Operating hours of several Brisbane City Council services and venues will change over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has advised residents and visitors to plan ahead when heading out across Brisbane during the Christmas holidays.
Extra bus services will run during peak periods, waste collection and resource recovery centres will be business as usual, as will the award-winning Council call centre.
“There’s some great news for Brisbane shoppers with Council running extra services to cover the extended shopping hours in the lead up to Christmas and on New Year’s Eve,” Cr Schrinner said.
“Even our new double-decker CityCat will be in service on Christmas Day, with CityCat services running every 30 minutes.
“Some Council services will either close or operate differently, but all the information can be found on our website or by calling the Contact Centre.”
Residents can call Council’s Contact Centre 24 hours a day, every day over the holiday season on (07) 3403 8888.
Waste and recycling
Bin collections will continue across the city as usual, including collection days that fall on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day for both wheelie bins and bulk bins.
Council’s resource recovery centres are open from 6.30am to 5.45pm every day of the year, including Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, accepting waste, recycling, tip shop donations and green waste as usual.
Bus Services
From Thursday 19 December to Saturday 21 December, and on Monday 23 December, there will be extra bus trips and services to the following hubs to coincide with extended shopping hours:
• CBD
• Indooroopilly
• Garden City
• Carindale
• Chermside
The following changes will be in place on Christmas Day and Boxing Day:
• Buses will operate a Sunday timetable on Christmas Day and a Saturday timetable on Boxing Day.
• There will be no early morning CityGlider or NightLink services on Christmas Day or Boxing Day.
The following changes will be in place on New Year’s Eve:
• Buses will operate on a normal weekday timetable on New Year’s Eve but with some extra services, including CityGlider and Maroon Glider, for people wanting to enjoy the fireworks at South Bank.
The following changes will be in place on New Year’s Day:
• A Sunday timetable will also operate on New Year’s Day, with extra NightLink trips providing half hourly services on all NightLink routes in the early morning.
• The CityGlider and Maroon Glider will operate a Sunday timetable, including services between midnight and 5am.
For more information, visit www.translink.com.au or phone 13 12 30.
Ferry Services
All normal weekday timetables will apply on Christmas Eve.
The following services will operate on Christmas Day:
• CityCats will run every 30 minutes.
• CityHopper and the Kangaroo Point and Norman Park to New Farm Park Cross River ferries will operate a normal Monday to Sunday timetable
• The Bulimba to Teneriffe Cross River ferry will not operate, but the cross river service will be serviced by CityCat every 30 minutes.
The following services will operate on Boxing Day:
• CityCats and the Bulimba to Teneriffe Cross River ferry will run according to a normal public holiday timetable on Boxing Day
• All other services will run to their normal timetable.
The following services will operate on New Year’s Eve:
• CityCats will operate on their usual timetable but will have additional services running from approximately 6.30pm
• The last services will depart Northshore Hamilton and UQ St Lucia at around 1.30am.
• The CityHopper and Kangaroo Point Cross River ferry will also operate on their usual timetable with some extra services until 2am.
• The Norman Park to New Farm Park and the Bulimba to Teneriffe Cross River ferries will operate a normal weekday timetable.
The New Year’s Eve firework displays at 8.30pm and midnight will delay some services.
QUT Gardens Point ferry terminal will close from 3pm on New Year’s Eve until 6am New Year’s Day.
Other terminals in the vicinity of firework displays will be closed from around 8.20pm to 8.50pm, and from 11.50pm to 12.15am.
The following services will operate on New Year’s Day:
• CityCats will run according to the normal public holiday timetable.
• The CityHopper, Kangaroo Point and Norman Park to New Farm Park Cross River ferries will operate a normal Monday to Sunday timetable.
• The Bulimba to Teneriffe Cross River ferry will operate a normal weekend timetable.
For more detailed information on bus and ferry routes and timetables visit www.translink.com.au or call 13 12 30.
Libraries
All 33 Council libraries will be closed on Christmas Eve (from 6pm), Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve (from 6pm) and New Year’s Day.
Check with your local library for their operating hours or visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/libraries.
Pools
Council’s 22 pools are closed on Christmas Day but will be open every other day over the hot summer months. Visit Council’s website to find a pool near you and check opening hours.
City venues
The Planetarium will be closed on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Victoria Park Golf Complex and St Lucia Golf Links will be closed on Christmas Day but open on all other public holidays.
Brisbane Botanic Gardens at Mt Coot-tha remains open 365 days per year. Opening hours over the Christmas and New Year period remain the same, 8am-6pm. There is vehicle access within the Gardens on weekdays except on weekends and public holidays. Gates will be closed to vehicle access on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
The Mt Coot-tha Visitor Information Centre will be closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.