Thanks to the war which the Federal government gleefully support, fuel is rooted for a while. As advocates for major systemic change we should never let a crisis go to waste so…
What should Translink, TMR, BCC and other LGAs do to cut fuel use and improve public transport during the fuel crisis?
My proposal would be for Councils and TMR to create pop-up 24/7 bus lanes on a set of major road corridors across BCC and into Logan, Ipswich and Redlands.
Making buses faster and more reliable would make them a real option for thousands of commuters for whom its currently faster to drive.
Shifting thousands of trips onto rapid, reliable buses would drastically cut fuel consumption.
In his address this evening, the PM asked Australians to take public transport where they can to save fuel to regions and industries who really need it. Unlike car drivers, public transport users won’t receive an extra $2.3bn subsidy, just a pat on the head. In Queensland public transport is already very affordable, but our services are still poor.
Bus lanes on major roads with existing “turn up and go” bus services mean buses are faster than driving, including peak hour.
This could start on Monday 20 April to allow time to plan, and since traffic is likely to be lighter over the school holidays (Fri 3 April to Sun 19 April).
As a bonus, it would cover the final week of the major April track closures which finish on Sun 26 April.
A draft list of corridors for these Fuel Crisis Bus Lanes:
- Ipswich Rd from Moorooka Station to Wooloongabba Busway
- Logan Rd from Upper Mt Gravatt to Wooloongabba
- Old Cleveland Rd from Carindale Bus Station to Langlands Park Busway
- Wynnum Rd from Morningside to Wellington Rd East Brisbane
- Gympie Rd from Aspley to Kedron Brook Busway (convert peak-only Northern Transitway to 24/7 bus lanes)
- Kelvin Grove Rd / Ennoggera Rd from Alderley Station to Normanby Busway Station
- Musgrave Rd / Waterworks Rd from The Gap to Normanby Busway Station
- Coronation Dr / Moggill Rd from Indooroopilly Bus Station to CBD
What else could we do?
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Operational trains would be a welcome plus where possible. Get every inch out of QRs fleet of trains.
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That would require creating new timetables at short notice, and who knows if the war even lasts that long. It looks like the US badly wants to pull out of it soon.
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The federal excise cut is in place for three months, and I think most experts have agreed that the fuel price and supply disruptions are not going away as soon as the war finishes.
How necessary our new timetables if all we are doing is speeding up the service on a handful of BUZs?
Very necessary. How else will people know when they can catch the bus they want?
If clever people think that it’s necessary, then surely it can be done on a quick timeline given the apparent crisis we are in.
The really key point here is that the fuel crisis has the potential to be the most seismic blow to car dependency in most of our lifetimes. Breaking car-dependency and letting public transport grow is an incredibly difficult challenge, but crises like this are a very rare opening towards change.
Right now, our team is getting smashed at the federal level, since their only proposal is a fresh subsidy for driving on top of the tens of billions we already spend every year!
Does anyone have an idea about how to turn this moment to our advantage?
In the meantime a ceasefire is now likely and the Strait is likely to reopen.
The Qld Premier is calling for more oil reserves in Qld to be fast tracked
A recent poll published on Sky News states that 20% of commuters have started to take PT instead of driving because of increased costs Australia wide.
Australians also believe that fuel costs will continue to climb throughout the year. Although this could change as from today though.
The Qld Premier is calling for more oil reserves in Qld to be fast tracked
I’m in two minds investigating and opening up new oil reserves in Qld. I rather have policies to speed up electrification for transport rather than using legacy sources like oil and gas.
Also having oil tankers going up and down the Warrego HWY would cause strain on the Hwy.
I wonder if they will take that into account when doing the assessment
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TBH if politicians think that one or two new oil reserves will give us energy independence in the future, they are pretty ignorant.
Countries that fast track their electrification across industries will be the world leaders and have certainty in energy independence in the future
Anyway, if they wanted to use legacy fuels now that could have mandated E10. We have heaps of sources for ethanol in this country.
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Iran war live updates: Iran agrees to reopen Hormuz after Trump ceasefire deal
Credit - Courier Mail, 2026
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Reducing our national liquid fuel use by 20% through electrification is actually very achievable in a reasonably short time. Starting up a new competitive oil extraction industry is crazy talk. The basin they’re talking about is complex and difficult and will never ever compete with middle eastern oil on price. The minute the price drops again that investment is stranded.
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^^Replace aging diesel delivery trucks from the 90s and early 2000s with electric trucks.
Definitely seems like low hanging fruit to electrify the thousands of small delivery trucks and vans running around every day chewing through diesel.
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Unbelievable right that 30% of trucks are from the 1990s. The Governments in Australia really need to put something in place to help replace those older trucks.
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