Brisbane runs one of the simplest fare systems of any big city in the world: almost every bus, train, ferry, and Metro ride costs a flat 50 cents, no matter how far you go. One agency, TransLink, ties it all together under a single tap-on, tap-off card — you just need to know that the airport train is a different company entirely, with its own, much higher fare.
The basics
Queensland Rail runs the Citytrain network — electric suburban trains on lines reaching north to the Sunshine Coast and Redcliffe Peninsula, south to Beenleigh, Cleveland, and the Gold Coast, and west to Ipswich and Rosewood, all funnelling through Brisbane’s Central and Roma Street stations.
Buses are the backbone of the network, including the turn-up-and-go CityGlider routes and the newer Brisbane Metro — a high-frequency bus rapid transit system running on dedicated busways. Its two routes, M1 (Eight Mile Plains to Roma Street) and M2 (UQ Lakes to Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital), use long articulated electric vehicles and run every 5 minutes for most of the day.
On the river, CityCat catamaran ferries run the length of the city from UQ St Lucia to Northshore Hamilton, while smaller KittyCat ferries cross the river on four shorter routes. There’s no light rail or tram within Brisbane itself — the Gold Coast’s G:link tram is a separate network an hour south.
How to pay
You’ve got three ways to pay, and all three get the same 50-cent fare:
- Tap a contactless bank card or your phone (Apple Pay / Google Pay) on the green reader. No setup required — it just works, and it’s the easiest option for a short visit.
- Get a go card, TransLink’s reloadable smartcard, from go card retailers, station machines, or online, and top it up as you go (auto top-up is available too).
- Buy a paper single ticket if you’d rather not tap a card at all.
Whichever you choose, tap on when you board and tap off when you leave — on buses and ferries the reader is by the door, on trains and busway platforms it’s at the station. If you forget to tap off, you’re charged a $2.50 default fare instead of the usual 50 cents, since the system has no way to know how far you went.
Fares
Since August 2024 Queensland has run a flat-rate experiment that turned permanent: every trip is 50 cents, regardless of distance, mode, or time of day. That single rate now covers:
- Queensland Rail Citytrain services (not Airtrain)
- Buses, excluding dedicated school services
- Brisbane Metro (M1 and M2)
- CityCat and KittyCat ferries
- On-demand transport services
It applies equally whether you tap a go card, a contactless bank card, or buy a paper ticket, and to every passenger type — adult, concession, senior, student. Children aged 4 and under always ride free, and children 5–14 with an orange child go card ride free on weekends. The old zone-based fares, off-peak discounts, and frequent-traveller discounts are gone, because there’s nothing left to discount.
Transfers are free if you use the same go card, contactless card, or phone for every leg: tap on, tap off, tap on again — up to three transfers combine into a single 50-cent fare as long as your next leg starts within an hour, your final leg starts within 3.5 hours of your first tap-on, and the whole trip stays under 6 hours.
This 50-cent cap isn’t a trial anymore — the Queensland Parliament passed legislation locking it in permanently, so it’s not something that’s about to expire.
Getting from the airport
Brisbane Airport (BNE) is connected to the city by Airtrain, a privately run train line that is not part of TransLink’s 50-cent network.
- Cost: $23.30 one-way, adult, to any Brisbane City station (Eagle Junction, Wooloowin, Albion, Bowen Hills, Fortitude Valley, Central, Roma Street, or South Brisbane). Children 14 and under travel free with a paying adult.
- Time: about 20 minutes to the city.
- How often: roughly every 15 minutes at peak times.
- Hours: trains run from about 4:30am to 10pm.
- Payment: Airtrain tickets (bought online or at the station), go card, and contactless bank cards all work — but an Airtrain fare only covers train travel. It doesn’t transfer onto a bus or ferry, and if you don’t tap off properly, the default fare is a steep $25.80.
Because Airtrain is so much pricier than the rest of the network, it’s worth deciding in advance whether the time saved is worth it versus a rideshare or taxi, especially for a group.
Apps to download
- Translink app — the official app, which replaced the older MyTranslink app in 2025. It handles journey planning, real-time departures (“Departures”), and saved trips with notifications (“My trips”).
- Google Maps — solid for quick trip planning with live TransLink data baked in.
- Moovit — a popular alternative for step-by-step directions and live arrivals.
When it runs
Brisbane’s core frequent network — a couple dozen key bus routes, both Brisbane Metro lines, and several train line segments — runs every 15 minutes or better, Monday to Friday (some train segments only hold that frequency 7am–7pm). Brisbane Metro keeps up 5-minute frequencies on weekdays from 6am to 6pm, stretching to 24-hour weekend service from Friday evening through Sunday evening.
Outside those hours, service is thinner but doesn’t fully stop: NightLink buses and trains run between midnight and 5am on Friday and Saturday nights, with security guards riding the late buses. NightLink trains stop at every station on the Beenleigh, Caboolture, and Ipswich lines — handy to know if you’re heading home from a night out.
Accessibility
Buses have low-floor entry, ramps, and dedicated wheelchair and mobility-scooter bays; busway stations (including Brisbane Metro stops) have lifts and ramps throughout. Trains carry allocated wheelchair spaces, and staff assist boarding at marked access points on the platform. On the river, every CityCat has four wheelchair/scooter spaces and is fully accessible — but the smaller KittyCat cross-river ferries are not. Call TransLink on 13 12 30 (24 hours) if you need to check accessibility for a specific trip.
Etiquette & local quirks
- Tap on, tap off, every single time — including transfers. Skip it and you’re charged the $2.50 default fare instead of 50 cents.
- Use the same card for the whole trip. Transfers only combine into one fare if every tap is on the same go card, bank card, or phone.
- Brisbane Metro vehicles board like a train — wide doors, multiple entry points — so spread out along the platform rather than bunching at one door.
- An Airtrain ticket is a different product from a TransLink fare: don’t expect to tap your go card balance onto an Airtrain-only trip and have it treat it like the rest of the network, and vice versa.
Good to know
- The 50-cent fare is now permanent law, not a temporary discount — Queensland’s Parliament passed legislation capping TransLink fares at 50 cents per journey.
- Airtrain is the one expensive exception. At $23.30 one-way, it costs roughly 46 times a regular TransLink trip — know that before you budget for the airport leg of your visit.
- Fortitude Valley train station has limited overnight access (only open 3:15am–4am), which matters if you’re relying on a NightLink train from there.