SA BUDGET 2018 - PUBLIC TRANSPORT CUTS

The SA Budget handed down last week by Rob Lucas included a massive $50m reduction in funding for our public transport services.

Seriously, do our ruling elite fully understand the importance of public transport to the people of Adelaide and South Australia?  Clearly not.  Public transport is an essential service, admittedly not as high on the list as Health or Education but important nonetheless.  For many people on a fixed income, pension, unemployed, students etc they have no other transport options available to them.  They rely on public transport for their work, schooling, shopping and socialising.

Many of these people live in traditional 'low socio-economic' suburbs such as Elizabeth, Davoren Park, Smithfield, Craigmore, Salisbury, Paralowie, Parafield Gardens, Hackham West, Huntfield Heights, Christie Downs, Morphett Vale, Taperoo, Birkenhead.  Sadly, the Government (of both persuasions) has seen fit to constantly reduce services to these area's under the guise of being efficient and allocating resources where they are needed most, usually on the O-Bahn, The Parade or Henley Beach Road.

Services have been reduced so much over the years that there are obvious flaws in the network and delivery of services in these outer suburbs.  These being:

• Only one feeder service (Route 451) out of 22 routes connects with the first Gawler Central train in the morning.
• None of the 22 feeder routes connects with the last Gawler Central train from the City.
• The last Route 443 that services Elizabeth North, Elizabeth Downs, Munno Para, Blakeview, Craigmore & Elizabeth Park departs Elizabeth @ 9.27pm daily and connects with the 8.50pm train from Adelaide.
• The first bus from the Northern suburbs does not arrive into the City until 6.39am.
• There are no connecting feeder services to the last Seaford train from the City.
• There are no connecting feeder services to the first Seaford train.

I urge anyone reading this to go out to Gepps Cross or Salisbury Highway / Port Wakefield Road at 5am and just witness the huge volumes of traffic making their way from the Northern suburbs and heading out towards Port Adelaide or the Western suburbs.  Many of the people in these vehicles are wearing Hi-viz which one could assume are factory type workers and quite obviously they are shift workers.  Where is public transport?  It is no where to be seen.  At 5.30am there are only 3 or 4 buses that have already departed Elizabeth or Pooraka Depots.

Conversely, travel to Main South Road / Sturt Road, Brighton Road / Sturt Road or the bottom of the SE Freeway at Glen Osmond and witness the similar volumes of traffic from 5am.  Again public transport is nowhere to be seen.

Then there is the debacle in the Adelaide Hills which stretches almost 80kms from Williamstown to Strathalbyn and about 40kms in width.  This is a huge area and it is mindful to note that this entire region lies closer to the Adelaide CBD than the most farthest AdelaideMetro service, Route 750 to Sellicks Beach which is approximately 55kms from the CBD.  

Now we have this perspective on the size of the Adelaide Hills region and it's close proximity to Adelaide it is astounding that in 2018 many Adelaide Hills towns have no regular public transport or very poor levels of public transport.  Apart from the main trunk service from Adelaide up through Crafers, Stirling, Bridgewater, Hahndorf to Mount Barker which is a fantastic service, public transport goes missing.  

The only weekend public transport that operates outside of the main trunk is 

• Route 837  Mt Barker to Nairne (Saturday Only)
• Routes 800 / 801 Modbury to Birdwood (non Metro) (Saturday Only)
• Route 865 Crafers-Stirling (3 trips)
• Route 823 Crafers-Cleland (3 trips)

Despite the huge tourism venues in the Adelaide Hills along with a rapidly growing population base there are NO weekend services to Balhannah, Oakbank, Woodside, Lobethal, Strathalbyn, Mylor, Meadows, Macclesfield, Echunga, Heathfield, Uraidla, Summertown, Lenswood, Kanmantoo, Callington, Cherry Gardens, Williamstown, Kersbrook, One Tree Hill, Kangarilla, Clarendon, Mount Torrens, Upper Sturt, Norton Summit, Lenswood, Forest Range.  Every single town is much closer to the Adelaide CBD than Sellicks Beach and some have a higher population.

