Hobart Interchange
History
The Hobart Bus Mall has historically been a hub for various transportation routes connecting different parts of Hobart and its surrounding areas. Serving as a central transfer point where passengers can switch between lines, the interchange has a long history of public transportation, previously offering horse-drawn carriages, trams, trolley-buses and taxis. Commencing operations on 23 September 1893, the Hobart Electric Tram Company's city interchange was established outside the Hobart General Post Office on Elizabeth Street. A small tramway shelter, named the "pagoda" was erected on Elizabeth Street to provide protection for tramway officers in 1935. Trams ceased operations in Hobart on 21 October 1960. Trolley-buses ran from 29 October 1935 until 22 November 1968. Following the closure of Hobart railway station on 18 July 1978, the Hobart Bus Mall became the city's primary public transportation hub.
On 19 November 1991, an eight bay bus station opened with Elizabeth Street closed between Collins and Macquarie streets to normal traffic.
Upgrades
In 2015, the Hobart City Council announced a $2 million upgrade to the mall. The upgrades include double the sheltered space, 3-meter-wide pedestrian footpaths, additional seating, improved lighting and bike racks. Commencing in 2017, work on the upgrades was divided into multiple stages as a means to minimise disrupting services and the bus mall reopened in October 2020.
2018 vision
The Tasmanian Liberals released a public transport policy document showcasing a new underground bus mall for the 2018 Tasmanian state election. The plan included concept designs of a new revitalised Elizabeth Street interchange featuring a sunken courtyard with a stepped profile, Macquarie Street as an overpass bridge, with rapid transport electric buses, premium bus stops featuring digital signage and amenities. Infrastructure Minister Rene Hidding announced that if the Liberal government was re-elected, they would take over management of Davey and Macquarie streets from the Hobart City Council. With a cost exceeding $100m, Hidding noted the project would take two years to construct. In spite of the reelection of the Liberal Government, the project has seen no advancement.
Smoke-free Hobart
After the adoption of the ten-year strategic plan by the Hobart City Council, titled Hobart: A community vision for our island capital, specific areas within Hobart's CBD, including the Hobart Bus Mall, were designated as smoke-free zones starting from 15 April 2020.
Pedestrian scramble
Commencing in July 2023, the City of Hobart, in collaboration with the Department of State Growth, activated two pedestrian scrambles, granting pedestrians the ability to traverse in any direction when the traffic signal is green. The initial phase has been initiated at the intersections of Liverpool and Collins Streets, situated at either end of the Elizabeth Street Mall.
Services
Along Elizabeth Street, the Hobart Bus Mall has bus stops outside the Hobart GPO (A1, A2), NAB House (A3), Franklin Square (D3) and the Hobart Town Hall (D4). On Macquarie Street, there are stops situated outside the Colonial Mutual Life Building (C1) and Franklin Square (D1, D2). Situated at the northern end of the Elizabeth Street Mall is a single stop (L1) located on Liverpool Street, facilitating services to the suburbs of Mount Stuart and West Hobart.
Ticketing
A Metro shop located at 40 Elizabeth Street is open from 8 am to 6 pm, Monday to Friday. During daylight savings time in Tasmania, it also operates from 9:30 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. The shop offers free bus schedules and assistance for bus routes, timings, fares, and discounts.
Routes
Hobart's bus routes are numbered with three digits, according to their geographical area:
- Routes for destinations numbers south of Hobart City Centre are prefixed with 4.
- Routes for destinations numbers north of Hobart City Centre are prefixed with 5.
- Routes for destinations numbers east of Hobart City Centre are prefixed with 6.
- Express route variants are prefixed with X.
- School bus routes on the western side of the River Derwent are prefixed with 2 series, and on the eastern shore they are prefixed with 3. For morning services the third digit is odd, in the afternoon it is even.
