GETTING AROUND
Public transport in Brisbane is cheap, and with the new integrated ticketing systems, easier than ever before. If you are having difficulty figuring out where you need to go just ask the attendants at the stations and the drivers on the buses and they will be able to help you out.
Start by using the journey planner at www.translink.com.au You can enter your origin and destination and the journey planner will provide you with a range of options.
Buses
Brisbane has a very extensive bus network that covers the entire city, plus a lot of places further a field.
In the CBD itself there is a free loop service that runs from 6am - 6pm weekdays (lobbying for weekends too) – just look for the red bus stops- which will take you from Adelaide street (opposite the Queen Street Mall) past central station, to riverside, back up past the gardens and back to the CBD again. It runs every 10mins and is a great way to get from the mall back to your hotel, particually if you are staying somewhere like the Stamford Plaza, Mariott, Quay West or the Royal Albert, all of which are very close to city loop stops. There is also a free loop service to Spring Hill. More about the free loop service.
The is also a service called the Great Circle line which runs between the major suburban shopping centres and connects with buses and trains running to the CBD.
The City Sights bus (run by the council) is a great way to get a feel for the layout of the city, and to see the principal sights in the CBD area. It covers Anzac Square, China town, Southbank, Suncorp Stadium, Kangaroo Point, Spring Hill, Roma Street Parklands etc… and has a handy hop on/off ticket which allows you to spend time at the places that interest you. Tickets are $25 (adults) and $20 (concession). More about the City Sights bus.
Route 471 leaving from outside city hall will take you through the suburbs to the Mt Cootha Lookout for spectacular city views (particularly in the evening), and route 385 leaving from Albert Street will take you to the Brisbane Forest Park headquarters (going via the Paddington shopping district) – but please remember to ask the driver, as not all buses on this route go all the way out.
Trains
Brisbane’s train network is fast and efficient (mostly) and is a great way to see things a bit further out with trains running to Ferny Grove (near the Tramways Museum), the bay side suburbs, and going all the way to both the gold and sunshine coasts (with bus transfers from the station to the beaches). More about Brisbane trains.
The main stations in the CBD are Central (just near the Queen Street Mall) and Roma Street (at the big transit centre). There are also stations at Vulture Street (near the maritime museum) and South Brisbane (at the cultural centre) as well as the Brunswick Street Station in the valley.
To get to Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo at Beerwah get the Nambour line train and disembark at Caboolture Railway Station then catch Route NACZ - Nambour to Caboolture Express bus to the zoo. Coming home again you simply reverse the journey. More about getting to Australia Zoo.
Ferries and Citycats
For travel in and around the river don’t go past using the ferries and the Citycats. They may not be as quick as the bus, but there is so much to see from the river. The Citycats run the length of the river (well the city and inner suburbs anyway) from UQ at st Lucia – beautiful campus and lovely place for a picnic- all the way down to Brett’s Wharf – where the industrial shipping docks start. The ferries tend to do the little cross-river routes connecting to the big city cat stops.
Catch a city cat from the city (under Victoria bridge at the top of queen street) and go across to Southbank (spend some time looking around) then get back on the citycat and go down to riverside for the Sunday markets (perhaps get the ferry across to thornton street at kangaroo point and go for a walk).
Go to New Farm park via citycat, and/or keep going to Bulimba and walk up to Oxford Street. Go all the way down to Brett’s wharf and cross over to racecourse rd (one of brisbanes upper crust eating and shopping precincts.) have high tea at Queenies or a meal at Brett’s.
Catch the cat up to the Regatta for a drink (or a meal at the boatshed) before going on up to UQ.
Water taxi and barges run to the islands in Moreton Bay. The Stradbroke ferry runs from Cleveland every hour and drops you at Dunwich. The vehicle ferry does the same route but leaves half an hour later (if you want to take your car make sure you book). The Moreton Venture will take you to the Tangalooma wrecks (near the resort) and runs once a day on week days and twice on Saturdays. (they also offer day trips and tours of the island.)
Ticketing
Brisbane has integrated ticketing between its public tranportation, so you only have to buy one ticket whether you're catching a bus, train or ferry. Ticketing is based on zones, so if you're travelling between zone 1 and zone 2, you buy a ticket for 2 zones. If you're travelling between zone 3 and zone 5, you buy a 3 zone ticket. The tickets you can buy are:
- Single - one-way trip only
- Daily - unlimited travel within the zones purchased until the last service of the day
- Off-Peak Daily - Same as the daily ticket, but you can't travel before 9am, or between 3:30pm and 7pm within the zones purchased
- Weekly - unlimited travel within the zones purchased for 7 consecutive days
- Monthly - unlimited travel within the zones purchased for one calendar month
In addition to these tickets, you can purchase a goCard if you're in Brisbane for a while. It is a rechargeable card that you can topup with cash and then use on by tagging on and off transport. The card costs $10 (this does not give you $10 worth of fares though) and you have to add any cash on top of this to begin using it. Depending on how many trips you make, a weekly or monthly ticket may be better value.
