New buses ‘worse than before’

Translink under fire from Crows Nest residents over changes

TRANSLINK said they were “improving Toowoomba’s bus services” but, for some residents of Crows Nest, the new timetables have done anything but that.

Crows Nest resident Joanne Brackenbury said “nearly everyone” who used the number 950 bus service between Crows Nest and Toowoomba “thinks it is worse than it was before and fewer and fewer people are starting to use the service”.

She said while the old bus service took about 45-50 minutes to get to Toowoomba from Crows Nest, the new route, which goes through the back streets of Highfields, takes around one and a half hours to get to Grand Central.

And it’s the most vulnerable - school children and the elderly - who are worst affected by the changes.

“A lot of the people who catch the bus to and from Crows Nest are either school children or pensioners, with a handful of workers,” Mrs Brackenbury said.

“Having to change buses is ridiculous - most of the elderly find it hard enough to get on and off the bus without the need to transfer from one bus to another.”

What’s most concerning for Mrs Brackenbury, however, is the school run, which her son currently uses and her daughters soon will too.

The dedicated school bus service that runs from Crows Nest is a half-hour walk from Mrs Brackenbury’s home, meaning the 950 bus is her kids’ only option.

The 950 bus now leaves Crows Nest at 6.20am, arriving at Highfields State High School at 7am and Toowoomba State High School Mount Lofty Campus at 7.30am.

Mrs Brackenbury said she was worried about students’ safety, with them arriving on the 950 bus between an hour and a half to two hours before school starts each day.

Mrs Brackenbury has spent the past month trying to raise her concerns with Translink, but her efforts have so far fallen on deaf ears, she says.

“Translink advised they had discussions with people regarding the new service and yet no one in Crows Nest had been consulted.”

A Translink spokesperson said there was “significant engagement” with Towooomba Regional Council and provider Bus Queensland that analysed the use of existing services before any changes were made to the bus network.

“There was also a significant community consultation period, the spokesperson said.

“Based on community feedback and patronage numbers, route 950 was introduced to increase the number of services through Highfields Village, a growing residential area with an increasing demand for services.”

❝Translink advised they had discussions with people regarding the new service and yet no one in Crows Nest had been consulted.

— Joanne Brackenbury