There are no plans to extend public transport services to the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, despite complaints from passengers. This follows BICT announcing it will soon create 340 more onsite car parks because of a surge in demand.

Translink said it will continue to monitor potential demand for public transport to the terminal and surrounding land as the area develops in response to Brisbane cruise passengers calling for public transport.

“The provision of transport options, such as shuttle buses, to and from Brisbane’s cruise ship terminals is commonly operated by the individual cruise ship operators,” a Translink spokesperson told Cruise Passenger. “This allows services to be coordinated with specific cruise ship arrival and departure times which are seasonal and are subject to change.

“Due to the irregular nature of cruise ship terminal operations, regular scheduled bus or ferry services are not an appropriate transport solution to meet this need.”

Port of Brisbane CEO, Neil Stephens, recently announced the extra car spaces after BICT welcomed 138 vessels and almost 650,000 passengers in its first year of operation. The port will welcome more than 160 vessels during the 2023/24 cruise season, from October 2023-September 2024.

Passengers not impressed

But the car park announcement did not impress Brisbane cruise passengers who have called for public transport links.

“I cannot fathom why public transport is not available to the terminal on cruise days. What were planners thinking of?” posted Julie. “It’s in the middle of nowhere. Again looks impressive visually but not well thought out from a practical consumer angle. And it’s easily fixed.”

Said Jo: “Agree this new terminal is disappointing. There is no proper undercover parking so we use Portside. The old terminal though small was at least in a nice position with shops and cafes. A ferry to city is definitely needed and I wish there was a moving walkway to ship like at airports as it is a long walk if a bit infirm. We have seen many struggling with the long walk.”

Said Des: “As a passenger I have used the wonderful new cruise terminal but options for public transport are non-existent apart (from) expensive taxis or Uber. Had to catch a Uber to the nearest bus stop which was still $20 down the road. Surely there could be a bus service laid on from Doomben train station to the cruise terminal.

Another cruise passengers calling for public transport was David Clark:  “Why not get a CityCat terminal. How hard would that be?”

Port of Brisbane Pty Ltd, owner of the BICT, will oversee the extension to be completed by 2024. It will increase the size of existing car parks 2 and 3 and relocate the staff car park. The additional car parks will increase total onsite car parking to 1282 parking bays.