Free holiday buses all set to bust traffic congestion

Sunshine Coast Council's free holiday bus services are all set to ease traffic congestion and parking problems during the busy period from Boxing Day to 3 January.

All the buses on Route 600 from Caloundra to Mooloolaba and on to Maroochydore, ending at Sunshine Plaza, will be free.

Council's Integrated Transport Services Manager Stuart Arden said the congestion-busting initiative, funded by council's public transport levy, has strong support from local tourism and business groups.

"It's an important step towards addressing traffic gridlock around some of our most popular holiday hot spots during the Christmas-New Year period,'' Mr Arden said.

"This is a genuinely viable alternative to private vehicles for local residents and visitors. The free buses provide a reliable, efficient, stress-free option for people heading to work, the beach, the shops or the cinema.

"We also hope it will encourage new passengers to consider public transport as an option all year round."

Mr Arden said most buses in the Noosa area will also be free during the same period, and it's the success of that program in previous years that has seen it extended to the coastal strip between Caloundra and Maroochydore.

The Route 600 service is being funded by Sunshine Coast Regional Council as an initiative of the Public Transport Levy, and delivered in partnership with Sunbus and TransLink.  The ongoing Noosa services are also supported by Tourism Noosa.

For more information or timetables, visit http://www.travelsmartsc.com.au or www.translink.com.au or call TransLink on 13 12 30.

Timetables are also available at all council offices, libraries and Visitor Information Centres - or by calling call 5449 5200.

FREE HOLIDAY BUSES

Caloundra to Maroochydore Free Holiday Buses (26 December to 3 January)

New to the Free Holiday Buses program in 2009 is the inclusion of Sunbus Route 600 (Maroochydore to Caloundra).  This service is being funded by Sunshine Coast Regional Council as an initiative of the Public Transport Levy, and delivered in partnership with Sunbus and TransLink.

The Free Service from 26 December 2009 to 3 January 2010 will operate on the standard Route 600 schedule.  For everything you need to know about these free Route 600 services download one of the following:

    *      Route 600 Free Holiday Bus Timetable PDF (1.1MB)
    *      Fact Sheet (Caloundra to Maroochydore region) PDF (511KB)
    *      Fact Sheet (Marcoola to Coolum region) PDF (500KB)

Noosa Free Holiday Buses (26 December to 3 January)

For everything you need to know about the Free Noosa Holiday Buses, download a;

    *      Noosa Free Holiday Buses Timetable PDF (2.2MB) or a
    *      Noosa Free Holiday Buses Fact Sheet PDF (363KB)

From 26 December 2009 to 3 January 2010, the following Sunbus services will operate FREE of charge in the Noosa region:

Regular Services

Route 626 - St Andrews Drive to Sunrise Beach
Route 627 - Tewantin to Sunshine Beach
Route 628 - Noosa Heads to Noosa Parklands
Route 629 - Tewantin to Noosa National Park
Route 632 - Cooran to Noosa Heads via Pomona & Cooroy

Additional Temporary Free Services

Route 064 - Peregian Beach to Noosa Heads
Route 065 (park n' ride) - Noosa Junction to Tewantin via Gympie Terrace and Noosa Heads

You can catch the buses from your local stop, or park 'n' ride from the car park at Cnr. Cooyar Street and Sunshine Beach Road in Noosa Junction (in front of Le Cyclo Sportif or outside Noosa 5 Cinemas).

Boreen Point $2 Taxi

The Boreen Point $2 Taxi is also offered as a free service during the Free Holiday Buses period.

For more public transport information, visit www.translink.com.au or call TransLink on 13 12 30.


History of the Noosa Free Holiday Buses

The Noosa Free Holiday Buses commenced Christmas / New Year 1999/2000 as a park & ride service, shuttling passengers from the Noosa Australian Football Club in Weyba Road to Hastings Street, in an effort to reduce traffic congestion in the busy Hastings Street precinct.

Due to increasing demands on the shuttle service and the transport infrastructure, over the years, the free service has been increased to include all local Noosa bus services for all passengers throughout the Easter long weekend, and from Boxing Day for approximately 12 days each year.  Additional services are also provided from Peregian to Noosa Heads (servicing the Peregian community which was not serviced by the free local services), and two additional services from Noosa Junction to Tewantin to cater for the influx of people in the local area.

Since inception of the program, passenger numbers have grown considerably, with in excess of 50,000 passengers utilising the service over a 10-day period.

The Noosa Free Holiday Buses are jointly funded by Sunshine Coast Regional Council and Tourism Noosa, and delivered in partnership with Sunbus and TransLink.