Lord Mayor Campbell Newman has pledged to up the ante in tackling traffic congestion by putting another 500 new buses on Brisbane roads in four years – if he can get a Can Do team behind him to make it happen.

Cr Newman today announced that he would buy or build 120 buses in the first year alone – four times Labor’s paltry 30 buses a year average. (Labor bought only 63 buses total from 1995-2000)

The ‘Can Do’ Lord Mayor vowed to also build another two massive bus depots to fuel and house the new buses during the next term, in addition to the $60 million depot currently underway.

“In 2004 I promised to put 240 buses on the road in four years but I actually put 330 brand new rigid buses on our roads – 40 per cent more than I promised – and it could have been more if I did not have a Labor public transport chair working against me,” he said.

“By air-conditioning Labor’s old buses I took the number of buses with air-conditioning in Brisbane from one-in-three buses under Labor to three out of four buses, or 78 per cent of the fleet.

“That helped make bus travel hugely popular in Brisbane which sparked a 37 per cent increase in bus trips from 48 million trips a year under Labor to 66 million trips this year under my leadership.”

To meet the challenge of increased bus patronage, the Lord Mayor conducted a transport study of Brisbane that found 110 buses a year over 10 years on average would be required to meet demand.

He fast-tracked a $60 million bus depot at Willawong that will open next term and began planning for two more large depots, in the north and south of Brisbane.

Cr Newman also funded 30 new super-sized buses - banana or articulated buses - to run on the high frequency BUZ routes, where buses arrive with greater frequency and need more capacity.

“I have added a new bus to the fleet every three working days on average compared to Labor’s paltry effort of providing just 30 buses a year on average,” the Lord Mayor said.

“I am proud of what my team has achieved with buses over the past four years – now we have to do even more if we are going to lock in the gains we have made.

“This is about dealing with traffic congestion by making sure our buses are fast, clean and modern and provide a real alternative to cars. It’s about building on the momentum of the past four years.”

Cr Newman said he could have done more in the area of public transport if Labor had not reneged on a written agreement to allow him to appoint his own public transport chair.

“Labor tore up a written agreement and appointed a Labor public transport chair who had a vested interest in not performing. Last year alone I funded 90 buses and she produced just 75 buses.”

Bus facts in Brisbane:

• Campbell Newman funded 330 buses in four years compared to Labor’s funding of just 63 buses in five years in the late 1990s.
• Buses last 20 years on Brisbane roads so the current bus shortage can be traced directly to Labor. Brisbane has about 900 buses.
• Campbell Newman funded 82 buses a year on average in this term compared to Labor’s 30 buses a year on average during the Jim Soorley era.
• Labor’s 30 bus purchases a year was not enough to keep pace with the current rate of bus retirements (35 a year).
• Campbell Newman doubled public transport spending to $200m a year compared to $100 million a year in Labor’s best year, just before the 2004 election.
• Campbell Newman has air-conditioned 78 per cent of Brisbane’s bus fleet compared to just 35 per cent of the fleet that had air-conditioning under Labor.
• Labor signed a document to allow Campbell Newman to appoint his own public transport chair (Liberal Graham Quirk) and then tore it up in August 2006 and appointed a Labor chair who cut 17 buses from the budget; delayed three CityCat ferries and one ferry terminal and hid letters from bus companies offering Brisbane buses.
• Campbell Newman delivered 40 per cent more buses (330) than he originally promised (240).