News & Discussion: Public Transport Contracts, Service & Policy

[Norman]

I'm curious if these new machines will complement existing ones or if they will replace them. The new ones don't support the old MetroCards. I also wonder if they will still allow paper tickets

[Spotto]

I'm curious if these new machines will complement existing ones or if they will replace them. The new ones don't sort the old MetroCards. I also wonder if they will still allow paper tickets

Surely the permanent units will have Metrocard usage built in, then they can at least replace the Metrocard-only validators.

They might also take this opportunity to phase out paper tickets completely. Buses are already cashless due to COVID so you can only use your Metrocard (or a paper ticket you’ve already bought) and I doubt they’d be keen on switching it back. And they’ll already be replacing half of the validators so why not replace all of them in one go?

[PeFe]

I would be in favour in getting rid of cash/paper tickets......Metrocard and credit cards only.

And speaking of credit cards as payments I am sure all Australian issued credit cards will work on this new system but foreign cards I am not so sure. I have seen tourists from Germany and Sweden try to use their credit cards on London buses and totally fail.....maybe that situation has been rectified...

So it is probably wise to tell international tourists to buy a Metrocard until the SA government clarifies the technical capabilities of the system. Just because you have a Visa card doesn't make it an automatic payment method on Adelaide transport.

[PeFe]

Free transport to the Adelaide Fringe/Festival from midday Fridays to midnight Sundays.

Heading to the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival?

THINK! Road Safety and leave the car at home. All Adelaide Metro buses, trains and trams to and from the city are free between 12pm Fridays and midnight Sundays, from 18 February to 20 March 2022.

Adelaide comes alive with festivals and events in February and March with the Adelaide Fringe, Adelaide Festival and WOMADelaide promising great days and nights out.

Remember to always wear a face mask on public transport and please stay home if you are unwell.

https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/about- ... tival_2022

[PeFe]

David Washington from In Daily arguing that Adelaide needs better public transport if it is to sustain a larger population.

Ignore population-growth advocates who can't answer this obvious question

OPINION

South Australian business leaders need to become fierce advocates for public transport if they want their calls for speedier population growth to be taken seriously.


Buses trapped in a line of traffic on Morphett Street in the city. Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

Pick a population number, throw it out there, get publicity.

That’s how it works in South Australia when business people want to create a debate about the size of our population. Of course, it’s completely debatable whether state government policy can substantially address the state’s rate of population growth, which continues to lag most other states despite various, mostly disjointed, efforts to make a difference.

In the past month, we’ve seen Business SA repeat its longstanding calls for fast-tracked growth and News Corp launch a campaign for an increased population, backed by a casino, an agribusiness company and an oil and gas company. As part of this push, new Committee for Adelaide chief executive Bruce Djité made a pitch for two million people in the state by 2030.

Bruce believes we have the necessary infrastructure – right now – to accommodate such a population.

The evidence suggests strongly that this assertion is wrong in several areas.

And this point is a key reason why business leaders continue to receive a lukewarm response to their growth agendas.

There are many questions that are almost always entirely ignored, or included as a subsidiary consideration when discussing growth – the impacts on social infrastructure and the environment among them.

But one of the most pressing is this: how, exactly, would South Australia’s transport infrastructure cope with accelerated population growth?

We have the worst public transport system of any major Australian city and a long-standing and heavy reliance on private vehicles.

Carving a multi-billion-dollar road from north to south – as we are doing now – will not improve log-jams on the South Eastern Freeway; it won’t make it easier for a Salisbury parent to get their child to school or childcare; it won’t help a Campbelltown teenager get to their part-time job; it won’t assist elderly South Australians, who no longer drive, to get to medical appointments or their local shops.

What we need – what we’ve desperately needed for many years – is a consensus approach to rebuilding a credible mass public transport system for Adelaide and connecting the city with the regions, not to mention fixing the chronic lack of public transport beyond greater Adelaide.

The state has no integrated or long-term vision for improving its woeful public transport – from either side of politics – and all evidence so far suggests that even the currently projected population increase, let alone accelerated growth, will lead to gridlock on key roads.

SA business leaders need to make this a priority in their growth lobbying, not just by adding some throw-away lines in the fine print, otherwise they are selling an unconvincing dream. Worse, if their aspirations come true in the absence of bold policy action, it will lead to a less liveable Adelaide.

The Committee for Adelaide, itself, made a “high level” submission to Infrastructure SA when it was developing its recent 20-year plan, arguing that the state needs a population growth strategy to address infrastructure needs. “A greater focus will be needed on public transport to free up traffic congestion…,” the submission said, without adding any detail.

That was it.

Other business and developer groups are similar in their cursory, some would say glib, approach to this central issue.

They need to do better than that. Much better, if they want a sceptical public to climb on board the growth train. There are strong arguments for developers to help shoulder the cost burden of public infrastructure required by their ventures: if that’s a bridge too far, the least they can do is become fiercer, more informed, advocates for government action.

The consequences of continuing our directionless doddle will be severe.

