🏄‍♂️ Good for the Gold Coast. Now Brisbane deserves the same ambition.
The South East Queensland Transport Association welcomes the major changes proposed for the Gold Coast bus network but says Brisbane passengers deserve the same level of ambition.
The recently announced Gold Coast network changes include new and restructured routes, more frequent services, stronger connections with L1 and heavy rail stations and new links across the southern Gold Coast.
SEQTA welcomes these improvements. The Gold Coast has had inadequate investment for too long. Bus networks across South East Queensland have been expected to keep up with rapidly growing communities without the service improvements needed to match. This lack of investment leads to congestion and a generally poorer experience for all residents.
But we should not and cannot, afford to let that ambition stop there.
Every day without a clear infrastructure plan for Brisbane 2032 is a day of delivery time we cannot get back.
To put it simply, Brisbane's public transport network is not yet ready for the demands of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape how Greater Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast move for decades to come. We just need the courage to act, and we need to do it now.
We are calling on the Crisafulli and Albanese Governments to immediately come together, cut the politics and establish a transparent and clear timeline for the delivery of rapid-transit extensions or corridors to:
- Springwood
- Carseldine
- Capalaba
Additionally, we need a rapid bus network outside the existing busways that is fit for 2026 and beyond.
We need:
- stronger weekend frequencies
- better weeknight coverage
- more direct and useful suburban routes
- a clear plan for what is feasible and actually deliverable before 2032
"The clock is counting down until 2032 and unless we continue this momentum, we will be unprepared", said Rylie Mason, General Manager @ SEQTA in an internal meeting this morning.
"The Gold Coast deserves better buses. Brisbane does too", said Imogen Buckley, Founder @ SEQTA.
2032 cannot simply be a deadline. It must be the catalyst for the transport network South East Queensland should already have.
