Skip to main content

Brisbane plans underground bus loop

Plans for an underground bus loop in Brisbane’s central business district (CBD) have been released at an estimated cost of US$2 billion, as the pre-feasibility report for the project has been completed. The bus loop, part of Brisbane council’s pre-feasibility study into the Suburbs 2 City Buslink project, is intended to reduce traffic congestion and bus travel times by connecting existing bus stations with new stations underground.
September 23, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Plans for an underground bus loop in Brisbane’s central business district (CBD) have been released at an estimated cost of US$2 billion, as the pre-feasibility report for the project has been completed.

The bus loop, part of Brisbane council’s pre-feasibility study into the Suburbs 2 City Buslink project, is  intended to reduce traffic congestion and bus travel times by connecting existing bus stations with new stations underground.

Announcing the plans, Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, said: “A one-way, underground bus loop would take buses off city streets, give drivers a simple, congestion-free run around this end of the CBD and open up opportunities for new bus infrastructure like layover bays,” says Quirk.

“The CBD and adjacent suburbs will need to accommodate an additional 130,000 workers in the next 20 years and we need to improve public transport capacity to accommodate this growth by improving the network to reduce travel times.”

Quirk says the recent announcement the Queensland Government is investigating a Brisbane underground combined rail and bus tunnel was a tremendous opportunity to address the major congestion problems that face the city’s public transport systems.

Related Content

  • Temporary traffic monitoring with Bluetooth and wi-fi
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford reviews developments in temporary ITS. Widespread take-up of technologies such as Bluetooth and wi-fi are encouraging the emergence of more sophisticated, while still cost effective, ITS responses to the traffic issues posed by temporary road situations such as work zones and special events. Andy Graham of traffic solutions specialists White Willow Consulting says: “A machine-to-machine radio link is far easier and cheaper than reading characters on a plate.” There can be other plusses. Tech
  • Smart Cities put people, prudence and businesses before technology
    December 4, 2014
    Caroline Haynes tells ITS International that transport planners and equipment suppliers need to adopt different thinking and the smartest cities don’t call themselves smart. The term Smart Cities has been around for some time and has become something of a catch-all term applied to novel or futuristic technology deployed in an urban setting.
  • Assessing driver behaviour in work zones
    May 31, 2013
    David Crawford looks at moves to increase throughput and safety in work zones.
  • BrisConnections selects Kapsch TrafficCom
    February 2, 2012
    Kapsch TrafficCom has been awarded a contract by Thiess John Holland, the design and construction contractor for the Brisbane Airport Link and Northern Busway Project, to deliver an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system worth over US$12.25 million.