Network 2012

Started by Barry Drive, October 19, 2011, 04:45:58 PM

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Barry Drive

Details of the 2012 changes have been released to drivers and should be available very soon on http://www.transport.act.gov.au

Highlights: 318 & 319 will be extended to Kippax between 700-1900; no other Belconnen suburban changes.

51 to divert through Casey; 58 through Crace. New route 55 to provide a loop service to Forde & Bonner.

80 to be streamlined: no more Causeway, Lithgow St or Isa St. 200 no longer service Railway or FFFM. Additional AM peak 200 services from Gung.

Route 2 to be split into 1 & 2: 2 (southern route) will terminate at Nat Museum - 3 will no longer service Museum.

Remember: these are proposals only at this stage. Feedback is sought, and final routes may change.

lukeo25

Here's hoping for a better weekend network

Bus 400

#2
Quote from: ACTbusspotter on October 19, 2011, 04:45:58 PM
New route 55 to provide a loop service to Forde & Bonner.

Good to see a return of Route Number 55, I assume the 59 would just skip Forde.


CNG

#3
so here comes a shift spill, can't wait to ride the 318 and 319 all the way from lanyon to kippax

Barry Drive

#4
Network 2012 details now available on Transport for Canberra website, or view the article on ACT Bus.

One additional change: route 58 to be re-routed through Franklin (finally).

Quote from: lukeo25 on October 19, 2011, 05:13:08 PM
Here's hoping for a better weekend network
Still no word on what (if any) weekend changes are planned.

Busnerd

Can't believe they STILL haven't fixed the weekend network. What is wrong with what they USED to do and just have suburban service operating at an hourly frequency from 6am saturdays to midnight and 7am sundays to 9pm?? It has been 5 years now with the terrible weekend network, when I still lived down there I usually preferred to be driven places on weekends as much as possible due to the terrible frequencies of loop services.

However so far this new WEEKDAY network looks good and all the changes seem fairly positive. Were any of those changes part of the work done by Chris and Martin and the rest of the ACT BUS Network?

Barry Drive

Quote from: Busnerd on October 20, 2011, 03:18:44 PM
However so far this new WEEKDAY network looks good and all the changes seem fairly positive. Were any of those changes part of the work done by Chris and Martin and the rest of the ACT BUS Network?
There are elements of our suggestions in these changes, but it's impossible to say whether they considered our changes or not. But just so everyone's clear: the proposed route through Bonner bears no resemblance to what was suggested by us - our route suggestion actually travelled to where people lived.

lukeo25

They have f***** me over by changing the 80 by cutting out wiluna st and that part of the route, getting to and from work when it gets introduced (if it goes through!)

jaredmill

#8
yesterday i saw a bus driver reading the Network 2012 information booklet and new route map too

Bus 400

It may of taken 6 years, but my suggestion of extending the 4 (then 35/36) to Woden has finally been put in (all going well).

Wasn't Wiluna Street skipped when the 4 became the Route 80 & then reinstated a few years later?

I am also trying to work out where the 1 & 7 will start there run from City West? Will it be from this new stop on Marcus Clarke Street? Or within City West?


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The Love Guru

Quote from: Bus 400 on October 20, 2011, 08:32:04 PM
It may of taken 6 years, but my suggestion of extending the 4 (then 35/36) to Woden has finally been put in (all going well).

Wasn't Wiluna Street skipped when the 4 became the Route 80 & then reinstated a few years later?

I am also trying to work out where the 1 & 7 will start there run from City West? Will it be from this new stop on Marcus Clarke Street? Or within City West?


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Extending the 4 to Woden is a serious waste of resources. Patronage is very low on the route 4, almost to the point where it should be combined with the 6 and bring the frequency of that run up to half hourly. The map isn't overly clear, but it appears it will go to geoscience, then back track to Goyder St before going to Woden which would be silly. That said, extending the Intertown to Kippax without connecting to buses at Kippax is a complete waste of time. They could have taken those resources and made the 43 half hourly and at least provided something worthwhile.