Consider these key points from transport modelling for Adelaide, produced for Infrastructure Australia in 2019 (the modelling even factors in a slight shift to public transport from private cars which, post-pandemic, seems unlikely):

By 2031, peak congestion on Adelaide’s roads will increase “significantly”, with inner-city and some suburban road networks under pressure.
“Heavy congestion is forecast both on the South Eastern Freeway itself as well as onto the arterials it connects with.”
“Average vehicle speeds on the road network are expected to decline by approximately five kilometres per hour in the AM and PM peak periods.”
By 2031: “Access to education infrastructure is likely to be more difficult without access to a car.”
The South-Eastern Highway/Glen Osmond Rd Corridor is forecast to be one of the worst-performing in Adelaide.
By 2031 Adelaide’s motorists can expect longer traffic delays, with drivers expected to spend a higher proportion of their journeys stuck in traffic. The Fullarton Road and Goodwood Road corridors are expected to be among the worst for delays.
It’s also not going to be fun on public transport services: “The demand placed on Adelaide’s north-south rail and bus corridors is expected to increase significantly due to population growth in Adelaide’s northern suburbs. By 2031 crowding on the Gawler Line is forecast to worsen substantially with passenger volumes near the capacity of trains.”
Beyond the city limits, the situation is arguably worse. An independent analysis commissioned by Bus SA released last week shows that South Australia’s regions lack even the most basic regular and accessible bus services. South Australia’s per capita spend on regional public transport is tiny compared to others states: $40 per head here, compared to $439 in NSW and $133 in the giant expanses of regional WA.

The final dot point above highlights the challenge we face, given the reluctance of any political party to bring Adelaide’s archaic public transport system into the 21st century. Labor’s light rail plan at the 2018 election was at least something, but it’s unlikely the party will return to that expensive and bold policy.

The Liberals are ponderously continuing the long-awaited electrification of the Gawler line and have worked on some other small rail projects, but its major public transport effort this term was an abandoned attempt to reshape bus services, mostly by reducing the number of stops. The public rejected it and for good reason.

No other major Australian city has such a poorly connected public transport system. No other Australian city has such a relatively tiny rail network – both heavy and light. We are even lagging behind on basic stuff like bus priority lanes. Any transport planner will tell you this: only an efficient, mass public transport system can fix the looming problems.

Even without the acceleration in population growth hoped for by our business community, if our obsession with private vehicles continues, congestion will still choke our complacent city.

It is inevitable. We’re already experiencing it and the car-centric solutions so far have been very damaging to local communities. “Congestion busting” intersection widening projects are starting to rip holes in the urban fabric.

A debate about population is important.

But no call for accelerated growth is credible without an evidence-based prescription for how the basic functioning of our city will be developed in line with that growth.

Lobbyists for population growth need to start pushing governments for rapid and urgent improvements to public transport infrastructure, at the very least.

It’s a matter of equity but, unless significant action is taken soon, it will affect everyone’s lives: from the car-less pensioner to the chauffeured politician.

David Washington is editorial director of Solstice Media, publisher of InDaily.

https://indaily.com.au/opinion/2022/03/ ... -question/

[[Shuz]]

Yet another opinion writer basically rehashing the same common sense and knowledge that the average pleb on these forums already know. What else is news?

Saddest thing is, us plebs are generally more educated than the average commoner but they can't see the wood for the tress on public transport policy and needs.

[PeFe]

Daniel Bowen, former President of the Public Transport Users of Victoria, has written an article comparing public transport fares around Australia.
And yes Adelaide's 28 day $105 deal is the best going out of Australia's major cities.

Comparing fares



Here’s a quick comparison of adult PT fares and discounts in Australian capital cities.

Full article : https://www.danielbowen.com/2022/05/20/comparing-fares/

[1NEEDS2POST]

We also don't charge for connections made in under two hours. Not many other cities are like this.

[PeFe]

We also don't charge for connections made in under two hours. Not many other cities are like this.

No Melbourne Perth and Brisbane give you 2 hours to complete your journey and pay one fare depending on how far you have travelled.

Sydney allows one hour transfer on the same mode (train to train, bus to bus etc) and when transferring to a different mode you receive a "discount" making the second fare much cheaper.

[rubberman]

A million in the State budget for reversing the outsourcing contract...to fund an inquiry.

[Brucetiki]

A million in the State budget for reversing the outsourcing contract...to fund an inquiry.

Now not happening, seems like Keolis is more than happy to work with the government in handing back the operations

https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/06/29/ ... p-forward/

[Jaymz]

This, the inquiry into the MAB decision at former gasworks and the blocking of Westfield's push for paid parking at Tea Tree Plaza are all dangerous examples of this Govts attitude that private contracts can be torn up on a whim. It sends a very poor message for would-be private organisations or investors wanting to stump up their money in our state. Scary stuff indeed.

[SRW]

This, the inquiry into the MAB decision at former gasworks and the blocking of Westfield's push for paid parking at Tea Tree Plaza are all dangerous examples of this Govts attitude that private contracts can be torn up on a whim. It sends a very poor message for would-be private organisations or investors wanting to stump up their money in our state. Scary stuff indeed.

Long bow. Bowden and TPP are populist bullshit, sure, but I think you're hitting the hyperbole button desperately soon.

[1NEEDS2POST]

A million in the State budget for reversing the outsourcing contract...to fund an inquiry.

Now not happening, seems like Keolis is more than happy to work with the government in handing back the operations

https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/06/29/ ... p-forward/

The $1 million enquiry was to read the contract. That shouldn't cost anything, Koutsantonis could get a staffer to do that.

[SBD]

A million in the State budget for reversing the outsourcing contract...to fund an inquiry.

Now not happening, seems like Keolis is more than happy to work with the government in handing back the operations

https://indaily.com.au/news/2022/06/29/ ... p-forward/

The $1 million enquiry was to read the contract. That shouldn't cost anything, Koutsantonis could get a staffer to do that.

Has Keolis Downer realised it underbid on the contract and is not actually making any profit? Perhaps it will cost the Government more to run the service itself than the cost of the contract.