Bus upgrade zone

Bus upgrade zones, commonly abbreviated to BUZ, are a feature of Brisbane's public transport system. The name is given to high-frequency bus routes operated by Brisbane Transport, the Brisbane City Council agency that operates the city's public bus services for TransLink.

All BUZ services run at least every fifteen minutes from around 6:00am to 11:00pm seven days a week and at least every ten minutes during peak hours from Monday to Friday.

Nearly all BUZ routes are express services which provide quick and frequent access to places along major trunk roads, with the exception of route 199, which is the only all-stops BUZ service with bus stops within short walking distances of each other between the inner suburbs of West End and New Farm.

All BUZ routes are radial, and commence in or near the Brisbane central business district. However, route 199 is again an exception, in that it is a cross-town route that passes through the CBD.

The Cultural Centre busway station on the South-East Busway is the common interchange point for all BUZ services.

The first BUZ service, route 130, commenced with the opening of the South-East Busway in 2003. Other BUZ services have been progressively added since then, with the most recent being route 444 in October 2006. As of October 23, 2006, there are nine BUZ services:

Brisbane Transport bus upgrade zone routes

Brisbane Transport claims that BUZ services carry over 346,000 passengers a week, accounting for around 30% of all Brisbane Transport patronage. Route 199 is the busiest BUZ service, carrying over 53,000 passengers per week. [ [http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/bccwr/lib261/onboard_newsletter_june07.pdf Brisbane Transport, "On Board" brochure, June 2007 issue] ]

According to the TransLink network plan published in July 2007, BUZ services are also planned for routes 140 and 330 which run from the city to Browns Plains and Bracken Ridge respectively, whereas plans for 412 BUZ have dropped. [ [http://www.translink.com.au/qt/translin.nsf/ReferenceLookup/np_chapter3.2.pdf/$file/np_chapter3.2.pdf TransLink Network Plan - Greater Brisbane region] ]

External links

* [http://www.translink.com.au/qt/translin.nsf/ReferenceLookup/061023_map_network_BUZ.pdf/$file/061023_map_network_BUZ.pdf TransLink BUZ network map]
* [http://www.translink.com.au TransLink Journey Planner]

References