Irisbus Rider

Quote from: Bus 400 on October 20, 2011, 08:32:04 PM
It may of taken 6 years, but my suggestion of extending the 4 (then 35/36) to Woden has finally been put in (all going well).
No reason to do this, with appropriate timetabling, Woden bound pax could be able to change on Goyder St for a 5, even then, the bus will still be near empty between Goyder St and Woden.

Quote from: Chris_Guru on October 20, 2011, 08:39:55 PMThat said, extending the Intertown to Kippax without connecting to buses at Kippax is a complete waste of time. They could have taken those resources and made the 43 half hourly and at least provided something worthwhile.
Making the 43 half-hourly will fall below the increase proposed in this network, hence not improving it.

Buses may connect at Kippax. Connecting buses aren't ACTION's strong point, proof of that is the shambles that is the 50 after 7pm. 22min transfer time? what a fkn joke.

For passengers travelling from Holt to Belconnen, it will be quicker to travel to Kippax and transfer to a 318/319 with even a 10 min connection time. With the 44 from Holt Shops to Cohen St being 30 mins exactly (in the off-peak), a 5 min trip to Kippax, 10 min waiting time and 10 min journey to Cohen St on a 318/319 is still only 25 mins, 5 mins quicker. Similar (but not the same) for the 16 and the 17. Not to mention, this will be a boon for commuters in the immediate (medium density) Kippax area, who will be enticed to walk to Kippax to join the *direct* service to the City/Woden. Not to mention, on top of all of this, Kippax is a large retail precinct, and this will make it easier for pax to access the area. I see a lot of benefits of this extension, a small amount of extra running time with a lot of benefit. Bring it on!

I'm also really pleased to see the City West/ANU Precinct changes, extending the Gold line into City West/ANU is a great move, and making better use of the layover facilities of City West is also welcome.

CNG

#12
with the intertown to kippax I believe they should have just made a 317 and 316 to save the bus going all the way on to lanyon i wounder why they choose the 318 and 319, also what month is the network expected to be running in 2012?

Buzz Killington

Common sense would tell you that adding a 316 and 317 means they would need to find a significant number of extra resources (buses and drivers) that they just don't have. 318 and 319 obviously selected as it is a ten minute addition to those routes which disadvantages nobody. amending the 312, 313, 314 or 315 means adding time to those routes and disadvantaging existing commuters on those routes.

As stated in both links provided by ACTbusspotter above, the network is expected to start in May.

Snorzac

Also having the 318/9 extend to Kippax give a High frequency direct link to Kippax which a 316/317 would not do. Personally I don't think the idea is properly executed, but it is a step in the right direction.


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King of Buses

Is there any news upon xpressos for Gungahlin?

Barry Drive

Quote from: King of Buses on October 21, 2011, 11:06:54 AM
Is there any news upon xpressos for Gungahlin?
Everything that has been made public has been included in the article. No mention of Xpressos suggests no change, as does no mention of weekend services.

BTW, extending 318/319 was something I suggested in 2009 (and possibly earlier as well). It is a first step only: next step is to convince them that Kippax should be a hub for West Belconnen.

belcodriver

The long established tradition of changing the services through Nicholls and Ngunawal with every network change continues. Bad luck to the people who used to get the 52 to GMP or Civic you now have to get the 59 and go through Amaroo as well.

Kramden

Quote from: belcodriver on October 21, 2011, 08:59:23 PM
The long established tradition of changing the services through Nicholls and Ngunawal with every network change continues. Bad luck to the people who used to get the 52 to GMP or Civic you now have to get the 59 and go through Amaroo as well.

Er, am I missing something here?  I didn't see any mention that the 52 will be altered from its current route.

From a driver's perspective I'm glad they're pissing off Cash and Christina Stead from route 58.  It's a slow haul along there.  It just doesn't seem like it was a road meant for buses.

manhinli

New user here, from Gungahlin, commuting mostly around the northern half of Canberra. :)

Quote from: Kramden on October 21, 2011, 10:10:16 PM
From a driver's perspective I'm glad they're pissing off Cash and Christina Stead from route 58.  It's a slow haul along there.  It just doesn't seem like it was a road meant for buses.

Every time I take the 58 I wonder how drivers feel handling buses on such narrow roads/bends. The roundabout on Christina Stead St has tyre marks on it from all the buses that go by. I like to avoid taking the 58 sometimes because I get disoriented/headachy with the frequent turning around Harrison.


