Cultural Centre busway station

Cultural Centre
File:Cultural-Centre-Busway-Station.jpg
Location	Melbourne Street, South Brisbane
Coordinates
Owned by	TransLink
Platforms	2
Connections	South Brisbane railway station, CityCat, CityFerry
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Fare zone	1
Services
Preceding station   Translink   Following station Terminus South East Busway South Bank toward Woolloongabba or Springwood Terminus Northern Busway King George Square toward RWBH (current) and Bracken Ridge (proposed)

The Cultural Centre Busway Station, at South Bank, is part of the South East Busway served by TransLink bus routes. The busway station is the first stop outside the city, and in Zone 1 of the TransLink integrated public transport system. The busway station is located directly south of Victoria Bridge which is close to the South Brisbane Railway Station, as well as the CityCat catamaran ferry wharf.

The station takes its name from its location within the Queensland Cultural Centre precinct. The platforms are accessible from the pedestrian bridge linking the Queensland Performing Arts Centre to the Queensland Museum and Queensland Art Gallery. The station is also close to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, Suncorp Piazza and the western end of the South Bank Parklands.

Services

The Cultural Centre Busway Station services buses to the southern suburbs and South East Busway as well as providing an alternative terminus to the Brisbane CBD for many bus services from northern suburbs including the Northern Busway . Many CityXpress and most of BUZ routes pass through the station, providing convenient transfer to and from major servicing areas outside the city.

Platforms

Services generally depart as follows:-

Platform	Services
Platform 1 ("Inbound")	Inbound Services from South-East Busway, West End and University of Queensland to City and Fortitude Valley Outbound services to Northern Suburbs via the Northern Busway
Platform 2 ("Outbound")	Outbound Services from City and Fortitude Valley to Southern and Eastern Suburbs, West End and University of Queensland Outbound Services from City to Western Suburbs Terminating services from Northern Suburbs via Northern Busway

Northern Busway services

As of 2009, no Northern Busway services directly connect King George Square Busway Station with the Queen Street Bus Station. After stopping at Cultural Centre Station, a number of Outbound (Northbound) services bypass the Queen Street Bus Station and stop at the King George Square on the northern side of the Brisbane River, and vice versa.

Peak hour services

During peak hours, many peak hour express routes bypass the station to ease the congestion due to the already large amount of passengers using the station.

In October 2007, TransLink introduced a Peak Hour Prepaid restriction in order to improve efficiency of buses departing from Platform 2. During the evening peak:

• passengers must use a Go Card or pre-purchase tickets from ticket vending machines prior to boarding buses.
• bus arrivals are announced and allocated to designated stops on Platform 2 - this avoids the need for passengers to hail buses, and the need for buses to stop more than once at the Station.

Following the successful trial the peak hour prepaid restriction has been extended to South Bank and Mater Hill Busway Stations commencing 19 April 2008, and King George Square Busway Station since its opening in May 2008.

Facilities

A pedestrian bridge towards the south of the Cultural Centre Busway Station, which provide access to the platforms, connects the Queensland Performing Arts Centre with both the Queensland Museum and the Queensland Art Gallery. The elevated pedestrian bridge has three lifts - one lift is in front of the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, another lift (for bus platform 1) is located in front of the Queensland Museum, and the third lift (for bus platform 2) is located in the centre of the street.

There is a giant-size model of a Cicada right outside Platform 2 of the station (possibly due to the Cultural Centre Busway Station being the bus stop for the museum).

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons