Brisbane City Councillors have shared a new survey on “Brisbane’s New Bus Network” – a suite of reroutes, mergers and cuts to suburban bus services that occurred from June 30.
Several councillors are sharing the survey based on what they believe is a disconnect between the messaging from the LNP Council administration and the mood on the ground.
Brisbane Labor Opposition Leader in City Hall, Jared Cassidy, said there’s been “a real vibe shift” more than one month on since the bus network changes came into effect.
“We learned last fortnight that the new contract BCC secured with the state government resulted in a cut to buses operating on the network.
“The Lord Mayor says congestion on the Victoria Bridge has cut by 30% – of course it will if you cut the number of buses servicing Brisbane.”
“My colleagues and I have been flooded with complaints not only from our constituents, but from people living in LNP-held wards who are trying to find someone who will listen, because all they’re getting from their LNP councillor is defensive spin.”
BrisbaneNow has observed hundreds of critical comments on social media, some of which on the Lord Mayor’s page, including:
“You’ve really pissed the people off out in the suburbs who want to get into the city.”
“I’m unbelievably happy (not): I am working the public holiday next week and the suggestion is that I can walk 1626 metres to get a bus that only goes every hour…”
“Your idea of turn up and go just isn’t working. You need far more vehicles for this to work.”
Last fortnight, the core bus network contract between Brisbane City Council and the Queensland State Government was brought to the council chambers for debate.
It showed a 75%/25% funding split respectively for the Queensland government and BCC, but a $630 million funding cap.
Except for price fluctuations for fuel, parts and labour, the cap cannot be exceeded by adding new services to the network without cutting another to stay within the funding envelope.
The terms of the contract are set until 2027 when the Queensland government will renegotiate contracts with all local councils for a five-year period leading up to the 2032 Olympic Games.
Two thirds of all daily commutes across Brisbane are suburb to suburb, but the bus network changes focus on the one third of commutes getting people in and out of the CBD.
Last year’s trial and adoption of the 50 cent fares initiative by the then Labor State Government boosted public transport patronage by almost 20% across the TransLink network, but experts say congestion cannot be tackled without increasing servicing and reliability in the suburbs where people live.
Brisbane public transport advocacy group, Better Transport Queensland, said the new network “falls short of the standards expected in a modern, accessible, connected city.”
“BTQ remains concerned about the ongoing lack of fully frequent suburban services. No new all-day high-frequency routes have been introduced since the BUZ (Bus Upgrade Zone) program increased the frequency of routes 330 and 340 in 2012 and the Maroon CityGlider was introduced in 2013.”
“…public transport remains an unviable alternative to car ownership for many. Since the introduction of 50 cent fares, off-peak and weekend travel has surged, yet services during these periods remain minimal or non-existent on many routes.”
You can have your say by completing the survey via this link.
