Brisbane Metro: All your questions answered

Almost a decade after it was first spruiked by Brisbane City Council, Brisbane Metro finally kicks off this week. YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Passengers on the Brisbane Metro 169 bus route between Eight Mile Plains and UQ Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Almost a decade after it was first spruiked by Brisbane City Council, Brisbane Metro is finally opening, well half of it anyway. The Courier-Mail sat down with Brisbane CC’S chair for Transport, councillor Ryan Murphy, to ask him every question you might have about what exactly it is, how it will work and what it means for you.

What is the Brisbane Metro?

A new, fast bus service that will link the suburbs to the city. It opens on Tuesday and the council says it’s the first step in its plan to move from the current bus transit system to a “bus rapid transit” system. Metro buses will arrive every five minutes during peak, every 10 minutes off peak and will eventually be 24/7.

Is it a bus or a trackless tram?

It’s a bus.

Then why is it called Brisbane Metro?

When the project was first announced back in 2016 by former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, it was supposed to be an underground light rail system for Brisbane. But once then transport chair Adrian Schrinner and current Lord Mayor, started working on its design and business case, he realised an underground system was not viable for Brisbane. It would have been too disruptive to the current public transport system – where buses do two thirds of the heavy lifting – and far too expensive.

Ok, but why is it still called the Brisbane Metro?

Although a metro is almost always a light rail or train system, cities in South America and some smaller cities in Europe have high-quality rapid bus transit systems. That’s where the idea for this iteration of Brisbane Metro came from. Other cities call it metro because it’s the turn-up-and-go system, no timetables needed and the vehicles have right of way on a segregated road.

Brisbane Metro from UQ Lakes Station, St Lucia to Eight Mile Plains electric bus depot – Picture: Richard Walker

Are the metro buses the same size as our regular buses?

No. A normal bus can carry 76 passengers, but a metro can carry 170. The buses are 25 metres long and bi-articulated, which means they’ve got two joins in them, or the far less technical term – two bendy sections.

Is it quicker than a traditional bus?

Yes. The metros perform far better than our current diesel buses, they’ve got quicker acceleration and higher top speeds. But given the speed limit in busways is only 80km, that’s not where the time savings will be made. The ability to take many more passengers from the routes that will be redesigned to feed into the metro system will stop people being held up once their bus makes it to the city. Instead of being held up on the Victoria Bridge, waiting to go into the Queen Street busway, a new tunnel will take the metros directly underground to the King George Square busway.

Any cool new features for commuters?

Yes. Extra airconditioning, CCTV throughout, USB ports to charge your phone and possibly the coolest feature is that Queensland’s own Melanie Zanetti, the voice of Chilli Heeler – Bluey’s mum, will be the voiceover commuters hear telling them what stop is coming up next. The vehicles have also been customised for people with disabilities “to be the most accessible bus in the world”, Mr Murphy said. There is extra room for wheelchair users, one low same level floor throughout, better lighting, the voice over feature and smooth entry onto the bus with wide entries that tip down for easy access.

Is the metro just running on our existing busways?

Yes. However, upgrades have been made to current busways to accommodate the more frequent services and larger vehicles – the most important being the previously Adelaide Street Tunnel that is promised to free up the Cultural Centre Busway / Victoria Bridge bottleneck. Having the bigger vehicles carrying more people through a tunnel under the city, about one third of all the buses that are currently congesting CBD streets will be redeployed into the suburbs. The tunnel will open when the other half of the project is opened this year.

Ryan Murphy during a visit to the Brisbane Metro station.

Which commuters will benefit the most from Brisbane Metro?

Mr Murphy says every resident will benefit from Brisbane Metro whether you catch it or not. Its hope is that with a more comfortable, frequent, reliable and cheap bus service, more and more people will use it resulting in less traffic clogging up our roads.

How much will a ticket cost?

50 cents.

Will the full service be operational by Jan 28?

No. Metro Line 2, which runs from RBWH to UQ in St Lucia will open Tuesday, then Metro Line 1 which runs from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street along with a totally revised bus network will start mid this year and the final stage will be opening the Adelaide St tunnel “mid to late” this year.

Will there be a timetable for the services?

No. Just turn up and the longest you will wait is ten minutes.

Will I eventually see a metro at the bus stop at the end of my street?

No. The metro buses can drive on the normal road network but their purpose will be to go on dedicated busways or transit ways to stop them mixing with general traffic and getting caught up in congestion.

Do any other cities in Australia have comparable systems?

No. This will be the first of its kind in Australia.

Originally published as Brisbane Metro: All your questions answered