Many of the towns listed above do not receive a Monday-Friday service either and many only 1 or 2 trips a day which is a throwback to the 1950's.

We need an extra $50m injected into our bus services not a reduction.  I urge everyone who reads this and who is passionate enough about their local bus service to contact their local State MP or talkback radio and voice your concern over these impending cuts.  The power is with YOU.

EXTRA SERVICES TO IMPROVE THE SYSTEM

There are some relatively simple measures that should be introduced to significantly improve the service delivery to Adelaide.  With some exceptions, Adelaide's public transport services operate predominantly between 6am and Midnight.  By this I mean services arrive in the City after 6am and last services leave the City before Midnight.  

I did say that there are some exceptions to this rule but on the whole this is the norm, something that dates back to when electric trams ruled the streets of Adelaide, some 60-70 years ago.  Back in 1950's for example, the street lights were even turned off in the wee small hours of the morning.  The only people out and about were the local milkies, News Agents doing their deliveries, Emergency service workers and a handful of other workers. Pubs and clubs were not open, there were no 24/7 service stations, many factories did not operate through the night.  People who went out socialising to the local dance, milkbar, pub or the theatre were home and in bed before Midnight.  That was just how our society was and public transport operating times reflected that.

During WWII many Munitions Factories at Finsbury and Penfield operated to Midnight and as a result the SAR and MTT operated 'Special' After Midnight train and tram services to cater for these workers.  Even more recently, the Holden factory at Elizabeth had it's late shift conclude after Midnight and as a result the last train departed GMH Elizabeth at 12.42am.

Our society is much different today than it was back in the 1950's.  We have 24/7 service stations and convenience stores dotted around Adelaide, pubs and clubs are open to the early hours of the morning most nights of the week.  There are many more businesses that operate through the small hours of the morning than there was 60 years ago.  People go out and socialise at restaurants, pubs, clubs, the casino, theatre and cinema's almost on a daily basis.  We even have night schools, TAFESA have night courses that conclude at 9pm.  Many students don't rush home as they often frequent the coffee shop or a restaurant to unwind. Many of these establishments are open until after 1am.  Not forgetting the general public socialising there is also the staff, many of whom are young people finding their way in the workforce.

Sadly, our public transport services do not go anywhere near catering for our altered lifestyle and for the most part, services are stuck in the 1950's.  99% of trains have departed Adelaide by midnight with the exception of the lightly patronised Belair line.  It's last train departs at 12.21am.  The last tram to Glenelg rolls through the City at about 12.40am and then that is it for public transport until 4.50am when the first bus on the O-Bahn arrives and connects with the first bus to Adelaide Airport.  95% of Adelaide's public transport services will not have their first services arrive in the City until after 6am.  Cross suburban and rail feeder services have a later start and earlier finish in the evening yet they cover more of Adelaide suburbs than radial routes from the CBD.

I propose running extra AM & PM services as follows:

• Gawler Central train - First train departs Gawler Central 3.40am, 4.10am, 4.40am
• Gawler Central train - Last trains departs Adelaide 12.20am, 12.50am, 1.30am
• Seaford train - First train departs Seaford 3.50am 4.20am, 4.50am
• Seaford train - Last train departs Adelaide 12.20am 12.50am, 1.30am
• Outer Harbor train - First train departs Outer Harbor 4.20am, 4.50am
• Outer Harbor train - Last train departs Adelaide 1.00am, 1.40am
• Tram should operate 24/7
• Route 864 - First bus departs Mount Barker 4.00am, 4.40am, 5.20am
• Routes 400, 411, 442, 451, 491 connects with first & last train
• Routes 721, 733, 743, 747, 750, 741 connects with first & last train 
• Route 224 - First bus departs Elizabeth 4.00am, 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route 228 - First bus departs Smithfield 4.10am, 4.40am, 5.10am
• Route 157 - First bus departs Largs Bay 4.40am, 5.10am
• Route B10 - First bus departs Magill 4.30am, 5.00am, 5.30am
• Route B10 - First bus departs West Lakes 4.20am, 4.50am, 5.20am
• Route 254 - First bus departs Port Adelaide 4.00am, 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route 271 - First bus departs Tea Tree Plaza 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route M44 - First bus departs Golden Grove 3.50am, 4.20am, 4.50am
• Route M44 - First bus departs Marion Centre 4.00am, 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route G10 - First bus departs Blair Athol 4.20am, 4.50am, 5.20am
• Route G20 - First bus departs Aberfoyle Park 4.00am, 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route 721 - First bus departs Noarlunga Centre 4.00am, 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route H30 - First bus departs West Lakes 4.00am, 4.30am, 5.00am
• Route H30 - First bus departs Rostrevor 4.30am, 5.10am