I personally would like something like a 950 on weekends, though probably it's not going to have a decent number of people riding it until the rest of Harrison/Franklin bordering on Flemington Road gets developed. I currently have two choices for weekend buses to City, 956 or 958 which both take some fair distance to get to.

smitho

Didn't notice anything in the draft 2012 Network changes about the operation of buses through ANU Exchange - wonder what kind of timeframe they have in mind for that. ...you'd think it'd be commencement of first term in 2012.

belcodriver

Quote from: Kramden on October 21, 2011, 10:10:16 PM
Er, am I missing something here?  I didn't see any mention that the 52 will be altered from its current route.

Look at the map that has the changes to the 51 & 59 on it. The 59 is shown going the same way through Nicholls and Ngunawal as the 52 does now and there is no 52 on it. Gungahlin's got 4 extra suburbs now, a net gain in bus routes wouldn't be unreasonable.

smitho

Extending the truncated #2 to Canberra Hospital  from Woden Interchange would possibly be a better use of resources than the proposed lengthy extension to #4...

Barry Drive

Quote from: belcodriver on October 21, 2011, 11:15:57 PM
Look at the map that has the changes to the 51 & 59 on it. The 59 is shown going the same way through Nicholls and Ngunawal as the 52 does now and there is no 52 on it.
I understand your confusion, but the map I'm looking at has a 52 label at Gungahlin Dr/Amagula Ave - it's the same colour as 59 because it is mostly unchanged and not the main subject of the map.

Kramden

Quote from: manhinli on October 21, 2011, 10:34:45 PM
New user here, from Gungahlin, commuting mostly around the northern half of Canberra. :)

Every time I take the 58 I wonder how drivers feel handling buses on such narrow roads/bends. The roundabout on Christina Stead St has tyre marks on it from all the buses that go by. I like to avoid taking the 58 sometimes because I get disoriented/headachy with the frequent turning around Harrison.

Hi Manhinli, welcome aboard.  I don't see that Christina Stead is any better or worse than going through other tight spots in the Network, say, the ANU, in terms of manoeuvrability.  It's completely do-able but you can't get up any pace due to the twists, turns and narrowness.  Also there's the issue of passenger comfort which, as you point out, causes you problems on CS St.

And thinking of that street, I found it a useful exercise (while in training) to be aware that the last 90 degree bend, Gungahlin bound, needs to be negotiated very wide and slow – especially in a Scania.  Check for rubber on that kerb ol' mate.   I'll bet some others have come to grief there. 

Buzz Killington

Quote from: manhinli on October 21, 2011, 10:34:45 PM
I like to avoid taking the 58 sometimes because I get disoriented/headachy with the frequent turning around Harrison.

Welcome :) I found myself on a 52 yesterday and feeling slightly dizzy through Nicholls and Ngunnawal.. Those Gungahlin roads...

p_stampy

I have nothing to add, except that I'm glad the 318/9 is being extended!

smitho

Thinking back to the old 100 Link intertown services between Kippax/Belco and Woden, from my experience they were reasonably well patronised, even in off-peak, including stops between Kippax and Belconnen interchange and between Kippax and Woden. Was surprised when they gave them the chop.

belcodriver

Quote from: Kramden on October 21, 2011, 10:10:16 PM
Er, am I missing something here?  I didn't see any mention that the 52 will be altered from its current route.

My bad, I didn't notice the "52" on the map just saw the grey route and assumed it was all the 59.

I think a better way to do things would be:

51 not through Nicholls
52 do all of Nicholls and none of Ngunawal like it used to (2006-8?)
59 go down Amagula/Gurrang

743

Looking at the weekend suggestions in the other thread - particularly the 957 - I'm wondering whether one day the 55 and 57 could be joined into the one service. Of course, that would heavily depend on timetabling and connections at GMP, especially to/from Belconnen. You'd save on buses having to layover, it would just be like a glorified 39 loop all the way to Gungahlin and back.

