GO NOOSA TRANSPORT INITIATIVES 2023/24 EVALUATION AND 2024/25 IMPLEMENTATION · Report

GENERAL COMMITTEE MEETING                                                         12 AUGUST 2024


The Go Noosa peak period initiatives aim to manage traffic and congestion over
the Queensland Christmas and Easter school holidays, whilst prioritising pedestrian, bike, bus and
ferry movements.

The plan includes a range of measures to encourage the use of sustainable transport, including free
bus travel on existing Translink bus services within Noosa Shire, provision of the high
frequency 065 Go Noosa Shuttle, promotion of park & ride locations, promotion of the Noosa ferry,
traffic control and wayfinding signage to assist the movement of pedestrians, buses and vehicle
flow, data collection, enforcement, and collaboration with key stakeholders to market and promote
Go Noosa.

The proposed Go Noosa Holidays program includes:

3.1 Free Holiday Buses - Queensland Christmas and Easter School Holidays

The free holiday bus services are a partnership with the State Government Department and
Translink.

Existing Translink Services
The following existing Translink bus services are included in the Go Noosa peak period traffic
management plan:
   • Route 626 – Tewantin to Sunrise Beach via Noosa Heads
   •   Route 627 – Tewantin to Sunshine Beach via Noosa Head
   •   Route 628 – Noosa Parklands to Noosa Junction, via Noosa Civic
   •   Route 629 – Tewantin to Noosa Junction via Noosa Civic
   •   Route 632 – Noosa to Cooran via Cooroy and Pomona (limited services)
Additional Bus Services
  • 064 Peregian Beach to Noosa Heads shuttle bus from 7.32am to 5.32pm. Due to
       the Translink ticketing system, the existing 620 bus service between Peregian Beach and
       Noosa Heads is unable to accommodate free travel on the Noosa component of the service.
       To offer a free service to residents and visitors between Peregian Beach and Noosa Heads,
       the 064 additional bus service is commissioned. This cost of this service per passenger is
       2.3 times higher than the 065 and Translink services.
   •   065 Go Noosa shuttle Bus - The popular route services Hastings Street, Noosa
       Drive, Weyba Road and Noosa Parade runs every 15 minutes from 7am-7pm and every 30
       minutes from 7pm-10pm with the exception of New Year’s Eve when it finishes at 1am.
Excluded Bus Services:
   • Translink bus services 620, 622, 630, and 631 travel outside of Noosa Shire and are unable
      to be included in the free services due to the Translink ticketing process as described above.

There are no changes proposed to the existing free holiday bus services for the foreseeable
future. Council staff are advocating for improved services the Department of Transport and Main
Roads,       particularly     as     part     of the Northern Sunshine    Coast Public Transport
Strategy (see https://www.yoursay-projects.tmr.qld.gov.au/northern-sunshine-coast-public-
transport-strategy ), the scheduled Translink Network Review and the future capability
of Translink Smart Ticketing.

In regard to Translink Smart Ticketing, inclusion of the Noosa component of part of relevant services
will be reviewed as part of Translink’s Smart Ticketing introduction across the region. It is hoped