As a long term RBOT member I don’t recall us objecting to rail at all. Yes some areas to improve and I am confident that there was never a capacity reduction against the busway.
Equally you see this as “city-changing “ and a model for the future.
I totally agree. This project has killed of major public transport changes for decades to come. Minor changes will be silenced with “but look at the city changing Metro!!!. No need to change anything”
Ozbob would perhaps have access to the media releases. RBOT called it the ‘Quack’ Metro. We got the figures from the Lord Mayor’s team. Each vehicle was going to hold just 300 passengers, similar to say Vancouver’s Skytrain.
The problem with the original proposal (one among many) is that these trains would need to be about 2 mins apart. Buses, in contrast can be about 30-45 seconds apart.
Problems with the BCC metro proposal:
● Capacity: BCC’s metro proposal reduces busway line capacity from 12 000 pphd to just 9000 pphd. Train carriages are simply too small (300 passengers) and need to be larger (at least 1000 passengers per carriage).
(the carriages had to be small to fit into the SEB station footprints and other corridor constraints).
Here is the calculation.
Calculation:
300 pax/metro x 30 vehicles/hour = 9000 pphd
The current SEB is capable of doing 15,000 to 18,000 pphd.
So, after paying $1.5- $2 billion (2016 figures) you would get a ~ 50% loss in SEB busway capacity. And we haven’t even got to the part where the Victoria Bridge collapses under the weight of the vehicles and rail.
Good luck getting any change moving forward!!
Mode share of over 90% of trips by motor vehicle! City changing ??? More like city choking!!
How is introducing a metro service that cuts peak busway capacity by ~ 50% going to improve PT mode share … even if it is rail?
In the long run, a rail based metro is probably the ideal mode for the SEB corridor. But that possibility IMO is at least ~ 15 years away and Brisbane still requires a capacity improvement project in the meantime. The Brisbane Metro is a good project during that time interval.
Notes
(BrizCommuter: Quirky Brisbane Metro Capacity)
Image Credit: Brizcommuter Blog
Starting on the 28th of April route M2 will run every five minutes on weekdays between 6am to 6pm. At other times it’ll run every 10-15 minutes.
Late night service is starting later that week as well.
They are most likely to have platform 3 at the Cultural Centre open by then.
Holding my breath waiting for the City to change!!!
Hope you don’t pass out from holding it too long…
Damn good chance of it
Caught the bus through the Cultural Centre on Saturday and a tiny bit of finishing works to go. They still need to complete the pedestrian gates when crossing the tunnel portal as well as paving works. I reckon this could be done by 12 May coinciding with the Southern Portal of the busway opening.
I decided to take a detour to Boggo Road this morning to see how well the M2 was doing for the first day of 5 minute frequencies.
After I got onto the platform (just as the preceding M2 pulled out) the first thing I noticed was that, at first, it looked like every second M2 wasn’t showing in real time. That aside, they were still displaying 5 minute intervals between services.
However, after the 8:06am service dropped off the board without arriving, the arrival board soon ended up looking like this. I ended up getting on that top most M2 which did arrive about 3 mins after this photo, so I’m not sure whether two more M2s were right behind it or not. If the one I was on was the 8:06am service, it ended up 4 minutes late, so little different to the previous 10 minute frequencies.
The service was pretty busy, with standees by Cultural Centre. I hopped off at City Hall - KGS, thus ending my M2 joyride.
I didn’t notice the queueing over the bridge how it usually is after 3 pm. Yet, I didn’t see any metro vehicles crossing the bridge either today despite the higher frequency.
Do they actually have more M2 services running or did they just change the timetable?
This post I believe is misleading
Either way invite cal boarding crust count? Have they increased
This is how it was reported in the Brisbane Times:
One million trips on Metro since January launch
The Brisbane City Council is celebrating one million trips taken on Brisbane Metro since it started permanent services in January after a trial last year.
In figures released on Thursday, it said numbers on the route between the University of Queensland at St Lucia and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital at Herston were up 12 per cent compared to the former 66 route.
“We’re so pleased to see Brisbane residents voting with their feet and embracing our leap from public transport to mass transit,” Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said.
More major changes are expected for Brisbane’s bus network this year. The metro is due to be expanded mid-year with the M1 route, which will run from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street.
Construction on the Adelaide Street tunnel is still ongoing, and upgrades to both platforms at Buranda, platform 3 on Melbourne Street at the Cultural Centre, and shelters along Adelaide Street are yet to be completed.
Was 66 the only route replaced?
Has there been a downturn on other UQ-RBWH routes (aka did people swap form other routes to the more recognisable bus).
Has there been a net increase in trips between UQ and RBWH?
I doubt we’ll ever know since the authorities almost never publish that kind of data…
Yes, 66 was the only route replaced, with some associated changes to Routes 425, P426, 430, 431, 435, P443, 444 and 446. The bulk of these changes look to be related to getting services out of King George Square, so for the most part I wouldn’t expect there to be too major a loss of patronage from these service changes to M2. Only the P426, 431, P443 and 446 duplicate the route of the M2 for any substantial distance, and they continue to do so between Herston and Roma Street.
Route 425 - From 28 January 2025, Route 425 now services Adelaide Street inbound and Ann Street outbound. These services are co-located with their peak hour counterpart services. This route will also terminate on Adelaide Street.
Route P426 - This route currently operates in the CBD via Roma Street station and Queen Street bus station inbound and City Hall/King George Square station and Roma Street station outbound. Under the new network, Route P426 will service Roma Street busway station in both directions, Adelaide Street inbound and Ann Street outbound. These services will be co-located with their all-day counterpart services. This route will also terminate on Adelaide Street.
Route 430 - From 28 January 2025, Route 430 now services Adelaide Street inbound and Ann Street outbound. These services are co-located with their peak hour counterpart services. This route will also terminate on Adelaide Street.
Route 431 - This route currently operates in the CBD via Roma Street busway station and Queen Street bus station inbound and City Hall/King George Square station and Roma Street busway station outbound. From 28 January 2025, Route 431 will service Roma Street busway station in both directions, Adelaide Street inbound and Ann Street outbound. These services will be co-located with their all-day counterpart services. This route will also terminate on Adelaide Street.
Route 435 - From 28 January 2025, Route 435 now services Adelaide Street inbound and Ann Street outbound. These services are co-located with their peak hour counterpart services. This route will also terminate on Adelaide Street.
Route P443 - This route currently operates in the CBD via Roma Street busway station and terminates at City Hall/King George Square Station. Under the new network, Route P443 will service Roma Street busway station in both directions, Ann Street, Margaret Street and Eagle Street inbound, and Charlotte Street, George Street and Turbot Street outbound. This route will also terminate on Eagle Street.
Route 444 - Since December 2023, Route 444 has been temporarily relocated from Platform 1a at City Hall / King George Square station. From 28 January 2025, Route 444 will return to Route 1a. Route 444 will return to platform 2 for trips toward the city later in the year.
Route 446 - This route currently operates in the CBD via Roma Street busway station and Queen Street bus station inbound and City Hall/King George Square station and Roma Street busway station outbound. From 28 January 2025, Route 446 will service Roma Street busway station in both directions, Adelaide Street inbound and Ann Street outbound. These services will be co-located with their all-day counterpart services. This route will also terminate on Adelaide Street.
They would probably publish it if it looked good. Right now there isn’t much good news. It took them several years to replace 66 with a newer larger bus. Nothing much else to show yet.
