

Despite a petition launched to maintain route 86 last year, the council said the route was temporary while the Metro was under development and never intended to be permanent.

In stage two, the council will also end the 28, 145, and P151 services. Additional changes are not expected for school bus routes.

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