‘We should be worried’: Brisbane Metro ‘preview’ rolls to a quiet stop

The news

A much-hyped partial start to Brisbane City Council’s $1.4 billion Metro bus project has come to a quiet end just one month after it began.

And City Hall’s transport chair Ryan Murphy has now flagged a further delay for the project’s full rollout, now not expected until “early 2025”.

The first of the Brisbane Metro buses started on the existing 169 route last month. It’s unclear when they’ll be back.Credit: Matt Dennien

In an update to the Translink and council websites on Friday, the double-length electric vehicles’ use of the 169 route was said to be stopping.

“From Monday, 18 November, route 169 will once again be serviced by the regular bus fleet, and will return to servicing Dutton Park Place,” the council website said.

Why it matters

The long-delayed rapid bus project was first announced in 2016 and its 60 articulated buses had been expected to start running from late 2023. That was later changed to a “soft launch”, which also failed to go ahead at that time.

By July this year, a new funding agreement between the council and state government saw Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner tout the full operation of the first stage by the end of 2024.

A month later, the vehicles were said to be starting on the 169 route between Eight Mile Plains and the University of Queensland from October 21.

But by October, the 169 service was described as a “preview” to collect data and customer feedback before the full launch “in the coming months”. There was no mention at the time that the trial would end.

On the day of the launch, however, council transport spokesperson Ryan Murphy mentioned in response to a journalist’s question that it would be a four-week trial.

“Services will start later this year or early next year on M1 and M2,” he said at the time.

What they said

No other public statement appears to have mentioned a four-week trial, or been made by the council or Translink about the end of Metro buses on route 169.

A service update on the Translink website at 3.30pm on Friday noted the regular bus fleet’s return from November 18 “following completion of the Brisbane Metro preview phase”.

Translink then directed people to the council’s website, which said the return to normal operation would allow it to prepare for the full rollout of Metro bus services.

Asked about when this would occur, Murphy did not answer, saying in a statement the council was “looking forward to introducing more Metro services soon” with the new state government.

Speaking to ABC Radio Brisbane on Monday morning, Murphy was more candid, saying while there was no concrete date “we’re talking weeks and months here”.

This was because of the need to work alongside the state government on the full launch – which needed to tie in with a broader bus network overhaul.

But pressed on whether that rollout could still be this year, Murphy said: “my bet is on early 2025”.

Another point of view

At a media conference on Monday, Premier David Crisafulli said Metro rollout talks were going “good” and that the new government would continue to work with City Hall’s LNP administration.

Council’s Labor opposition leader, Jared Cassidy, said the council had touted the new funding deal as heralding the early start of services.

“If the launch of the Metro buses and their cancellation just three weeks later is a ‘preview’ of the Metro, we should be worried,” he told Brisbane Times.

Greens’ Gabba Councillor Trina Massey said in a statement the community deserved good public transport and “transparent and honest communication, not shifting narratives that erode trust”.

What’s next

The Metro will run along a largely existing busway as two routes – from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street, and UQ to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital – but major works have also taken place.

These included upgrades to the Buranda busway station, Cultural Centre station, Victoria Bridge, and a tunnel linking the top of Adelaide Street to King George Square station.

According to council updates, work on the Buranda station and Victoria Bridge is expected to continue until early 2025, and mid-2025 for work on King George Square station.

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