Seeing as we have installed the infrastructure for the LighTram 24’s, do you think there would be any benefit in considering the slightly smaller LighTram 19 as a replacement for some of the CNG artics or tag axles? Being slightly smaller might make them more viable for off busway routes.
Maybe the 18 over the 19 but yeah it probably makes sense to buy more HESS. We won’t stop needing single-artics, and we will eventually want to electrify them.
You really think TMR will waste time and money replacing the current fleet with the more expensive ones, just because the BCC bought some?
Volgren has an established facility and workforce, and their vehicles are proven. Both the 66 and 111 already had shown that they are capable.
From reading the MAN Lion’s City 18E (the single artic’s) model datasheet, they have 3, and 4 door electric variants. Converting them from LNG to electric would be quicker and cheaper to do so, then buying HESS’s ones.
All in all it’s been a “ho-hum”…if not… “problematic” outcome. Certainly not city-changing nor mass-transit! ROI in the negative three figures for me!!
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I still reckon they jumped the gun. They should have waited until the Cultural Centre works were completed.
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The delays with the Adelaide Street tunnel probably spooked the BCC into rushing the rollout of their new toys on the 66 line. After all they they spent nearly 3 years running empty buses up and down the busway, and after their 3-week “trial run” stunt, they must of been under pressure to deliver something.
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And they still aren’t
I went on it today from RBH to Southbank. There were only a hand full of people on it and there were no delays.
P.S. It plays a little tune now like the Japanese metro when pulled up to a stop. 
Evidently that’s been done to enable blind people to realise that it’s a Lightram bus instead of a normal bus, especially given that the driver typically doesn’t come out to help them board.
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Just noticed the network map is wrong (it has the M2 stopping at Dutton Park Place, which it most definitely does not).
Must be a carryover from the 66.
Looks like it was updated in a hurry actually. The text alignment of “M2” is all wrong.
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Yep, a very quick and nasty edit job.
Caught it a few times today. From Mater Hill to PAH at around 11:30am, was about quarter full. Then caught it from PAH to QUT KG at around 1:30pm and it was about half full, then caught it again at about 3:30pm from QUT KG to PAH and it was standing room only (mostly school kids), first time I’ve seen it with a standing load.
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Had a first ride last week from Cultural Centre to UQ Lakes, then return to Roma St.
I think the main difference i noticed on ride was the much faster acceleration. Left the desiels for dust taking off from lights.
Other than that - kind of meh. Audio announcements were hard to hear (even with a light loading, likely inaudible with any sort of decent load and the general noise this brings.)
Wasn’t noticeably smoother.
Infrastructure works are obviously still a hot mess. But from what’s finished at CC it seems a big missed opportunity to not have dividied the platform into an A and B to split services up. This would give people some chance of knowing where to wait on the platform. Instead you’ve still got to the mad shuffle around a crowded but slightly larger platform.
All in all. So far they’ve delivered some new buses. That’s it.
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This will be implemented, in a way, when West End Services are moved from Platform 2 to Platform 3.
However, the trade off with this is the loss of the overtaking lane (it becomes a West End Services only lane), meaning that all Platform 2 services have to travel along the full length of the platform, so you can’t really split it up.
So BCC forced a $1.6b project on Translink that so far is ho-hum and are now crying poor to the State and Federal Govt for other projects that are actually in their remit to provide…and MSM will call the State and Federal Govt’s the problem… mark my words!!
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The LM had a whinge yesterday about that very topic. The entire interview summed up: “need money… blah blah blah… Metro… blah blah… money… blah blah Labor.”
Don’t understand why ‘metro’ needs to be mentioned at every press conference, when the questions are about anything else? MSM unwillingly aiding in gaslighting?
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Can the Northern Transitway even accomodate the Metro buses?
Even the Northern Busway from RBWH to Lutwyche has a few segments on regular roads without even bus lanes…
Short answer: yes.
The Metro buses were regularly seen running on standard roads during testing. There’s nothing stopping them from running in general traffic other than the prestige they are trying to associate them with. It would be a bad look for the shiny new Metro bus to get stuck in traffic. For that reason, I would imagine the Northern Transitway would at least become 24/7 (which it should be already, but I digress) if Metro’s were to run to Chermside.
The section between RBWH and Lutwyche is a bigger issue given there are no bus-lanes currently (and I doubt they’d be willing to resume a lane to add one in). Perhaps it would finally spur the Government into extending the Busway to Truro Street
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