Redbank Plaza station set to open

THE wheels on the buses should be going round and round this week to and from the new $2 million Redbank Plaza bus station.

The finishing touches are being applied to the station, which is expected to be open for business on Wednesday.

Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said the new station would replace the old bus stops on the western side of the shopping centre, off Collingwood Drive, to cater for rapidly growing passenger numbers.

"This new Redbank Plaza station will improve capacity to allow growing numbers of passengers on existing bus services in Ipswich, including routes 500, 525 and 526 and accommodate new services as they come on line," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"It will make catching the bus at Redbank Plaza a lot more comfortable for the customers that travel on Westside buses, particularly around Redbank, Goodna and Gailes.

"It will also improve safety and reduce the distance buses currently have to travel after recent local road changes to accommodate the Ipswich Motorway Upgrade Project."

Member for Bundamba Jo-Ann Miller said the new bus turnaround will eliminate the need for buses to manoeuvre through shopping centre car park to access the station.

"TransLink recently restructured services around Ipswich to improve timetable reliability, transport connections and built more than 100 new stops throughout the city," Mrs Miller said. "Together, this new station and recent routes restructure offer Ipswich residents better, more direct bus services with more reliable timetables.

Ms Palaszczuk said the station upgrade project was part of the TransLink Station Upgrade Program to improve stations across the network.