| Bus Route | Destination | Departing | Stop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500, 501, 502 | Glenorchy | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 503 | Tolosa Park | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 504 | Jackson Street | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 510 | Austins Ferry | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 511 | Claremont | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 512 | Cadbury's Estate | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 513 | Chigwell | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 520 | Bridgewater | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 522 | Gagebrook | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| 722 | New Norfolk | Elizabeth St | A1 (Hobart GPO) |
| X10 | Granton | Elizabeth St | A2 (Hobart GPO) |
| X11 | Claremont | Elizabeth St | A2 (Hobart GPO) |
| X20, X30 | Bridgewater | Elizabeth St | A2 (Hobart GPO) |
| X21 | Brighton | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| X22, X23 | New Norfolk | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 601 | Shoreline Shopping Centre | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 615, X15, 616, X16 | Tranmere | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 624, 625 | Clarendon Vale | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 634, X34 | Roches Beach | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 635 | Seven Mile Beach | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 646, X44 | Opossum Bay | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 685 | Geilston Bay | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| 695 | Risdon Vale | Elizabeth St | A3 (NAB House) |
| X01, X08 | Huntingfield | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| X07, 407, 408, 409, 427, 428, 500 | Blackmans Bay | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 410 | Kingston | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 411 | Howden | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 412 | Margate | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| X13, 413 | Snug | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 415 | Woodbridge | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 416 | Middleton | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 417 | Gordon | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 426 | Taroona | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 429 | Summerleas Road | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| X710, 710 | Huonville | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 712 | Ranelagh | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 714 | Cygnet | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 714 | Geeveston | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 718, 719 | Dover | Macquarie St | D1 (Franklin Square) |
| 446 | Marlyn Road | Macquarie St | D2 (Franklin Square) |
| 447 | Strickland Avenue | Macquarie St | D2 (Franklin Square) |
| 448, 449 | Fern Tree | Macquarie St | D2 (Franklin Square) |
| 401, 402 | Lower Sandy Bay | Elizabeth St | D3 (Franklin Square) |
| X58, 457, 458 | Mount Nelson | Elizabeth St | D3 (Franklin Square) |
| 501, 601 | University | Elizabeth St | D3 (Franklin Square) |
| 541 | Springfield | Elizabeth St | B1 (Mövenpick Hotel) |
| X42, 552, X50 | Glenorchy | Elizabeth St | B1 (Mövenpick Hotel) |
| 551, 552, 553 | Lenah Valley | Elizabeth St | B1 (Mövenpick Hotel) |
| 560, 561 | Glenorchy | Macquarie St | C1 (Colonial Mutual Life Building) |
| 562 | Springfield | Macquarie St | C1 (Colonial Mutual Life Building) |
| 606 | Shoreline Shopping Centre | Macquarie St | C1 (Colonial Mutual Life Building) |
| 654, 655 | Mornington | Macquarie St | C1 (Colonial Mutual Life Building) |
| 664, X64 | Seven Mile Beach | Macquarie St | C1 (Colonial Mutual Life Building) |
| 676 | Rosny Park | Macquarie St | C1 (Colonial Mutual Life Building) |
| 725 | Richmond | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 726 | Campania | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 731, X31, X33 | Sorell | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 732, X32 | Dodges Ferry | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 734 | Nubeena | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 736 | Swansea | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 737 | Bicheno | Elizabeth St | D4 (Hobart Town Hall) |
| 540 | Mount Stuart & West Hobart | Liverpool St | L1 (Elizabeth St Mall) |
References
- ^ "Man gaoled for imposing on taxi driver". The Mercury. Vol. CLXXIII, no. 25, 855. Tasmania, Australia. 30 October 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 15 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Tramway "Pagoda" near Hobart GPO". The Mercury. Vol. CXLII, no. 20, 109. Tasmania, Australia. 6 April 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 15 August 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Metro City Opens Transit Australia March 1992 page 69
- ^ "Bus Mall Improvement Project". Hobart City Council. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ Howard, Jessica (29 January 2015). "Hobart City Council pledges $2m to upgrade bus mall". The Mercury. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
- ^ Howard, Jessica (26 July 2015). "HCC plans $2.5m upgrade of bus mall next year". Perth Now. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
- ^ "Elizabeth Street Bus Mall upgrade resumes". Hobart Observer. 9 July 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ "Hobart bus mall returns to two-way movement". Hobart City Council. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ Kitto, James (17 September 2020). "The completion of major upgrades to the Hobart bus mall will see it reopen next month". The Mercury (Hobart). Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ Burgess, Georgie (1 February 2018). "Liberal Party's vision for Hobart transport criticised as 'bereft of detail'". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Whatever Happened to Hobart's Underground Bus Mall?". Tasmanian Times. 27 March 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
- ^ "Smoke-free Hobart". City of Hobart. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ Hobart Interchange Metro Tasmania
