South East Busway, Brisbane, Australia

In Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, construction started on the $520 million, five-year South East Transit Project (SETP) in 2000. The South East Busway is a 16.5km project running from Brisbane's Central Business District (CBD) to Eight Mile Plains. The South East Busway provides commuters with a quicker, better, smarter and cleaner public transport option.

The first section of South East Busway - between the CBD and Woolloongabba - opened in September 2000. The second section - between Woolloongabba and Eight Mile Plains - opened on 30 April 2001.

SOUTH EAST TRANSPORT PROJECT AND INTEGRATED REGIONAL TRANSPORT PLAN

The South East Busway is a component of the South East Transit Project and a key part of Queensland Transport's plan for a fully integrated transport system. The department's aim was to design a transport system where cars, buses, trains, ferries, pedestrians and cyclists work together in more efficient ways for the benefit of the people and the environment. The South East Busway is used exclusively by buses and emergency vehicles.

Other areas of Brisbane are also set to benefit from the busway system with planning and construction underway for corridors in the Northern, Eastern, Western and South Western suburbs (the first stage of the Inner Northern Busway (INB), from Roma Street in the central business district to Gilchrist Avenue at Herston (2.8km), is now open). The project is expected to achieve Queensland's Integrated Regional Transport Plan (IRTP) target of doubling public transport trips from 7% to 14%.

SOUTH EAST BUSWAY

The South East Busway is a two-way roadway running from Brisbane CBD, via Woolloongabba, to Eight Mile Plains. 117 scheduled routes run on the busway which is used by 2,313 individual bus services on an average weekday.

There are ten stations along the South East Busway which includes 2,000m of elevated roadway and 1,630m of tunnel. 140 security cameras are linked to CCTV monitors at the Busways Operation Centre.

LEAD CONTRACTORS

The Council and Queensland Transport commissioned PPK Environment and Infrastructure to complete an Impact Assessment Study and Feasibility Study for the busway project. Brisbane Busway and South East Transit Project consists of various contractors carrying out the construction work on the various stages.