The spokesperson said passengers arriving at Birtinya from Brisbane would transfer to the metro-style buses to complete journeys to the Maroochydore CBD and airport, and said they should be able to accommodate scores of people.
“Metro-style vehicles can comfortably transport 150 passengers, and 170 in event mode, and will match the frequency of rail services,” they said.
So they are offering 20 minute frequency buses for ‘scores’ of people.
Has TMR gone back in the 19th century or something?
Likely the same people who break election promises and came up with this half-arsed compromise.
Depends how much begins construction before a change in government. The current government seem pretty set on BRT, although we will continue to advocate for an alternative alignment to preserve the rail corridor.
They still have no clue on what The Wave will be. They haven’t funded it yet, but knowing them it will end just like a normal bus service with no priority lanes that follows the rail corridor to Maroochydore.
We will be lucky if the DSCL makes Caloundra by 2032.
We should be emailing the Wave team to ensure we get segregated bikeways along the whole corridor now in the early planning stages
Additionally we should be emailing them to encourage 9 car sets from day one. I believe the QTMP project team were not focussed on capacity and efficiency outcomes for the Olympics and post Olympics.
9 car sets are a part of our policy platform and we should be pushing it now for sector 1 from Birtinya to Varsity Lakes and hopefully OOL by 2035.
We had a briefimg with The Wave team at TMR 2 weeks ago (notes will be put up soon in the Insiders Area) and this actually came up. They specifically said they wont construct a bike bath through the national forest between Aura and Caloundra due to safety concerns.
It doesn’t matter what their excuses are we can still advocate for a better solution. It can connect partially to a segregated Bikeway along one of the roads before returning back alongside the rail corridor.
How can they claim “Active transport provisions along the corridor to improve safety and encourage these transport modes” (this is still on the project page) and not have a footpath to Caloundra? The Infrastructure Australia review also notes “active transport shared path along the rail corridor”. We know they aren’t going to have a footpath between Caloundra and Birtinya due to the tunnel, but the Aura → Caloundra bit should be a no brainer.
What’s next, cutting the Beerwah → Aura path too?
I don’t buy safety concerns for a second. I suspect it’s a cost saving measure that has snuck in at some point in the last 2 years.
Yes, as they are generally flat and relatively air and noise pollution free. They are usually quite direct, saving time and encouraging cycling. Like rail trails, active transport along rail corridors are also a tourism drawcard.
It’s the norm to see active transport along rail corridors in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne as well.
Exploratory works for stage 1 (Beerwah to Aura) appear to be underway this morning. Surveyors were taking measurements at the location where the new line will split from the main NCL and cross Steve Irwin Way.
The vehicle in the video is the Irizar ie tram, which is only available in 10m, 12m & 18m versions, not the 24m - this is why the capacity is less than the 150-170pax of the LighTram. I imagine that the Government will want to go for the largest possible capacity vehicle they can get, especially when they want to cram train loads of people onto them.
Interesting that the Liverpool ie tram only looks to accommodate a single wheelchair which I consider a bit odd, when even our regular buses can carry two. I’m pretty sure this is less than the standard ie tram layout is configured for.