Last buses on most of these routes should be between 1.00am-1.30am.

Furthermore, some of the After Midnight services should be altered to standard routes with some of them operating 7 days a week.  Bus routes that should operate 24/7 should be M44, 224, 721, 157, 864, H30, G10/G20 as well as the tram.

Well this is my my vision for a better public transport system which would cater for the community and it's ever changing lifestyles.

PROPOSED SERVICES TO VIRGINIA & TWO WELLS

In my previous post I mentioned that there is a serious lack of public transport services to Virginia and Two Wells.  I therefore put forward my proposal for some new services to operate to these growing area's.

NEW Route 410     Mawson Lakes - Virginia - Two Wells

• Commences from University Parade, Mawson Lakes via r Garden Tce, l Metro Pde, Mawson Interchange, Metro Pde, l Central Lnk, l Elder Smith Rd, Hudson Dr, r Belfree Dr, l George St, l Ryans Rd, r Port Wakefield Rd, r Old Port Wakefield Rd, VIRGINIA, Old Port Wakefield Rd, l Angle Vale Rd, r Old Port Wakefield Rd to the terminus adj Two Wells Craft Shop @ TWO WELLS.

Route 410 will operate 7 days a week, primarily to a 60 min frequency.

NEW Route 409     Salisbury - Virginia - Elizabeth

• Commences from Ann Street, Salisbury via r Wiltshire St, r Church St, l James St, Salisbury Interchange, l Gawler St, r Salisbury Hwy, l Commercial Rd, Bagster Rd, r Diment Rd, l Helps Rd, r Waterloo Corner Rd, r Port Wakefield Rd, r Old Port Wakefield Rd, r Brady St, r Phineas St, l Penfield Rd, l Heaslip Rd, r Womma Rd, r Woodford Rd, l Elizabeth Way, r Frobisher Rd, Oxenham Dr, l Elizabeth Way, r Mountbatten Sq to the terminus @ Elizabeth Interchange, ELIZABETH.

Route 409 will operate Monday to Friday only.
Buses will depart Elizabeth @ 6.30am, 7.30amS, 10.30am, 4.00pm, 6.30pmV
Buses will depart Salisbury @ 6.45amV, 7.50amVS, 1.20pm, 4.10pm
V = To or From Virginia - Route 409A.
S = Operates School Days Only.

NEW Route 490     Gawler - Lewiston - Two Wells

• Commences from Stop 101 Cowan St, Gawler via r Murray St, r Adelaide Rd, r 19th St, Gawler Station, 15th St, Overway Bridge Rd, r Ryde St, r Two Wells Rd, l Drew St, r Old Port Wakefield Rd to the terminus adj Two Wells Craft Shop, Two Wells.

Route 490 will operate 7 days a week, primarily to a 2 hourly frequency.
Buses will connect with Route 410 @ Two Wells.

Just my thoughts anyway.

ADELAIDE's NORTHERN SUBURBS POOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Public Transport services in Adelaide's Northern Suburbs has been falling behind the rest of Adelaide for a couple of decades now and it has got to point where enough is enough.

