Hey all, I’m an Ipswich resident and I have a particular interest in the buses here as they directly benefit me! So I wanted to share what I wrote about the 500 
The 500 is a bus which runs from RiverLink Shopping Centre in Ipswich, to Goodna Station.
On weekdays, it runs as follows (give or take some minutes):
Inbound (To Riverlink):
- Every 30 minutes from 6:12am to 7:12am^
- Every 30 minutes from 7:31am to 9:36am
- Every 60 minutes from 9:36am to 3:41pm
- Every 30 minutes from 3:41pm to 6:45pm
^The first 3 services inbound start at Redbank station.
Outbound (To Goodna):
- Every 30 minutes from 6:42am to 9:38am
- Every 60 minutes from 9:38am to 2:35pm
- Every 45 minutes from 2:35pm to 3:51pm
- Every 30 minutes from 3:51pm to 6:21pm
- One last service at 7:21pm
On Saturday and Sunday, services inbound run hourly from 7:45am to 4:39pm and 8:45am to 4:39pm respectively. Services outbound run hourly from 8:36am to 5:36pm on both days.
For those who need to go directly from Goodna Station to Riverlink, and vice versa, this bus is not very useful. You can just take the train, which is quicker and often more reliable. However, I don’t think this discredits its usefulness.
I took the 500 from Goodna Station a few days ago, and had a very pleasant experience. Ipswich bus drivers, in my experience, are extremely patient and kind people. They understand the frequency issues, and actively wait for people who are running to the bus, and are patient to those who are lower mobility/with children etc.
From RiverLink to Dinmore station, the 500 follows Brisbane Road, which is directly where the train goes. Therefore, a lot of the stops along Brisbane RD are not often used. The route is more interesting past Dinmore, where it deviates from Brisbane Road, crossing the train line three times in the process. It travels along Riverview Rd and Old Ipswich Rd, where many residents got on and off. Quiet passengers going from one residential area to another.
Another highly serviced part of the route is from Goodna Station to Redbank Plaza. It’s common (from what I’ve observed) in Redbank in particular for bigger families, families with children, teenagers, or lower socio-economic residents to utilise the bus services that connect the station and plaza. There were a total of 15-20 people in this short window, all relying on the 500. Yes, other buses service the plaza (525/526), but high frequency from multiple routes to a high demand area is always great to see!
The final observation I had was noticing the passengers who got on and off were most likely regulars of the 500. They knew their exact stops, and got on and off with ease. People do rely on the 500, particularly around that Dinmore to Goodna area, for getting around. It was always saddening to see how empty the 500 gets around Queens Park to RiverLink, but that’s simply because residents that close to the CBD have better options (502, 503, 515, the train lol etc. depending on what direction you come from).
Although the 500’s role in the Ipswich bus network is hard to gather from an outside perspective, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience on it and believe it has value! I hope to ride it more in future.
What do I propose we can do to improve the 500?
Well, there’s a couple things:
-
Fix the route timetable. It is seriously confusing, particularly outbound, which makes the bus quite inaccessible and hard to memorise/rely on.
-
Shorten the route altogether to stop around Bundamba/Booval. This would make a lot of sense, as past there, services like the 502 run where the 500 does. Although this would eliminate two stops in Newtown, I think it’s viable given those stops are not highly serviced, and they are in close proximity to East Ipswich station.
-
Extend the 500 to start at Goodna at all times, rather than cutting it off at Redbank. Just makes more sense for early morning commuters!
-
Potentially up the frequency of the Dinmore/Redbank stretch of the 500. This would most certainly benefit residents by allowing them more travel options. Ipswich in general is very car centric, so having residential bus options is imperative for those who can’t/don’t drive (like me)!
Overall, 6/10 route. We can always do better!
