Example is my suggested route to work, how is it possible to make a bus route 2 minutes slower than riding my bike? Obviously the reason Brisbane's pt sucks is lack of investment and government/council support. But there's no reason for the lack of support?
For example:
- traffic is terrible (viable alternatives to driving fixes traffic)
- homes are unaffordable (transit oriented development around existing train stations would be the single least impactful way to build new homes)
- All it would take to make the bus network 10x better is some paint and some balls to make/extend BRT corridors and run buses which you are already capable of running all day
These are all things people are concerned/care/talk about so what reason is there to not do it? And this doesn't even touch trains or other modes of transportation.
Posted by Shi-Stad_Development
26 Comments
Where are you?
I don’t have a car and find public transport quite good but I work near the city and a busway. Going from suburbs next to each other can be a pain in the ass if it isn’t in or outbound. You have to catch bus towards the city and then catch a different bus back outbound.
Does the bus route take into account you walking to the stop (both ends) as well as the difference between your current time and when the bus arrives at the stop?
My husband used to bike from Indooroopilly to Archerfield because the bus schedule wouldn’t get him to work on time. 40 minute bike (12km).
I had anxiety every day about him making it home because of how aggressive car drivers are.
Buses have to stop to let other people on and off this is taken in to account for bus journeys, your bike only lets you on and off. So a lot less stops. But I do agree the network is not as great as it could be.
Agree with all your comments about improving transport, especially to outer suburbs where housing is cheaper.
Although I don’t think it’s unusual for cycling to be quicker – so I don’t see that as a smoking gun. 47 minutes seems particularly slow though, mine is about 15 minutes for 10km.
Isn’t that the train icon?
Because the bus probably doesn’t take the most direct route where you want to go, whilst also stopping multiple times? But cycling by yourself, you do? I’m lost here bud.
My work PT commute would be train from Petrie to Strathpine and then a 30 min walk to my work in Brendale. Some places in Brendale are even further for others.
Or I can ride my e-scooter and have it take 17ish mins from home to work.
It’s kinda laughable how bad it is outside of the CBD or your workplace is only a few mins from a train station/bus interchange.
https://preview.redd.it/e6la9tdkyrig1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b8cd919f773ee17ebc2d48373b02cd4adcab9126
I feel you
This is how I became a cyclist. What this picture doesn’t show but was the case for me – bus would take longer cause peak traffic, while bike times were inflated to what actually took me to get there after a month of riding
My bus is basically direct and takes 45 mins to go 5.5km. The traffic through spring hill/upper Edward is diabolical. Can’t believe theres no bus lane
>*”All it would take to make the bus network 10x better is some paint and some balls to make/extend BRT corridors and run buses which you are already capable of running all day”*
Yes, separating buses from cars and giving buses priority is desperately needed. As things currently stand, a lot of people look at buses stuck in traffic and think,, “Well, if I am going to be stuck in traffic, I would rather be sitting in my own car.” Of course, that just makes congestion worse.
The problem with taking lanes away from cars and making dedicated bus lanes, is that it would make congestion worse for cars, utes and trucks. That would be massively politically unpopular and so it is extremely unlikely it will happen.
Interestingly, there was a “tidal flow” bus lane system along Coronation Drive for a number of years. It was scrapped by the Campbell Newman-led City Council. One of the reasons was the high cost of maintaining the tidal flow lane change system but, of course, it was also unpopular amongst motorists because it took a lane away from cars in peak hour.
It’s *super dependant* on where you live and are travelling to.
“All it would take” is hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure investment, plus more millions in ongoing operations budgets mate.
The bus won’t always take the most direct route, and it also makes countless stops on the way.
Im a little confused as to why you’re confused to be honest
Nothing new here. When I was 13 I started riding to school because the bus took 15 minutes longer and I wanted that extra 15 minutes in bed.
I got serious deja-vu because I swear I saw nearly verbatim the exact same post in a Melbourne reddit yesterday.
Im probably going to get shit for this, but instead of making fares 50 cents, i would have preferred doubling the amount of bus routes
All working as intended. I’ve been saying this for the longest time, brisbanians want ultra low density living with endless urban sprawls, this is what u get when everyones forced to drive to work
I dont mind it takes longer as its public transport, AS LONG AS its realiable.
Fucking hell the app forecast is useless, it helps nth on planning journey, bus delay or even skip station wtf? (Dont blame the traffic, simply google map can do the estimated time well)
riding a push bike in the city is a nightmare
Brisbane is the first city I have lived in where the journey planner recommends driving even if the start and destination points are both train stations.
I agree but good luck getting people to draw the connection between lack of active/public transport and the fact that they get stuck in traffic every day.
Get what you pay for
Bus here is the worst. I managed to not get on any bus for the last 10 years. I still like trains and citycat as they are more reliable
I feel you. Sometimes I wonder what sort of people are making the decisions for public transport accross Queensland. For instance this week I checked if Rockhampton’s bus grant included a bus route to the train station. No -> You have to walk several streets over and get a service that’s running during the day time. Get in on a the 7pm train? well too bad no bus a few streets over till morning.
With respect, I live in Townsville where public transport is non existent for 200,000 people
You have it good.