When I talk about the Northern suburbs I am not referring to Medindie, Broadview, Enfield, Sefton Park or Prospect which are to a large extent serviced really well.  I am referring to those suburbs north of Grand Junction Road:
Mawson Lakes, Pooraka, Parafield Gardens, Paralowie, Burton
Para Hills, Ingle Farm, Brahma Lodge, Gulfview Heights
Gulfview Heights
Salisbury, Salisbury East, Salisbury North, Salisbury Park, Salisbury Heights, Hillbank
Virginia
Elizabeth, Elizabeth Park, Elizabeth North, Elizabeth Downs, Elizabeth South
Davoren Park, Craigmore, Blakeview, Andrews Farm, Munno Para, Edinburgh North
Angle Vale, Evanston Gardens, Smithfield
Gawler, Willaston, Gawler East, Hewett

Many of the bus services to these suburbs are sadly lacking and in many cases have gone backwards over the last 30 years despite huge increases in population over this time.  The Northern suburbs are in the main, a low socio-economic area with high unemployment, single parents, substance abuse, crime, domestic violence and truancy.  The vast majority of residents in the North rely very heavily on public transport, more so than those more fortunate in more affluent suburbs, yet the Government see's fit to treat this needy population with the utmost contempt.

Before I point out some of the flaws and then some improvements that I believe should be implemented, I would like to make a comparison with other parts of Adelaide, so I cannot be seen to be biased.

Services within the AdelaideMetro network operate to the South of Adelaide to Sellicks Beach.  The terminus of Route 750 is roughly 55kms from the GPO.  AdelaideMetro services also operate through McLaren Vale, Willunga and the very sparsely populated McLaren Flat, Routes 751 & 752.
Route 750 & 751 operate 7 days a week and roughly hourly, more frequent at peak times.
Route 752 is allocated 8 return trips Monday to Friday.
Both Routes 750 & 751 traverse large area's of rural land in order to reach the next township.

In the Adelaide Hills, AdelaideMetro services operate to Mount Barker & Nairne 35kms from the GPO.  Mount Barker is serviced by numerous routes from the City and surrounds and even enjoys 1/2 hourly Saturday services and Transit Link services on Saturday and Sunday.

For comparison, here are the 2011 census data on populations for each area:

• McLaren Flat    1,310
• Willunga            2,416
• Sellicks Beach  2,339
• Mount Barker    14,452

Now, I turn my attention to the North.  Populations for some area's of concern for me:

• Gawler District     22,219 (Includes Evanston, Willaston, Hewett & Gawler East)
• Virginia                  2,800
• Two Wells              2,500
• Roseworthy           1,216

Route 900 operates from Salisbury out to Virginia then back across to Elizabeth.  The service commenced in 1969 and was provided with two round trips per weekday.  Today, over 47 years later the service still is provided with only two round trips per weekday.  The service is largely useless to the population of Virginia which is only 30kms from the GPO.  The population has grown significantly in the 47 years, Route 900 has been operating and the area continues to expand and there are more people living here than in some southern area's listed above which are afforded much better services.

A little further North of Virginia is the township of Two Wells, again itself has a higher population than some it's more serviced southern counterparts yet receives no services whatsoever.  This is despite it only being 40kms from the GPO.

• Route 900 needs to be replaced by a service that commences from Mawson Lakes (connecting with trains) and runs up Port Wakefield Road through Virginia and onto Two Wells. This service needs to operate at least hourly 7 days per week.

At Elizabeth there is a rather pathetic 'night time' only service, Route 443 which is a throwback to 24 years ago when some night time services were amalgamated in order for the Government of the day to save some money.  It is the sole survivor of this failed regimen.  Route 443 services the huge area of Elizabeth North, Elizabeth Downs, Munno Para, Blakeview, Craigmore & Elizabeth Park.  As a result of service cut backs (in order to provide a benefit elsewhere) the last bus on this route departs Elizabeth Station at 9.27pm.  This means residents must catch the 8.50pm train from Adelaide as their last option.  This renders the service useless to shift workers and night students and also people going out socialising.  In 1983 the last buses to these area's connected with the last train from Adelaide, so you see it's gone backwards.

Gawler and it's immediate surrounding suburbs has a population almost 10,000 higher than that of Mount Barker yet the 4 bus services that operate within the township only operate Monday to Friday.  There is no night or weekend services.  Gawler is only serviced by the train.  On Saturday night, After Midnight Route N224 operates to Gawler also.  This is hardly acceptable when comparing with it's Adelaide Hills counterpart.

