‘Your bus is terminating here’: Commuters ‘blindsided’ by massive public transport shake-up

Brisbane bus commuters have been shocked to discover they will be forced to change buses midway through their journey, and in some cases, stripped of their service entirely in less than three weeks.

The biggest shake-up of the city’s bus network in a generation, which will take effect on June 30, has angered many commuters, who said they had been blindsided by the changes to 150 routes.

Brisbane City Council has long insisted the vast majority of trips were set to become quicker, but Transport Chair Ryan Murphy has now conceded about 15 per cent will end up taking longer than they do now.

Commuters wanting to reach the CBD from this bus stop in Mt Gravatt East will be forced to change buses midway through their journey.

Karen Smith, who relies on the 175 service to reach the Mater Hospital, where she is undergoing treatment for cancer, said the changes were a “big deal”.

The 175 service, one of many buses that have been re-routed, will no longer stop at the Mater Hill station on the South East Busway.

The 61-year-old will have to change buses midway through her journey to the hospital, putting her at risk of missing crucial appointments if the second bus does not arrive on time.

Cancer patient Karen Smith, who relies on the 175 bus service to reach the Mater Hospital, says the transport changes are a “big deal”.Credit: William Davis

“What if you don’t meet up with the [second] bus … you could miss your appointment,” she said.

“I’m going through treatment and my balance is not good, so having to get off and on is not going to be good.”

Independent councillor Nicole Johnston said the LNP council had misled commuters over the network changes, which have resulted in routes being scrapped, moved, or terminated before key destinations, including the Mater Hospital and the CBD.

“Who spends $1.6 billion on a new bus network to leave 15 per cent of bus users worse off?” Johnston said.

“The council has been completely dishonest with residents about the massive impacts of changes to Brisbane’s bus network.

“Who spends $1.6 billion on a new bus network to leave 15 per cent of bus users worse off?”

Independent councillor Nicole Johnston

“Even buses where the council had publicly stated there would be, and I quote, ‘no changes to hours of operation, frequency, or suburban route path’, they have made changes.”

Three routes – the 105, 107 and 108 – in Johnston’s Tennyson ward have been heavily affected.

“The 108 has been cut completely, and the 105 has had a major route change that removes Yeronga West from the bus service that connects Yeronga to Indooroopilly,” Johnston said.

“It means some residents are up to two kilometres from a local bus service.

“In addition, the 105 will terminate at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, meaning there is no connection to the city.”

At least eight bus routes have been axed, including the 184, 174, P129, P157, P173, P207, 117 and 124.

But the council has claimed the new bus network, in conjunction with the Brisbane Metro, will create a mass transit system in a city where two-thirds of all public transport commuters catch a bus.

Mansfield Labor MP Corrine McMillan said residents in her electorate were concerned that scrapped routes had not been replaced with similar services.

“We don’t have trains, so buses are imperative,” McMillan said.

“I think incorporating the Brisbane Metro, if done sensibly with very clear communication and route planners, absolutely [is a good idea], but my community has been left in the dark.”

McMillan wrote an open letter to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner and Translink about changes to the 170, 174, 180 and 181 routes last week. She said she had not received a response from either.

Gloria Quiroga, who travels from Mansfield to her workplace in Fortitude Valley, was shocked to learn that the 174 bus service had been axed.

She said she would be forced to change buses, or spend longer travelling on the re-routed 185 bus to get to work each day.

“The point of doing upgrades is to make the commute better, not make it complicated for people.”

Gloria Quiroga

“The point of doing upgrades is to make the commute better, not make it complicated for people,” Quiroga said.

Other southside commuters who rely on the express 170 service from Mt Gravatt to the city will be forced to change buses at Greenslopes or Buranda busway stations.

The council has argued the complaints have been overblown, and that the Labor Party is trying to score political points.

“This is the biggest boost to bus services in decades,” Schrinner said when questioned in council chambers last week.

The city’s bus network has been overhauled as new Brisbane Metro services are rolled out. Credit: Brisbane City Council

“The former Labor state government thought this would be a great thing for Brisbane. [They’re] trying to portray something very positive as something negative.”

Murphy said the majority of commuters would be better off, with 85 per cent of trips faster or similar.

“These changes are all about delivering more services, more often to help make it easier for people to use our public transport network and ease congestion on our roads,” he said.

You can find a list of Brisbane’s new bus network changes here. 

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