King George Square Busway Station, Brisbane
Encyclopedia
King George Square is a busway
station located underneath King George Square
in the heart of Brisbane CBD; it also marks the start of the TransLink
's Northern Busway
. The station has twelve stops on two platforms; access to these platforms is via an underground concourse
which can be accessed from Ann Street or Adelaide Street. Unlike other bus stops and stations, passengers do not hail down the bus, instead passengers wait behind automatic doors on the stop that is assigned to their bus, similar to the Queen Street bus station.
The station was announced in 2005 to complete the then Inner Northern Busyway; construction started in early 2006 with the station opening to buses on .
A bus tunnel has been constructed under Albert Street to link the station with Queen Street Bus Station. The bus tunnel replaced one of the tunnel exit ramps to the Queen Street Bus Station on Albert Street (see photo below). As part of construction, the space in Albert Street above the new tunnel has been converted into a pedestrian mall extending the Queen Street Mall
.
In conjunction with the building of the Station, there was a national design competition for the redevelopment of King George Square
. The winning entry was entitled A Space in Transition by UrbisJHD. Construction of the Square was completed in October 2009.
The Busway Station also features a Customer Information Centre and bike station
, cycle2city, located in the Ann Street Concourse. However, bicycles are not allowed on the Station's platforms.
, and vice versa. However, King George Square Busway Station and the Queen Street Bus Station are only a short walking distance apart.
has introduced a Peak Hour Prepaid restriction in order to improve efficiency of busses departing from the Station. During the evening peak passengers must use a Go Card
or pre-purchase tickets from operators located on the Ann Street and Adelaide Street concourses prior to boarding busses.
Bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling...
station located underneath King George Square
King George Square, Brisbane
King George Square is a public square, located between Adelaide Street and Ann Street , in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Adjacent to King George Square is Brisbane City Hall...
in the heart of Brisbane CBD; it also marks the start of the TransLink
TransLink (South East Queensland)
The TransLink Transit Authority is the authority introduced by the Queensland Government in June 2003 as a section of Queensland Transport to coordinate and integrate rail, bus and ferry services. TransLink works with Airtrain, Brisbane Transport, Brisbane Ferries, QR Citytrain and 17 other...
's Northern Busway
Northern Busway, Brisbane
Northern Busway is a bus-only road in Brisbane, Queensland. The busway allows buses to travel north/south through the Brisbane City without encountering car traffic. The first section of the Northern Busway opened in February 2004 had one station, QUT Kelvin Grove, later Normanby and RCH Herston...
. The station has twelve stops on two platforms; access to these platforms is via an underground concourse
Concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.-Examples:Examples of concourses include:* Meeting halls* Universities* Railway stations...
which can be accessed from Ann Street or Adelaide Street. Unlike other bus stops and stations, passengers do not hail down the bus, instead passengers wait behind automatic doors on the stop that is assigned to their bus, similar to the Queen Street bus station.
The station was announced in 2005 to complete the then Inner Northern Busyway; construction started in early 2006 with the station opening to buses on .
Construction
The King George Square Busway Station was announced in 2005. Construction commenced in early 2006 and the Station became operational on 19 May 2008. The lower two levels of the King George Square Car Park were also demolished to make way for the Busway Station.A bus tunnel has been constructed under Albert Street to link the station with Queen Street Bus Station. The bus tunnel replaced one of the tunnel exit ramps to the Queen Street Bus Station on Albert Street (see photo below). As part of construction, the space in Albert Street above the new tunnel has been converted into a pedestrian mall extending the Queen Street Mall
Queen Street Mall, Brisbane
The Queen Street Mall is a pedestrian mall on Queen Street in the centre of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.It is Brisbane's predominant retail district, featuring shopping centres, hotels, restaurant and coffee shops, cinemas, clothing, music, jewellery and book stores, newsagencies, and banks...
.
In conjunction with the building of the Station, there was a national design competition for the redevelopment of King George Square
King George Square, Brisbane
King George Square is a public square, located between Adelaide Street and Ann Street , in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Adjacent to King George Square is Brisbane City Hall...
. The winning entry was entitled A Space in Transition by UrbisJHD. Construction of the Square was completed in October 2009.
Facilities
The King George Square Busway Station has 12 stops on two platforms (6 Stops each labelled 1A-1F and 2A-2F). Similar to the Queen Street bus station passengers wait behind automatic doors at allocated stops rather than hailing busses. Passengers enter the Station from either Ann Street or Adelaide Street and then select the desired platform via an underground concourse at each end.The Busway Station also features a Customer Information Centre and bike station
Bike station
A bike station, bicycle center or cycle center is a building or structure designed for bicycle commuters that typically requires users to join as members in order to use secure bicycle parking, and sometimes showers or lockers...
, cycle2city, located in the Ann Street Concourse. However, bicycles are not allowed on the Station's platforms.
Services
The King George Square Busway Station primarily services routes travelling to the Northern and Western Suburbs (departing from Platform 1). A small number of routes travelling to Southern and Eastern Suburbs, including the South East Busway depart from Platform 2. For a list of services, see below.QUT/Woolloongabba Shuttle Services
Co-inciding with the opening of the King George Square Busway, Translink introduced a high-frequency shuttle bus (Route 66) connecting Woolloongabba Busway Station with QUT Kelvin Grove via all central stops on the Northern and South East Busways.Connection to Queen Street
As of 2009, no Northern Busway services directly connect King George Square Busway Station with the Queen Street Bus Station. After stopping at King George Square (Platform 2), a number of inbound (Southbound) services bypass the Queen Street Bus Station and stop or terminate at the Cultural Centre on the southern side of the Brisbane RiverBrisbane River
The Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
, and vice versa. However, King George Square Busway Station and the Queen Street Bus Station are only a short walking distance apart.
Peak Hour Services
Following successful trials as other Busway Stations, TranslinkTransLink (South East Queensland)
The TransLink Transit Authority is the authority introduced by the Queensland Government in June 2003 as a section of Queensland Transport to coordinate and integrate rail, bus and ferry services. TransLink works with Airtrain, Brisbane Transport, Brisbane Ferries, QR Citytrain and 17 other...
has introduced a Peak Hour Prepaid restriction in order to improve efficiency of busses departing from the Station. During the evening peak passengers must use a Go Card
TransLink Go card
The go card is an electronic smartcard ticketing system developed by Cubic Corporation and currently used on the TransLink public transport network in South East Queensland. To use the go card users hold the card less than 10 cm away from the reader to "touch on" before starting a journey, and...
or pre-purchase tickets from operators located on the Ann Street and Adelaide Street concourses prior to boarding busses.