The improvements are coming to all of the ACT’s districts, including 61 new services in Gungahlin. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
At long last, Canberra commuters will soon have access to more frequent bus services on Sundays under a new weekend timetable starting later this month.
From Sunday, 31 August, local bus services will run every hour from the first service of the day until about 2 pm, while Rapid services will continue operating every 15 to 30 minutes across the weekend.
The changes will see hundreds of additional services added across the city, including:
- 87 in Belconnen
- 61 in Gungahlin
- 77 in central Canberra
- 111 in Woden
- 54 in Molonglo and Weston Creek
- 85 in Tuggeranong.
After 2 pm, check the Transport Canberra timetable to see which services continue running.
A new bus stop has also been built at the new main entrance to the Canberra Hospital on Bateson Road. From the end of the month, Rapid 6 and Local 902 services will stop there to provide direct access for patients, visitors and staff.
Transport Canberra executive branch manager Ian McGlinn said the update reflected changing travel patterns.
“We know that the travel habits of Canberrans have changed and there is a demand from the community for more Sunday bus services,” he said.
“We have seen a positive increase in patronage on both local and rapid services since the introduction of hourly local bus services throughout the day on Saturdays last year.”
Ian McGlinn says there is demand for more Sunday services. Photo: ACT Government.
Mr McGlinn said the 2025-26 ACT Budget had funded improvements to weekend transport, enabling Transport Canberra to increase services while maintaining reliability.
With services stopping at 2 pm, the expanded timetable doesn’t quite deliver on an ACT Labor pre-election commitment, however, which was to increase “the frequency of local routes to hourly on Sundays during the day”.
Rapid 6 services will be temporarily diverted away from bus stops on Ainsworth Street in Garran to accommodate the new Canberra Hospital stop.
Light rail timetables are unaffected and will continue running every 15 minutes on weekends.
