The first fleet of Brisbane’s rapid buses will be in service from early in the new year, it has been announced.
Commencing from 28 January, the Brisbane Metro will run between the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and UQ Lakes – the busiest route outside of the CBD.
The stage one rollout of the high-capacity, high-frequency state-of-the-art electric buses follows a successful four-week trial in October.
Describing the Metro as a “game-changer”, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli said the mass transit system “will benefit both public transport and road users” alike.
Measuring 24.4m in length, the bendy buses will significantly increase passenger capacity. Indeed, the M2 fleet is capable of holding 3.4 million seats.
Initially running every five minutes during peak periods, frequency rates will increase to three minutes once the Adelaide Street Tunnel opens in July. “This will be the highest frequency service that Queensland has ever had,” said Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.
The introduction of the M1 fleet – running from Eight Mile Plains to King George Square – is slated for later in the new year. Once operational, the M1 route will add an extra 160,000 services annually.
The announcement of the Metro launch date follows a commitment by the Queensland Government to permanently lock-in 50-cent fares across all public transport including buses, ferries, trams, and trains.
“This is a great day for Queenslanders with the cheapest public transport fares in the state’s modern history here to stay,” said Minister for Transport Brent Mickelberg.
Launched on 5 August, the six-month Australia-first 50-cent trial proved a huge success – recording a 14.5% increase in trips compared on the same period last year and passing pre-Covid levels by 2.4%
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