brisbane.com.au
Brisbane Transport - Buses, Ferries and Hire Cars
Airport transfers
The Brisbane airport is connected by train and bus services, as well as taxis (cabs) and hire cars,
BY TRAIN: A commercial train service operates between the airport and Brisbane, and then continues on to the Gold Coast. Trains depart domestic terminal every 4 minutes and international terminal every 15 minutes. The trip from the domestic or international terminals to central Station takes 20-24 minutes and, as at September 2015, an adult fare cost $15.30 if booked online at airtrain.com.au. Children aged 14 and under travel free between the airport and the city when accompanied by an adult with a ticket.
BY BUS: Shuttle bus services operate between the airport and city hotels, as well as between the airport and Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hotels.
BY CAR: Chauffer-driven cars operate between the airport and city hotels. As at October 2015, hire cost started from $24 one way.
TAXIS (CABS): There are taxis queues outside both the domestic and international terminals. An average cab fare from the airport to the CBD, a distance of about 17 kilometres, ranges from $41 to $49, depending on time of day and traffic.
HIRE CARS: There are numerous hire car agencies operating from both the domestic and international terminals at the airport.
Getting around
If you're visiting Brisbane as a tourist you will mainly use buses and ferries to travel around the central business district, Southbank and river areas. Buses and ferries grant you access to all the attractions in the heart of the city. If you want to travel outside the city to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast you have the option of travelling by rail, with connecting bus services.TransLink South East Queensland operates a prepaid electronic ticket service called "go card" which allows visitors to Brisbane to travel seamlessly on all TransLink bus, train, ferry and tram services. Using go card, you "touch on" at the beginning and end of each trip. The fare is automatically deducted from the card.
List of go card outlets in CBD
Buses
For visitors to Brisbane there are two excellent pre-paid bus services, the Blue CityGlider (route 60) and Maroon Glider (route 61), which run throughout the central business district
and inner-western and south-eastern suburbs. The buses pick up every five minutes during peak hours and every 10 to 15 minutes during off-peak, and operate 24 hours a day on Fridays and
Saturdays, and 18 hours a day for the remaining days of the week.
The Blue CityGlider, the service accessed by most visitors, runs throughout the CBD and has seven stops.
It runs from the West End ferry station to the Teneriffe ferry station, passing through Fortitude Valley, with its popular mall, cafes and outdoor music attractions.
The Maroon CityGlider covers the inner-western and south-eastern suburbs and runs from Ashgrove to Langlands Park station. Some of the attractions along the route include Ashgrove
Village shopping precinct, Paddington boutiques and cafes, Suncorp Stadium, Caxton Street food and cultural precinct, King George Square, Cultural Centre, South Bank Parklands, The Gabba
and Stones Corner outlet shopping.
Passengers are required to use a pre-paid GoCard to touch on/off when boarding and exiting both bus services.
The Glider bus stops can be identified by signs and painted kerbs.
Route 60 - Blue City Glider stops
* Orleigh St at West End ferry, stop 15, West End (Brisbane City)
* Montague Rd at Cordeaux Street, stop 30/14, West End
(Brisbane City)
* Montague Rd near Victoria St, stop 10, West End (Brisbane City)
* Montague Rd at Donkin Street, stop 7, West End (Brisbane City)
* Mollison St near Melbourne St, stop 5, South Brisbane
* Cultural Centre station
* Adelaide Street Stop 20 at City Hall, City
* Adelaide Street Stop 28 near Hutton Lane, City
* Wickham Street Stop 229 near Warner St, Fortitude Valley
* Wickham St at Light Street, stop 7, Fortitude Valley
* Skyring Tce near Cunningham St, Newstead (Brisbane City)
* Commercial Rd at Teneriffe Ferry, stop 16, Teneriffe
Route 61 - Maroon Glider stops
* Stewart Rd near Devoy St, stop 44, Ashgrove
* Jubilee Tce near Effie St, Bardon
* MacGregor Tce at Bardon, stop 15, Bardon
* Latrobe Tce at Gilday Street, stop 12, Paddington
* Latrobe Tce at Paddington Central, stop 10, Paddington
* Given Tce at Paddo Tavern, stop 6, Paddington
* Caxton St near Chapel St, stop 4, City
* Roma Street busway station
* King George Square bus station
* Cultural Centre station
* South Bank busway station
* Mater Hill station
* Woolloongabba station
* Logan Rd at Lewis Street, stop 11/12, Woolloongabba
* Stones Corner station
* Langlands Park station
If you want to travel further afield, the TransLink website has complete details of all bus services throughout the Brisbane metropolitan area.
Ferries
Ferries are a vital part of inner-city travel in Brisbane and offer visitors a wonderful cruise experience on the Brisbane River.
Trains
The main railway station in Brisbane is Roma Street, which is situated in the CBD. Roma Street Station is a central hub for all suburban, country and interstate rail services. From there you can access the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. A map showing Translink's south-eastern railway coverage can be viewed here.
City cycle hire
The Brisbane City Council operates a bicycle hire system throughout the inner city area. "CityCycle" has up to 2000 bikes available from 150 CityCycle bike stations, from University of
Queensland at St Lucia to New Farm. The bicycle network links bus, train and ferry connections and is a great way to get around the inner city and nearby suburbs.
Bicycles are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and courtesy helmets are available (you can choose a bike with, or without, a helmet).
The first 30 minute use of the bicycle is free. Thereafter, the next half hour costs $2.20, and the next hour $6.05, rising to $19.80 for two to three hours, $38.50 for three to five hours,
and $77.00 for five to 10 hours. Once you exceed 10 hours, the cost rises to $165.00.
Map of cycle stations - click for larger image