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Revolutionary Tasmanian bus network left depending on stadium debate

When the Tasmanian government confirmed a deal with the AFL to build a new stadium at Macquarie Point to house a Tasmanian AFL team, it drew a range of responses. For the state’s bus industry, revolutionary transport plans around this announcement hinge on the outcome of the current debate engulfing the Apple Isle

With scarves and coats on, thousands of people descend on Hobart on a sunny Saturday morning. Instead of enjoying the surrounds of an autumn morning in Tasmania by indulging in a leisurely stroll to Salamanca Markets, these people flock to Parliament House with anger in their eyes. They hold signs and frown with defiant displeasure. Red scarves fly above heads, stretched tight to show off words that are filled with clenched frustration. Black and white caps adorn the bustling protesters and make them look like the antithesis of what they want to be – a football crowd. Through all of the furrowed brows and scathing slogans, one phrase summarises sentiments.

‘No Stadium’.

On the other side of this Tasmanian political storm is the sport-loving citizen who has waited too long for an AFL team of their own. To do so, they’ve had to beg for years and put faith in a state government to receive funding for a new stadium at Macquarie Point that gives them the announcement they’re after. Now, they have an identity of their own, a team in their homeland.

In between all of this is Tasmania’s bus and coach industry, treading carefully through no-man’s land and avoiding the ricochets, all in the name of a unique opportunity never before seen in Tasmania’s history of public transport. 

“It’s such an exciting day for us in Tasmania,” Tasmanian deputy premier and treasurer Michael Ferguson says.

 

“Macquarie Point is uniquely positioned to be a transport corridor for the north, east and south corridors of Hobart and beyond in Tasmania.

“We are proud to lock in rapid bus transport as the preferred mode for the northern suburbs transit corridor.”

In the build-up to Ferguson’s announcement on May 1, the local bus industry was neck-and-neck with light rail to be chosen to run the critical piece of new transport infrastructure. Despite there already being existing light rail infrastructure, the Tasmanian government went with buses due to one key term: Rapid bus transit.

Before Ferguson’s words, the Australian bus and coach industry may not have realised how important local bus networks have been to the rise of rapid bus transit globally. First running in Runcorn New Town, England in 1971, bus rapid transit (BRT) uses roadways dedicated to buses to provide consistently quick services that deliver the speed and capacity of light rail systems. Australia wasn’t far behind on the concept, with the Adelaide O-Bahn guided busway being one of the first of its kind to run globally when it was officially opened in 1986.

But how is it different to a normal bus network? As a professor in transport engineering at Melbourne’s Monash University and the director of the Public Transport Research Group, Professor Graham Currie is aware of the specific features of rapid bus transit that made it such an enticing option for the Tasmanian government to use at Macquarie Point.

“For a long time, Hobart’s been looking for alternatives to standard buses to match its geography,” Currie told ABC. “Railways are a great way of invigorating public transport, but they’re expensive and middle-sized cities like Hobart struggle to afford it.

“So, there’s been a big movement to run bus services like railways, giving us the concept of rapid bus transit.”

Rapid bus transit systems, such as Adelaide’s O-Bahn, run frequent vehicles that average an operating speed of 80 kilometres per hour. This speed and urgency of services makes it as fast as railway services, with dedicated concrete and rail tracks allowing the buses to run on individual corridors like a trackless tram does.

As a public transport expert, Currie has been to China to see the latest trackless tram technology emanating from Asia. He says these latest generations of buses are electric and look and weigh almost identical to light rail vehicles, giving buses the chance to replicate rail services at a reduced cost.

Tasmania’s Michael Ferguson

Although many are opposed to the Macquarie Point stadium idea, Currie says that if it goes ahead, rapid bus transit is the perfect decision for the Tasmanian government to make for transport to and from the area.

“I was very happy with the decision made for two main reasons,” he says. “Firstly, there’s a rail corridor in Hobart not being used that could be converted to a bus corridor, giving the bus network a huge opportunity to thrive in Hobart.

“Another is that this transport will directly run to and from what would be Tasmania’s largest stadium. Through my experience planning transport for numerous Olympic Games and the Hajj pilgrimage at Mecca, one truth I know is that you can’t do these with cars, meaning buses become so important.”

Alongside the O-Bahn, Tasmania won’t have to look far to gain inspiration for trackless tram networks. In Brisbane, Swiss manufacturer HESS is in the process of delivering 60 high-capacity fully electric bi-articulated vehicles for Brisbane Metro. With its ability to be deployed on conventional bus routes and dedicated busways, HESS regional manager Peter Dale isn’t surprised that rapid bus transit options are becoming popular.

