With many residents wrapping up the working year and switching to holiday mode, operating hours of some of Brisbane City Council’s services and venues are changing over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has urged residents and visitors to plan ahead when travelling across Brisbane during the festive season.

“Shoppers will have easy access to shops with Council running extra bus services to the major centres in the lead up to Christmas,” Cr Schrinner said.

“CityCat and some other ferry services will be running every 30 minutes and will operate on a public holiday timetable on Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

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.”

Essential services will continue to operate, including weekly bin collections.

“Our city has had a tremendous year of highs and lows. I hope residents enjoy the festive season and are able to spend time with loved ones while spending time enjoying our beautiful city,” Cr Schrinner said.

“Our 33 Council libraries and 22 Council pools are fantastic places to visit during the break but be sure to triple check their opening hours before heading down to your closest facility.

No matter what day it is, our more than 2180 parks across our suburbs are a great place to go with family and friends to play outside or enjoy a picnic.”

For plenty of free and low-cost events happening around the city and suburbs, visit the ‘What’s On’ section of Council’s website for more information.

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, New Year’s Day and Boxing Day.
  • Council’s resource recovery centres are open 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

  • Buses will operate a Sunday timetable on Christmas Day and the Christmas Day public holiday on 27 December. On Boxing Day, buses will operate a Saturday timetable. There will be no early morning CityGlider or NightLink services on Christmas Day, the Christmas Day public holiday or Boxing Day.
  • Buses will operate on a normal Saturday 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.
  • A Sunday timetable will 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 on New Year’s Day, including services between midnight and 5am.
  • For more information, visit www.translink.com.au or phone 13 12 30.

 CityCat Services

  • On Christmas Eve, CityCats and the Bulimba-Teneriffe Cross River ferry will operate on a weekend and public holiday timetable. The CityHopper and Kangaroo Point Cross River ferry will operate on a Monday to Sunday timetable
  • On Christmas Day, CityCats and CityHoppers will operate reduced services and there will be no Kangaroo Point or Bulimba-Teneriffe Cross River services.
  • On Boxing Day and the Christmas Day public holiday on 27 December, all ferry services will operate on a Sunday/Public Holiday timetable.
  • On New Year’s Day and the New Year’s Day public holiday, all ferry services will operate on a Sunday/Public Holiday timetable.
  • For more detailed information on bus and ferry routes and timetables visit www.translink.com.au or call 13 12 30.

Libraries

  • All Council libraries will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Boxing Day holiday and New Year’s Day public holidays.

Pools

  • Council’s 22 pools will be closed Christmas Day but will remain open all other days. More than half of these sites have water play areas ideal for kids. Visit Council’s website to find a pool near you and check opening hours.

City Venues

  • The Planetarium will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Christmas Day public holiday (27 December), New Year’s Day (1 January) and New Year’s Day public holiday (2 January).

Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mt Coot-tha

  • Open to the public all year. Current summertime hours are 8am-6pm. Vehicle access in the Gardens is not permitted on weekends, public holidays and from 4pm on weekdays.
    • Mt Coot-tha Visitor Information Centre – Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day
    • Mt Coot-tha Library – Closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Christmas Day public holiday (27 December), New Year’s Day (1 January) and New Year’s Day public holiday (2 January).
    • Botanic Gardens Café – Closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Open 8.30am to 12pm-noon December 24, otherwise open Mon-Fri 8:30am-4pm and Sat- Sun 8am-4pm