There are 22 dedicated rail feeder services in the Northern suburbs.  There is only one service (451) that connects with the first train to Adelaide.  However, quite staggeringly there is not a single feeder bus that connects with the last train from Adelaide.  Some services connect with the 10.50pm train from Adelaide.  For an area with a combined population in excess of 240,000 people, this is beyond unacceptable.

The Minister, Mr Stephen Mullighan needs to stop listening to his Department heads who only tell him what they think he wants to hear and go out and investigate this for himself.  Rather than resorting to attacking myself for pointing out obvious flaws with our system, he needs to listen and act.

The residents of the Northern Suburbs deserve much more from this Government.  If Mr Mullighan and company do not start paying serious attention to the North then their once SAFE political seats might not be so SAFE in the near future.  

We have had enough.  

Attention Minister, Stephen Mullighan, please feel free to jump onto the AdelaideMetro website or stroll into the InfoCentre and check these facts that I have mentioned for yourself.  Your Department heads are seriously letting you down.

ADELAIDE's PUBLIC TRANSPORT DEBACLE

Yesterday morning our new electric trains on the Seaford line ground to halt resulting in chaos across the rail network and on the roads, with trains stranded across some level crossings or midway between stations.  Passengers, left to fend for themselves and make their own way into the City by any means possible.

The problem was caused by failure at the one and only sub-station on the line, located at Lonsdale.  How can this happen on a modern railway in 2016?  It happens purely and simply because of poor management and cost cutting.  The boffins supposedly in control of this system were warned by senior (and experienced) railway staff, that having only one sub-station was setting the system up to fail.  They advised that there needed to be a second sub-station to share the load.  History will show that this expert advice from experienced staff was brushed aside with a breathtaking swiftness.

The railway staff have always said right from day one of the commencement of electric operations that it was only a matter of time before the system fails.  Yesterday was the day, and it was spectacular.  We now have endured a second day with no electric trains and the early prognosis is that they will be out of action for most of the weekend.  What an unmitigated disaster.

Bus companies then had the arduous task of hastily implementing rail replacement bus services and this task has fallen largely with SouthLink who also have to contend with operating their normal services, which due to their close proximity to the Seaford Line are also being swamped.  SouthLink are doing it tough, but as they have 'experienced' staff at the helm, I am sure they have kept passenger inconvenience to an absolute minimum.

I experienced yesterday afternoon a disturbing train ride home on the Gawler line.  In order to provide a service to Brighton some 3000 class units were taken from the Gawler, Outer Harbor and Grange lines to provide these services.  As a result the 4.53pm Gawler train departed Adelaide with a dangerously heavy load.  There was no railway staff on board nor on the platform.  The passengers were left on their own and to their own devices.  One passenger was starting to panic as she suffers from claustrophobia, she alighted at the first stop at Ovingham to make other arrangements.

If there had been an emergency or some other incident on this train it could easily have been catastrophic.  

As we were all crushed in like a sardine can, we all lamented as we passed by the Dry Creek Railcar Depot where we witness a good dozen 2000 class Jumbo's which were retired almost a year ago, sitting their forlornly gathering dust and graffiti.  These perfectly good railcars should have been recommissioned and then they could be used on the Gawler line to provide additional capacity at times of high demand or in an emergency situation as we are experiencing now.  By pressing the Jumbo's back into service yesterday would easily have allowed some 3000 class units to provide almost a full service on the Seaford Line.  But alas, it is not to be.

Football and Soccer patrons must endure this chaos for this weekends games at Adelaide Oval.  What a marvellous advertisement for Adelaide's public transport.

Part of the problems of yesterday were caused by the dysfunctional system the Liberal Government of the mid 90's created and the successive Labor Governments have failed to rectify.  If the entire system was still operated by the State Transport Authority, the rolling effects to passengers and the services could have been greatly reduced.  I am sure that had this event occurred whilst under the control of the STA the very experienced transport staff would have immediately arranged for the Jumbo's to pressed back into service, post haste.  Buses from almost ALL depots would have been deployed to make up any shortfalls.

