‘Far from a disaster’: How Brisbane’s updated bus network fared in first working week

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The journeys taken by Brisbane’s bus commuters this week have come with twists – more than 150 route changes came into play on Monday, while services were forced into detours through key busway stations on Friday.

Busway closures on Friday were the first test for the freshly minted Metro network, with the new vehicles able to run through tunnels affected by a fire suppression system fault while the older buses could not.

Commuters catching the Brisbane Metro service from the Cultural Centre station.

Cultural Centre, South Bank and Mater Hill stops were affected, with the closures expected to last into the afternoon peak.

Rail Tram and Bus Union Queensland bus division secretary Tom Brown said the vehicles and network change had so far held up to the council’s high expectations.

“It hasn’t been a perfect transition, but it’s been far from a disaster,” Brown said.

“Council has trained [the drivers] well [and] prepared them. They’ve thrown everything at this, and it seems to have paid off for them.”

The network changes were announced late in 2024, with the Brisbane City Council and state government running a citywide information campaign in the month leading up to the change, including pop-up information session, signage at stations, and alerts on the Translink website and app.

The transport network overhaul changed more than 150 services, with routes merged, renamed, altered or removed to blend into the rollout of the M1 line, running from Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street.

On Friday, council workers remained at stations throughout the city to help commuters navigate the changes.

In the four days since the network overhaul went live, passengers were most interested in changes to bus stops, timetables, and how to transfer from regular bus services to the high-frequency M1 and M2 routes.

Commuters have flagged other growing pains, including longer commutes, fewer direct routes and changed route numbers.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner pointed to promising early signs from the route changes.

“At peak hour, the CBD was the biggest choke point in Brisbane’s bus network, with buses stuck at the Cultural Centre, Victoria Bridge and Queen Street tunnel,” Schrinner said.

A Brisbane Metro bus manoeuvring around a rail bus parked at a busway station.

“Now, Brisbane’s new bus network has cleared the congestion, creating faster trips across the river and more reliable bus trips for everyone.”

The new network launch coincides with scheduled works for stage three of the council’s Metro upgrades – a tunnel running under Adelaide Street – which was slated for final touches across 10 weeks through July and August.

The works were expected to force weekend bus services out of the CBD tunnels and onto street level, but the council did not expect it to impact traffic significantly.

Brown said while the new network’s opening act had passed smoothly, the next several months would be true indicators of its effectiveness.

“We will see when the kids go back to school, and they have to send the extra resources back,” he said.