“Vehicle options like HESS’s bi-articulated lighTram® 25 are a flexible transport option that allows bus operators to continue as bus operators while significantly increasing their capacity,” Dale told ABC.


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Although many of Australia’s largest stadiums are situated next to major railway networks, Currie says rapid bus transit can provide very similar services. For recent examples, the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro relied on buses, while Queensland’s planning for the 2032 Olympics centres around bus networks.

At its peak, a rapid bus transit network can have buses arriving at a stop every 15 to 30 seconds.

“It’s this frequency of services that can be a key factor in growing transport markets, which is what Hobart currently lacks,” Currie says. “With rapid bus transit, everything speeds up and you can get more productivity out of all parts of the network, meaning there’s a cost benefit as things get more efficient and successful.”

Another transport industry member celebrating Ferguson’s supplementary Macquarie Point announcement came from Tassielink Transit, one of Tasmania’s largest bus and coach operators. Its managing director, Shane ‘Bubbles’ Dewsbery, says it was one of the best announcements the Tasmanian bus industry has ever heard in its long history, having the potential to change the way transport is delivered in Tasmania.

“When I heard they were going with buses, it was music to my ears,” Dewsbery told ABC. “The decision to use rapid bus transit was particularly special, as it means everyone in our entire industry will benefit, not just the one operator.

“I’m excited by it, as it’s the next step for Tasmania to improve our transport product.”

Much like Currie, Dewsbery agrees that the key to making a bus transport network successful in Macquarie Point and the greater Hobart region is by providing clearways that limit the impact traffic can have on services.

In 2016, Dewsbery says the Tasmanian bus industry brought transport experts down to Tasmania to look at opening transport corridors as part of a case study with the Bus Industry Confederation (BIC). Seven years later, much of the findings remain true. To provide efficient bus transport in Tasmania, smarter infrastructure providing clearer access to avoid traffic is critical.

“It’s one of the best announcements we could’ve expected in the bus industry, as it gives the industry confidence to provide this new service,” Dewsbery says. “Currently, people mostly use buses if they need us and have no other option, but this gives us the chance to make it their first option of travel.

“If rapid bus transit goes ahead, it’ll be good for everybody in Tasmania to recognise the role a bus network can play to feed the stadium and the state.”

Yet there are plenty of objections to the stadium, threatening the potential of the rapid bus transit network in Hobart. After the announcement of the Macquarie Point stadium and 19th AFL team in Tasmania, two members of the Tasmanian state government left the party to become independent members, plunging the government into a minority in parliament.

 An example of rapid bus transit is Adelaide’s O-Bahn

When rallies to support the ‘Stop the Stadium’ movement resulted in large turnouts, the status of the AFL team, the stadium and ultimately the bus network were thrown into unknown territory.

For Hobart lawyer and member of opposition group ‘Stop the Stadium’ Roland Browne, the lack of adequate funding for transport options around the stadium make it unfeasible to provide a rapid bus transit network.

“The proposed stadium has been borne without planning,” Browne told ABC. “Hobart’s public transport system is second rate, including the bus network.

“There is nothing in place to transport such large numbers of people in Hobart and no funding has been allocated to support the many buses that would be needed to move people to ferries or to bring them to and from the Hobart city centre at any given time.”

If the stadium and AFL team concept is allowed to go ahead, the Tasmanian government has assured that the rapid bus transit network, alongside an expanded ferry system, would be properly supported to transport people to and from the stadium, as well as into a new bus terminal in Hobart’s CBD.

One key issue Currie recommends is ensuring that buses don’t fall victim to compromise.

Unlike light and heavy rail options, buses can fall by the wayside to the compromise of road traffic, but Currie says this can’t be allowed to happen. Alongside this priority, he also says future-proofing infrastructure is key to the network’s success.

“When putting in the infrastructure, they should design it for rail,” Currie says. “This means bridges will be able to take heavier vehicles, so in 50 years’ time the infrastructure can be easily upgraded
as Hobart gets bigger.

“The other improvement is in development opportunities. I hope the bus industry is proactive about this and get involved in the planning stage, as the bus operators know more about the issues involved than anyone else. The best plans for any transit improvement project involve consulting the operators up front during the planning process.”

Currie and Dewsbery both agree that if interchanges and infrastructure are planned well, the high frequency of rapid bus transit services could have an amazing impact on the new stadium. Yet all of this pipedream is, unfortunately, out of the bus industry’s control.

As we stand at the time of publication, there is no longer any certainty that Ferguson’s announcement of a revolutionary new rapid bus transit network in Tasmania will eventuate. The coming months will dictate whether this idea is left behind as one of the state’s great missed opportunities, or whether it evolves into a landmark moment in the fabled history of Tasmania’s bus and coach industry.

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