2019-11-18 General Committee Agenda

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA                                                 18 NOVEMBER 2019


It is proposed to operate a shuttle bus loop service from 14 December 2019 – 27 January 2020
(every day including all public holidays except 25 Dec). The shuttle would operate on a 15 minute
frequency 7am-7pm and every 30 minutes from 7pm-10pm.
The shuttle would travel in a clockwise direction to make use of the bus queue jump on Noosa
Parade. The shuttle would service Hastings Street, Noosa Drive, Weyba Rd, and Noosa Pde,
stopping at TransLink stops as requested and at temporary bus stops located outside the Noosa
AFL grounds and opposite The J. Both the Noosa AFL grounds and The J car park would be key
Park & Ride locations totalling 500 car parks.

2.     Revised TransLink quote
One of the risks identified in the report to the Services & Organisation Committee Meeting dated 8
October 2019, titled Peak Period Traffic Management Plan 2019/2020, was that the exact shuttle
bus cost may be higher than reported. TransLink have recently advised that upon obtaining
detailed quotes from both Sunbus & Buslink the quote for the Route 065 shuttle bus loop service
has increased.

       Current Shuttle Budget Allocation                                               $65,000
       TransLink Quotes                                                                Amount
       Original TransLink quote                                                       $ 65,000
       Revised TransLink quote                                                        $116,000
The reasons for the price increase:
     Sunbus would need to utlise casual and permanent drivers during their holidays and rostered
      days off to accommodate the service. Sunbus would be required to pay penalty and public
      holiday rates to staff.
     The Buslink depot is closed over the school holidays and would need to be re-opened, in
      addition all of the Buslink drivers are on casual rates.
Additional quotes have been sought from local bus operators and they are within the range of the
Peak Period Traffic Management Plan 2019/2020 shuttle bus budget allocation. The local bus
operator options include either a 1 x 24-seater bus with a trailer or a 1 x 57-seater bus with a trailer.
Bulky goods e.g. surfboards, esky etc. would be required to go in the trailer.
However none of these buses will be Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) compliant or low floor.
Using one of these operators would also require a Transport Operations (Passenger Act) Act 1994,
section 43 agreement with the Department of Transport and Main Roads which will require time to
negotiate.
TransLink have advised that they do not have an existing relationship with the local operators and
as such may be required to undertake due diligence before allowing them to operate a public
passenger service.

3.     Branding
TransLink have advised that the shuttle bus could be wrapped in Go Noosa branding but it is
unlikely that the wrapped bus would be able to remain dedicated to the 065 service as it’s
operationally difficult to achieve. In addition it must comply with the Vehicle Appearance Policy e.g.
TransLink livery must be visible.
The local bus operator’s buses could be wrapped in Go Noosa branding and would be dedicated
to the 065 service.




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