The STA had within it's ranks many proud and highly skilled and experienced staff that could have problem solved this situation within an hour of the system going down.  We need to return our public transport services back to FULL control of only one Government department.  Experienced operational staff, that work across all three modes and control services as required.  

The sooner the Government re-instates the State Transport Authority the better.  The population of Adelaide and South Australia deserve much better quality of services than those provided these days.  After all, our taxpayers money still fully fund it, albeit via a convoluted path.

That's my opinion.

EXPANDING ADELAIDE METRO COVERAGE

I have been campaigning for a long time now for improved public transport services in Adelaide and South Australia as a whole.  Public transport is a very important and essential service.  Many thousands of people rely solely on public transport as there is no other option available to them.

Improving the services is important and should be a priority of the Weatherill Government however, AdelaideMetro services should be expanded to service area's that are either poorly serviced or in some cases not serviced at all and this is despite their relative close proximity to the Adelaide CBD.

Currently, AdelaideMetro services operate to Gawler in the North which is approximately 40 kms from the CBD, Mount Barker in the East which is 31 kms from the City and then to Sellicks Beach in the South which is almost 60 kms from the City.  You can see that there is a huge discrepancy in service coverage and people in the East and North could feel hard done by.

Using the 60 km Southern distance as a benchmark you would see AdelaideMetro services operating to:

Strathalbyn (currently country fares)

Clarendon

Kangarilla

Mount Compass

Brukunga

Callington

Gumeracha

Birdwood

Kersbrook

One Tree Hill

Mount Pleasant

Williamstown

Freeling

Lyndoch

Roseworthy

Mallala

Two Wells

Dublin

Many of these towns are well within the current boundary but for some inexplicable reason the Government has forgotten them.  The residents who live in these area's pay taxes just like anyone else and are deserving of improved public transport.  Currently, the people in Strathalbyn which is 55 kms from the City have to pay 'Country' fares and only get serviced by a handful of buses on weekdays, yet people in Sellicks Beach which is about the same distance from the CBD have hourly AdelaideMetro services 7 days a week.

The unfairness of our system needs to be rectified and soon.

OUR TRANSPORT SHAME

After watching Channel 9 News last night I was left shaking my head and the more I thought about the two stories that were aired I became increasingly angry.  I am angry because the South Australian public deserve more of our public transport than the boffins in charge of it care to provide.  Furthermore, these so called experts that are in control of our public transport MUST get their collective arses out of each others bum crack and start smelling what they are shovelling.  Running public transport is not rocket science, one just needs to be smart and listen to their staff at the coalface.

The first story was about the lack of public transport in the evening when the Moon Lantern Festival is on.  I do not for one second blame the service providers for this lack of for sight.  I am sure each of them would have approached their all powered leaders in DTEI for some funding to provide some extra services for these evenings.  And these pencil pushers in a over staffed and out of touch Government Department would have said "No, not required"!

When was the last time these self confessed experts were out in the field actually running public transport services and taking the heat from disgruntled passengers?  Last night, I am sure the poor bus driver that rocked up to pick up what looked like at least two bus loads of passengers waiting in Grenfell Street for an O-Bahn service would have copped a ear bashing from the hundreds of passengers boarding, then from the ones who had to wait for the next bus.  Then there would have been a repeat performance at the other two stops in the City.  It is not the drivers fault that our transport services are being mismanaged in such fashion, but they are the face of it, they are at the coalface. 

Where are the experts, the boffins in charge on nights like that?  At home curled up on the lounge with their families.  Some may have even attended the Moon Lantern festival themselves, but how many of them would have used public transport? None of them, despite their free travel.  They would have driven their cars.

What needs to happen here, is when there are events on either in the City or Glenelg or Semaphore or wherever then the service providers be permitted to provide extra services that they know will cater for demand, then simply send DTEI the bill.  The nuts and bolts can then be explained at a Managerial debrief between service providers and DTEI.  This would be a better arrangement than the current situation where, like a scene out of Oliver the service providers must grovel to the experts in DTEI with cap in hand saying "Please Sir, can we have some more (money for extra services)?"

I am thoroughly disgusted.