Otherwise these changes don't seem too bad. My beloved 2 will become a beloved 1, but in my experience a lot of 2s completely empty passengers at the City and take on a fresh batch so I don't think through passengers will be inconvenienced. It's like when I used to catch the 5 from Dickson to Griffith when I first moved to Canberra - on most days I was the only one apart from the operator who stayed on in the City!

Snorzac

This is an email I have written to send to the public consultation for Network 2012. Any feedback would be appreciated:


QuoteHello,

As someone who is a frequent user of public transport around the ACT I would like to have my input and offer a few suggestions for your planned 2012 changes:

Belconnen:
Extension of the Blue Rapid is a step in the right direction however I don't believe if done the proposed way it would function 100%. Knowing Canberran's you need to provide a large time saving for them to entice them to change buses. Without a restructure of the West Belconnen network I do not believe this service will function to it's full capacity. You could possibly get extra patronage on this service by ensuring there are connections to the 16, 17 and 44 as the patrons on the latter end of these services may see the gain in time given by the Kippax Rapid link.

Gungahlin:
As a daily user of the Belconnen to Gungahlin corridor I am not impressed with the idea of having the 58 deviate off the current routing which is already pushing what could be classed as a 'Direct' service. As a solution to this I wish to propose that the 59 services Crace.

The Belconnen to Gungahlin corridor is currently very poorly serviced and something that needs to be addressed. I can offer two solutions:
-Extend the Red Rapid to Belconnen
-Extend the 57 to Belconnen thus providing a 20 minute frequency between the two centres. 

I also recommend that the 56 and 58 are removed from Baldwin Dr and resume the running of the current 51 from the William Slim/Chuculba timing point. Currently Baldwin Dr is a somewhat over serviced and under patronized area on the network, the College st area is well serviced and would not miss the two services an hour.

The route 55 from Gungahlin is a great concept as long as the connections are guaranteed every time.

Central Canberra:
The changes here are great! Taking the 3 out of the National Museum, the only advice I could offer here would be making sure the timings on the route 3 are tightened as they are currently way too loose and buses are consistently running early. 

Woden/Narrabundah Area:
In my personal opinion there is no reason for the route 4 to be extended to Woden, currently patronage is already very low and you would not find it hard to justify scrapping the route.

Airport Precinct:
The route 10 is currently not in need of more frequent services but for better hours of operation to the areas around the airport. Currently the last service to depart the City for Fairbairn is at 1630. This provide poor service to the residents of Fairbairn. A viable solution to this problem could be extending the route 9 from Campbell Park after hours thus providing service to these areas at a minimal cost.

The airport itself is in need of a government bus service. The current private service is expensive and runs at time when no one wants to be at the airport. If negotiations were to reach an agreement for ACTION to provide service to the airport I could recommend the following from providing service.

*To provide service to early flights, offer a service leaving direct to the airport from the City bus Interchange, offer this hourly until 7am.
*As the route 200 is currently under patronized to DFO split it into two runs, the 200 from Gungahlin to DFO and the 201 from Gungahlin to Airport, both running from Gungahlin to Russell Offices as per current running before the 201 goes direct to the airport from Russell.
*After the rapid stops operating the morning route could run hourly until last flight.

Weekends:
The weekend network is something that needs to be addressed, a great way to fix this would be using the network used over the 3 days of Christmas (without expressos) on Saturday and a cut down version of this on Sunday even if this is just as an interim measure until a proper weekend timetable can be implemented. 

Other Changes that could be made:
Currently in the afternoon peak there are a lot of short working 300 services operating from City to Belconnen whilst the 710 also operates from a different platform and is somewhat under patronized. Bringing the 710 onto platform 3 would allow you to scrap the short working 300s and provide a faster link for passenger travelling between exclusivly City Bus Interchange and the Belconnen Town Centre without having to cross the joke that is Northbourne Ave in peak hour.

Irisbus Rider

As I missed earlier, a suggestion to re-route the entry into Kippax to travel down Sthn X Dr >Moyes Cr > Kippax would be sensible, so the W Starke St/Sthn X Dr intersection is avoided. Plus, two extra stops would be services under this arragement.

