Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Premier Anna Bligh have unveiled Brisbane’s first 24 hour high-frequency bus service.
The new CityGlider service started on Sunday, 11 April and will be free for the rest of the month.
The Lord Mayor said people could catch one of the buses on a continuous loop between West End and Teneriffe 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays and 18 hours a day the rest of the week.
“CityGlider is part of my Can Do team’s record $160 million commitment to public transport this year,” he said.
“We are tackling traffic congestion through a balanced approach that involves new infrastructure such as the CLEM7 and the Go Between Bridge as well as record spending on suburban road upgrades and public transport.
“CityGlider has a dedicated fleet of 20 new buses and they are easy to spot with distinctive blue and white markings.
“These new buses will help us reach our target of 500 buses over four years and boost the number of people catching buses which is already more than the entire southeast Queensland rail network.”
Cr Newman said the buses would depart from the West End and Teneriffe ferry terminals every five minutes during peak times and every 10-15 minutes at other times.
“This service will be very popular for inner city residents travelling home from dinner or a night out in West End, the Valley or the City,” he said.
Cr Newman said commuters would be able to use their Go Card on the CityGlider, which would be prepaid only and allow all-door boarding to save time.
The CityGlider would enjoy a number of priority measures along the route including at the intersection of Ann and Gotha Street, and a bus jump zone in Ann Street.
Cr Newman said the service would cost about $5 million a year to operate that would be shared on a 50/50 basis between Council and the State Government.
The service will extend from the West End ferry terminal through to the Teneriffe ferry terminal on Commercial Road at Newstead. It will travel from West End to South Brisbane via Montage Rd, Mollison Rd and Melbourne St, crossing the Brisbane River on the Victoria Bridge, through the CBD via Adelaide Street and Fortitude Valley using Wickham and Ann streets.
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