South East Busway

The South East Busway is a bus-only road running south from the Brisbane central business district to Rochedale in Queensland, Australia.

South East Busway
Overview
System	Translink
Operator	Transport for Brisbane Clarks Logan City Bus Service Mt Gravatt Bus Service Transdev Queensland Park Ridge Transit
Status	Open
Began service	13 September 2000 (2000-09-13)
Route
Start	King George Square
Via	Pacific Motorway
End	Rochedale
Stations	12
Route map Legend Northern Busway King George Square to inner city Riverside Expressway Victoria Bridge over Brisbane River Cultural Centre to West End South Bank Mater Hill to Ipswich Road Pacific Motorway Woolloongabba Eastern Busway Cleveland line Buranda O'Keefe St Eastern Busway to Ekibin from Ekibin Norman Creek Greenslopes Zone 1 2 Holland Park West Griffith University Upper Mount Gravatt Eight Mile Plains Gateway Motorway School Road Rochedale to Springwood This diagram: view talk edit ←      →

History

Busways were considered as one of the options when the Queensland Government developed the 25 year Integrated Regional Transport Plan.^[1][2][3] Other methods such as light and heavy rail were also considered. It was recommended that a 75 km (47 mi) network of busway corridors to complement the existing Queensland Rail City network would suit best.

Busways would allow buses to serve low-density communities and bypass peak hour congestion. Busway stations could be developed at key nodes to serve major activity centres, and combining different routes would create high frequency services.

In 1995, plans for a network of five busway corridors were conceived, linking with the rail network to improve public transport connectivity across the city. The busways would improve the operation of the bus fleet, reducing maintenance and running costs and maximising the effectiveness of the region's investment in buses.

In August 1996, the Queensland Government approved the South East Transit Project to manage the construction of both the northern section of the Pacific Motorway between Mount Gravatt and Logan City and a dedicated 2-lane, 2-way road for buses between the Brisbane CBD and Eight Mile Plains.

The first section of busway between the existing Queen Street bus station and Woolloongabba was opened to services on 13 September 2000 to coincide with the start of the 2000 Olympic football tournament, for which some matches were held in Brisbane.^[4] It initially opened for outbound services only, with inbound services commencing on 23 October 2000.^[5] The second 13.2 km (8.2 mi) section of busway between Woolloongabba and Eight Mile Plains opened on 30 April 2001.^[6][7][8][9]

Extension to Rochedale

An extension from Eight Mile Plains to Rochedale was proposed in July 2006 as part of the Queensland Government's Pacific Motorway Transit Project. As part of the project, plans were made to extend the busway infrastructure as far as Springwood bus station, including construction of the proposed Rochedale busway station.^[10][11] The preferred alignment for the busway extension corridor was determined in 2007 and a Concept Design Study was undertaken by the Queensland Government in 2009.^[12]

Construction commenced in late 2012 and was completed in March 2014. The extension had an estimated cost of $36 million.^[13] The extension was funded in full by the Queensland Government and formed part of the Federal Government's Gateway Upgrade South (GUS) project.^[14] The busway extension passed under the Gateway Motorway and terminated at School Road, Rochedale. Whilst the busway alignment plan published in 2010 anticipated a Busway Station at Rochedale, no new busway stations were added to this extension.^[15]

As part of an upgrade of the Pacific Motorway between Eight Mile Plains and Daisy Hill, the busway infrastructure was further extended to Springwood with the addition of a new busway station at Rochedale. The upgrade commenced in 2020 and was initially expected to be completed in 2024, though this was delayed to 2025.^[16] Rochedale busway station opened 12 May 2025.

Route

South-East Busway, Brisbane

The busway commences at King George Square busway station beneath the Brisbane central business district. It crosses the Brisbane River via Victoria Bridge to Cultural Centre busway station, then runs parallel to the rail lines to South Bank busway station. It then runs parallel to the Pacific Motorway to Rochedale.^[17]

Services

Transport for Brisbane services' southernmost station is Eight Mile Plains, whilst Clarks Logan City Bus Service operate services along the full length of the busway to Rochedale. Mt Gravatt Bus Service and Transdev Queensland operate services between Griffith University and Eight Mile Plains.^[18]

Facilities

Real time passenger information is displayed at each station, with fixed LED signs suspended above each platform. These signs present four lines of real-time estimated bus departure times, with data provided by Brisbane City Council's RAPID system.

See also

• Queensland portal
• Roads portal
• Buses portal

• Transport in Brisbane