As far as Baldwin Dr is concerned, you're forgetting why it travels down Baldwin Dr. College St. It's the vital link between Gungahlin and the UC/Radford/Fern Tree Business Park/Bruce CiT. Having said that, the Red Rapid needs to be extended to Belconnen, but this will occur in due course (2031 at the very latest!).

Snorzac

There is the 59 for College st and you could always send the 51 down there as well.

belcodriver


Bus 400

Before I forget, below was what I sent as a part of the Network 2012 Consultation:


Quote
Good Evening,
Below are a few suggestions in relation to the changes proposed in Network 2012.

GUNGAHLIN
Route 55
Firstly, is it known whether Handbury Street will be open by May 2012? If so may I suggest that this route is extended further up Amy Ackman Street on the trip to Bonner, then come back into Forde via Jessie on the trip in. Also rather then send the 55 via Djerrka Street in Bonner, may I suggest keeping the route to Essie Coffey Street to then turn left onto Roden Cutler Drive. This way you improve your catchment for residents between Essie Coffey Street & Mabo Boulevard. Also once this route gets back onto Mabo Boulevard, rather then turn left onto William Cooper Avenue, may I suggest that this route continues along Mabo Boulevard then turn left onto Mulligan's Flat Road & right into Jessie Street.

Route 51
It is possible to know when Plimsol Drive be finished? I ask this as another temporary suggestion for the 51 could be to send the 51 to turn left on Plimsoll Drive & then right onto Yeend Avenue to then continue along the normal 51, or atleast have the 51 do a loop into the area of Casey known as Springbank Rise. My long term suggestion for services to Casey would be new route 50. Route 50 could be as below:

Gungahlin Bus Station
R Gozzard Street
L Anthony Rolfe Avenue
C Mirrabei Drive
L Len Waters Street
R Burramurra Street
C Into Casey
Do a loop around the northern section of Casey & end up on Plimsoll Drive
L Overall Avenue
R Clarie Holmes Drive
C Kuringa Drive *Another option here is to run to Hall, with future proposal to run through Kinlyside.
L Owen Dixon Drive
R Gundaroo Road
C Belconnen Bus Stations

This route could start up in Network 2013 with more opening up as more of Casey is complete.

Route 58
I have a couple of options about the Crace deviation, my main point is for the 58 to not do this deviation & for the 56 & 58 to take the same route between Gungahlin Bus Station & the Belconnen Bus Stations. If these runs are timed to leave Belconnen & Gungahlin at 30 minute intervals, the route these two services take could become the Rapid connection between Gungahlin & Belconnen. While at the moment these services leave Belconnen close to each other & this potential connection is lost. My two route options for Crace are:

Option 1-Deviate the 56 from Kosciusko Avenue at Grampians Street to then do a loop around Crace & then return to Kosciusko Avenue via Grampians Street again.

Option 2-Send the 59 via the proposed 58 route through Crace.

Now option 1 lets you bring back the old 54 & make the 59 to just do a loop from Gungahlin-Amaroo-Gungahlin, while option 2 still sends the 59 which runs mainly empty from Gungahlin from Belconnen. Of course the 54/59 loop could extend to Belconnen during morning peak. This loop will work if the 56 & 58 rapid connection is timed properly.

Red Rapid
May I suggest the Route 50 is scrapped & replaced with short running 200 services that service all stops after 19:00. This makes way for my Route 50 proposal.

To finish off, may I suggest for future Network Proposals that changes planned as suburbs are grown are shown. This may help to reduce the number of submissions you receive. I am also curious myself as to what is the plan for future bus networks? For example would the 55 be extended to Jacka as it is built? Or if my Route 50 proposal under consideration all ready?

Weekend Routes.
As I suggestion could these services be streamlined to follow changes made to some weekday versions in Network 2008? A few suggestions are the 951/952 through Nicholls & the 956 through McKellar & the 921/922/923/924 through Woden Valley. This would make things easier on the public & wouldn't mean too many changes. But may I also suggest a review be done of weekend services, as there is never going to be the demand in Canberra for 7 day services, so these services are here to stay.

I hope my suggestions have helped you out a little bit, if not for Network 2012, but maybe for Network 2013?
Kind Regards,
                      Bus 400*

*I did use my real name in the email.

