Brisbane West – Core Frequent Network Direct, Legible, Frequent The Current Bus Network The western suburbs of Brisbane are a typical suburban area, with a variety of both major and minor trip generators. The key regional activity centres in this area include: Mt Ommaney Centre Indooroopilly Shopping Centre Toowong Shopping Centre Inala Plaza University of Queensland All bar Mt Ommaney Centre are currently serviced by the frequent network (BUZ routes, and in the case of Toowong and to a lesser extent Indooroopilly, frequent rail), with Mt Ommaney having reasonable frequencies the majority of the time to the CBD thanks to the combination of the 450, 453, 454 and 460. Unfortunately, beyond these centres, huge swathes of the western suburbs are victims of poor frequency, illegible bus routes and unnecessary duplication. The Kenmore area is a very good example of an area which suffers from an illegible network of bus routes. At the Kenmore Road at Kenmore South, stop 44 stop, there are five bus routes which depart from this location in peak – the 430, 431, 432, 433 and 446. While in peak these routes can be combined to provide decent frequency, in the PM peak, these routes depart from multiple locations, splitting frequency and duplicating routes. The peak-hour express routes listed (431, 446) also run no more than a few times every day and on an infrequent basis, contributing to an illegible network. Duplication is also a hallmark of the network. The most duplicated corridor in this region is the Coronation Drive corridor to Toowong, which in the off-peak has 24 buses per hour running down it. A lot of these buses are carrying a small amount of passengers – passengers which could either interchange to frequent rail or a more frequent BUZ route. While not popular initially, this allows for increased frequency, which in turn drives patronage and thus allows for more revenue and thus, more services. The outer suburbs also suffer from duplication issues – namely the 430 and the 433 in Kenmore and 445 in Fig Tree Pocket. The current network only has three frequent routes – BUZ 412, BUZ 444 and BUZ 100. The latter two have been identified as routes which suffer from poor patronage counter-peak and late at night. These three primary factors lead to a bus network that current wastes significant amounts of money and is far from optimal. Review Scope Due to the interconnected nature of a transport network, it is very difficult to simply cherry pick sections of the network and reform them without doing others. Unfortunately, as one route is reformed, it has impacts further afield, until one ends up reforming the whole bus network. The area within the scope of this review stretches from Bardon in the north, down to Heathwood in the south, St Lucia in the east and Moggill in the west, with BCC’s council boundaries marking the end of the area under review in the south-west. Things out of the scope of this review include: 1. Yeronga buses – 196 should be extended to Yeronga independent of this review with the 105/107/108 scrapped and replaced with improved cross-town links (see proposed new GCL, Sherwood Rd link) 2. Great Circle Line – It is not possible to reform this route significantly at this time. The only proposed change to the GCL in this review is to route via Metroad 5 between Toowong and Bardon. 3. Sherwood Road bus – Unless GCL is modified, there is no need to introduce this service. 4. Route 463/534 – As these routes are out of BCC’s control, they are out of the scope of this report. 5. Richlands/Ipswich frequency upgrades – It is assumed that the frequency on the line east of Darra will remain at BUZ standard. 6. Replacement inner Ipswich Road Frequent – This report recommends merging the 124/125 and BUZing this route. Resources should be re-directed from the 120 BUZ or other secondary routes in the area. 7. 475 east of the CBD – Adequate route kms are available to replace this route entirely in Kangaroo Point. BCC’s route 234 service recommended as the approach to maintain service in this area. The Solution – The Core Frequent Network The CFN network aims to boost frequency for all passengers while maintaining coverage for all people served by the current network. This is done by reducing duplication and removing complex windy bus routes and replacing them with legible bus routes which use fast, direct routings. The big winners under this new network are: Centenary Suburbs – Now served by two BUZ routes with improved direct routing for other services, in turn decreasing network complexity West Toowong/Taringa – The 414/415/416/470 in this area have been replaced by one CFN feeder route which has near BUZ frequency. In some scenarios this means some areas go from having no service to 15 minute service Kenmore – Kenmore now goes from having a variety of routes operating on various