Riverfire spectators say they endured frightening and dangerous crowd crushes and hours-long delays as they travelled home on public transport after the annual air force and fireworks display on Saturday night.

Others abandoned their efforts to get into the city to watch the event as they could not get on already-full buses and trains.

More than half a million people converged on prime vantage points in the CBD, South Bank, Kangaroo Point, Howard Smith Wharves and Wilsons Outlook to watch the fireworks, which marked the start of the Brisbane Festival.

The public transport debacle raised questions about the effectiveness of the new Metro bus services and how Brisbane would move people around the major events at the 2032 Olympic Games.

Some who made it into the inner city questioned why

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