Residents in the Blackall-Tambo Regional Council area will have greater access to public transport through an innovative trial of free bus services in the region.
The Queensland Government is partnering with the Blackall-Tambo Regional Council to support a two-year trial designed to increase transport connections to essential medical, education and community services.
A new bus supported by the Department of Transport and Main Roads’ (TMR) Translink Division will be handed over to Blackall Tambo Regional Council on 13 June, 2025.
The wheelchair-accessible bus has capacity for 24 passengers and is equipped with features including a bull bar, accessible entry step and luggage rack.
Free bus services are scheduled to launch on June 17, 2025, and will initially operate between Blackall, Tambo and Jericho four times per week. The local services will provide connections to existing long distance passenger coach services operating between Longreach and Rockhampton. It will also allow connections to the State regulated air routes running out of Longreach.
Blackall-Tambo Regional Council will be responsible for driver recruitment, service timetable planning and route planning of the service, which will also provide critical connectivity to accessing services providing health, jobs and education.
The critical part of this trial is gathering the data and travel behaviours of the community. This will be used to guide future planning of services in the region.