frequency (with off-peak frequency around the half-hour mark in most areas, and at times hourly) to one simple, frequent route running at CFN frequency Inala – gets a simpler, improved network with better cross-town connections and improved feeder routing/frequency Generally, most areas of the western suburbs are set for frequency increases in some form, including significantly improved Sunday services Some of the areas which will be adversely affected under the review include: Moggill – loses some counter-peak and night time services Milton Road bus users – Lose a direct trip to Toowong 471 users – some passengers will need to walk or use the end of the new 455 (current 475 with an extension) Some issues which may require further consultation include: Peak hour express routes – Current peak-hour express routes have been cut aside from P443/P455/P456, which have been re-numbered under the review. Patronage figures would need to be analysed in order to see whether it would be beneficial to add additional rockets (especially to Chapel Hill) Reduction in Inala services – As seen by both the BCC and TransLink bus review, residents here are sensitive to change. Care should be taken to ensure all residents remain close to a bus corridor. 411 – Most residents along this corridor believe the current service is satisfactory (versus the 414/415/416/470 which have very poor service during most of the day). Residents should be carefully consulted and loads analysed post-implementation. It may be an idea to implement a peak-only rocket to quell concerns if this is necessary. 444 CFN standard – demand should be managed appropriately. Consider the demand for shortworkings to Kenmore Park n Ride. In addition, under this review, Coronation Drive/inner Moggill Road – this corridor loses a significant amount of bus services due to the termination of many routes at Indooroopilly. Passenger movements will need to be analysed carefully and in more detail in order to ensure adequate local access is maintained along the corridor. If capacity issues are noted, one route (most likely the 444) should be sent to the CBD instead of UQ, with another frequent route sent to UQ in its place. Rail interchange should be encouraged through carefully-timed interchanges and the creation of easier access. It is suggested that inbound buses, upon leaving Indooroopilly bus station proceed to Coonan St at Indooroopilly station stop 53, where customers can use the pre-existing underpass to connect with rail services. If there are issues with layover space, routes should then proceed across the Walter Taylor Bridge and terminate in a bus layover space near Nelson Place (currently an empty lot). In the long term, a dedicated rail-bus interchange should be built with layover spaces nearby. Ideally the main concourse which currently exists could have been superseded by this interchange. Detailed in the next section of this paper is the span of hours of each individual route, including specific frequencies for CFN routes. Note that all routes in the new network, while 7am – 7pm is the minimum standard to be included in the CFN network, run with a span of hours similar to that seen on the BUZ network. Bus Route Frequency The New Frequent Network The new network features six Core Frequent Routes. These routes have a minimum span of 7am – 7pm. Of these routes, three of these routes are at the BUZ standard, with a span of hours of 6am – 11pm inclusive. 410 BUZ This route is the former 412 St Lucia BUZ via Uni of Queensland. This route now terminates at UQ. 5 minute frequency Select times during AM (to UQ) and PM (from UQ) peak 10 minute frequency 6:30am – 6:30pm Monday to Friday 15 minute frequency 5:30am - 11:30pm Monday to Sunday 30 minute frequency Additional services after 11:30pm on Friday/Saturday nights 411 CFN This route is a combination of the 411, 414, 415, 416, 417 and 470 into one, frequent route feeding Toowong train station/410 and Indooroopilly shopping centre/430. 10 minute frequency 6:30am – 9:00am and 4:00pm – 6:30pm, Monday to Friday 15 minute frequency 6am – 9pm Monday to Friday, 7am – 9pm weekends 30 minute frequency 6am – 11pm Monday to Sunday 420 CFN This route is the current 444, re-routed to follow a similar routing to the current 428 after Indooroopilly instead of proceeding to the CBD. Inbound 10 minute frequency 6:00am – 8:30am Monday to Friday 15 minute frequency 5:30am – 8:30pm Monday to Friday, 6:30am – 8:30pm weekends 30 minute frequency 5:30am – 10:30pm Monday to Friday, 6:30am – 10:30pm weekends Outbound 10 minute frequency 3:30pm – 6:00pm Monday to Friday 15 minute frequency 6:30am – 9:30pm Monday to Friday, 7:30am – 9:30pm weekends 30 minute frequency 6:30am – 11:30pm Monday to Friday, 7:30am – 11:30pm weekends 425 CFN This route is a combination of the current 425/P426 and parts of the 427 and 428.