Buzz Killington

Bit of a mention of Parliamentary services in today's CT:

QuoteThe spokesman said that both the authority and the territory's bus network were making plans to boost the numbers of workers taking the bus to their jobs in the triangle.

''I understand also that ACTION are monitoring one of the bus routes through this area [route 6] to determine its effectiveness,'' he said.

''The NCA is planning on upgrading all the bus shelters in the Parliamentary Zone this year.''
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/senior-public-servants-to-lose-parking/2434428.aspx?storypage=0

smitho

I've noticed greater numbers of commuters using the Triangle-Woden interchange services over the past 3 months or so...still pretty modest though.

Barry Drive

There is a Canberra Times article which I am reluctant to post, given that it doesn't say anything new or anything that we don't already know, but the one highlight is this mention of Network 12:

QuoteMeanwhile, changes are proposed in May to West Belconnen, Gungahlin, Fyshwick and central Canberra.
...

(Paul Peters) said changes due in May this year would be finalised and published shortly.

Full article can be read here: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/govt-has-no-overall-strategy-on-buses-coe/2452507.aspx?storypage=0

smitho

Present indications suggest that the new network coulkd commence after the winter school holidays.

Bus 400

Details of Network 2012 will be announced at 18:30 by Katy Gallagher. Expected start date is 28 May 2012.

Barry Drive

The deletion of route 58 through Franklin suggests that route 57 will now operate for extended hours (beyond 6pm). Maybe. If not, Franklin residents will have been well and truly boned by this change.

As an aside, I have noticed when doing 58 or 958 that there are *some* passengers who catch the bus from Belconnen to travel to Franklin (Hoskins St). The change in route 58 will not doubt put a spanner into their travel patterns - they'll now have to change buses at Gungahlin (or travel via City).

route56

i see Hall is still screwed.

Are the 9** numbers still weekend only ? Will there still be inconsistent weekend/weekday route numbering ?


Bus 400

Those who have special weekend only services would feel different. But by my idea of at least aligning the 51/52 with the 951/952 it means those residents only have 2 routes to remember & can't get on the wrong *52 service. Next will be to have the 921-924 follow there weekday counterparts, same for the 39/939 Watson loop. Then the 913/914 becoming the 918/919 & 912/915 becoming 911/912, etc.

Hall residents have Deanes Transit Group. ACTION might return if my Route 50 becomes reality (deviate via/terminate at Hall) or once Kinlyside develops.

Barry Drive

#43
Quote from: route56 on March 22, 2012, 09:59:01 PM
Are the 9** numbers still weekend only ?
Yes

QuoteWill there still be inconsistent weekend/weekday route numbering ?
An inevitable consequence of having a separate weekend network is that there will be inconsistencies with route numbers and routes direction between the two networks. The modified Gungahlin weekend services will remove some of them (for instance, routes 52 and 952 will be identical from Belconnen to Ngunnawal, but then 952 will cover parts of weekday routes 59, 58 & 57 as well as parts not covered during weekdays [Shoalhaven Av]).

A better question would be "has ACTION reduced inconsistencies as much as is possible?". The answer to that would be "no".

Bus 400

Another change I noticed today was:

Quote
Departure times for services from Woden to Weston Creek (Routes 25/28 and Routes 26/27) have been reworked to provide passengers with 30 minute frequency.

As mentioned on the ACT Bus article (http://actbus.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1074:network-2012-changes-announced&catid=10:news&Itemid=57) only the 25 & 26 were to be streamlined. Also mention of changes for the 28 to help out Orana School has also been removed.

smitho

Watch for new Xpresso 770...from southern Tuggeranong.

Buzz Killington

Quote from: smitho on April 06, 2012, 11:10:43 PM
Watch for new Xpresso 770...from southern Tuggeranong.

Just a renumbered 170 though isn't it?

smitho

Not sure; we haven't received the network 12  lefts and rights yet.

Barry Drive

Quote from: ACTION websiteSouthbound services Route 737 and 770 (formerly called 170) will depart from Platform 10 at City Bus Station.

smitho

Understand that the driver shift pick scheduled for next month (to launch Network 12) will only be a short term affair..... and that another shift spill and new pick will take place after about 3 months into the new network. Not sure of reason why.