New bus Route for Bus Queensland Ipswich

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WBC16Springfield29Jan2019.JPG (263.63 KiB) Viewed 24804 times

Bus Queensland using their new Volgren Optimus Volvo B8 buses for a new route from Yamanto to Springfield via Ripley. Route 531 which started today, 29 Jan 2019. Fitted with a driver security screen. WBC 16 at Springfield Central bus interchange.

[busmadrod]

I live in Ripley, why would i catch a bus to Springfield, for a slow all stops train that takes almost and hour, when i can drive to Booval and get an express train that takes 45 minutes...................as this bus is only on trial it will fail, because it does not take people to a convenient location for getting to the City

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The car park at Springfield Central station is filled to overflowing and plans are to spend over $4millon increasing capacity, it is said that some of these commuters drive from Ripley. On the days that I travelled on the 531 it was also used by School children going from Springfield to Ripley. Ripley has no other public transport, except school buses in term time, and at least it is a start, even if only runs weekdays at the moment.

[busmadrod]

Ripley has route 509 Yamanto to Riverlink that operates 7 days a week from 5.53am to 7.22pm weekdays, 8am to 5pm Saturday and 9am to 4pm Sunday, whereas this route only operates in Peak, route 509 takes 30 minutes to travel to Ipswich and route 531 only operates every 2 hours from 5.30 to 9.30 weekdays only.........But of course it is quicker for me to drive, and a lot of my workmates do the same, because South East Queensland has the worst public transport system in the World

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The 509 route does not go anywhere near Ripley. The nearest it physically goes to Ripley is Equestrian Drive Yamanto which is separated from Ripley by the Cunningham Highway and A5 and miles of open country. If traveling to Ipswich station from Yamanto it would be better to use the 515 which is more direct along Warwick Road (18 minutes) as the 509 goes though Flinders View and Raceview and takes longer (32 minutes).
The 531 has 14 buses a day in each direction approximately hourly (they do not depart at consistent minutes past the hour) between 5.33am and 9.28 pm weekdays only except for an interval in the middle of the day when there is a 2 hour gap.
Of course it is often quicker to drive and more convenient. The problem comes when everybody does it at the same time, traffic jams, and then where to park the car at the destination, see Springfield Central station car park and surrounds. Understandably shift workers have to have there own transport to and from work but in places where there is no or very little public transport, problems arise when the different family members need to go off to different locations. They need a car each. Why move into the middle of the bush and lament the lack of public transport?
All the timetables can be downloaded from the Translink web site.