The second story was about the loop hole that train passengers on the Outer Harbor and Grange trains have found to get free travel to and from the City.  Many passengers are catching trains at Grange, Taperoo, Alberton or Woodville and places in between alight at Bowden Station then walk across to the Entertainment Centre and hop on the free tram service into the City.  Now, the experts have just realised this!!

Again, the experts (and I use that term loosely) assume that everyone is honest and they seem genuinely stunned that our system gets ripped off to the tune of millions of dollars a year by fare evaders and fare cheats.  If there is no staff on a train with the capacity to check tickets and ensure that everyone validates a ticket and has the appropriate Concession cards on them, then human nature says that they will not follow the rules.  It is not right, but in times of high unemployment, high drug use and dependency just to name two reasons, many people find anyway they can to save money.  Why buy a train ticket if no one is there to police it.

I say, that our rail system is a joke in many many ways.  The State Government should re-instate Guards on ALL train services.  Guards are responsible for the train, not the driver.  The driver simply drives the train, nothing else.  The Guard and his Conductor patrol the carriages, checking and selling tickets, like it was when I used to catch the train to school.

I often caught Gawler trains and rode the full length of the line.  The Guard and Conductor would be constantly walking back and forth through the length of the train, often 5 or 6 carriages.  If the train was EXPRESS from Greenfields or Dry Creek the Conductor would do a final ticket check through the train prior to reaching Adelaide.  Heading home you could bet your bottom dollar that as the train was heading out through Adelaide Yard the Conductor was off doing a ticket check.

We need to revert to this system.  I am amazed that their is only token effort employed in protecting revenue, add this to the cost of vandalism and anti-social behaviour then you have a system out of control.  Could you imagine a store not protecting their revenue?  If Bunnings, Coles, Caltex or the corner Deli didn't protect their revenue, they would be broke and out of business in the blink of an eye.  

Why do we, the citizens of this great state of ours allow the State Government to not protect OUR revenue?  Public transport belongs to us, hence the word public in public transport!

We have and must lift our game.

That's my opinion!

ADELAIDE'S 'GHOST' BUSES

It has been advertised that on Channel 9's A Current Affair tonight they are running a story on Adelaide's Ghost Buses.  Bus services that run around almost all day with none or very little patronage and we the tax payer are footing the bill.

This is true.  It has been happening for years.  It's happening because boffins within our so called transport department do not have the faintest idea of how to operate an effective public transport system if their collectives lives depended on it.

To work in this department one must have a piece of paper declaring that one has obtained a diploma or something.  How many of these people have a diploma or higher in transport planning or anything related to transport?  Very few, if any would be my guess.

Now, I have almost 30 years experience in Adelaide's public transport industry, something that is a passion of mine and has been since I was 11 years old.  I recently left the industry I loved to embark on a new career path, but I still have my interest in buses, trains and trams.

The problem with our bus network for example, is that it is very very slow to react to changing community demands largely because of bureaucratic red tape and a lack of community knowledge by these so called transport experts.  I will give you a couple of examples.

Route 229 operates from Pooraka to Para Hills and follows a meandering route along the Para escarpment through Pooraka, Ingle Farm and Para Hills.  It has essentially traversed the same route for the past 55 years with only some minor route alterations which made the service even more of windy.

The large area's that this service operate through have no DIRECT bus access to the nearby Ingle Farm Shopping Centre, Mawson Lakes, Mawson Lakes University or Tea Tree Plaza.  These four places are very significant transport nodes and focal points for these suburbs, yet Route 229 does not service one of them.  It does get to within about 1km of Ingle Farm SC but that is less than satisfactory.

This is why the service largely carries no one.  Only a few desperadoes who are going into the City or along Main North Road.  Buses on route 229 only operate all the way into the City during peak periods and from end to end it takes over an hour for the privilege.  The equivalent journey time for buses that operate along Bridge Road into the City is approximately 40 minutes, so you can see Route 229 is a waste of time.  Yet it has been forgotten by the experts.  So much so, that bus stops get taken away because some resident objects to buses stopping out front of her house!  So instead of 300m between some stops, there are now gaps of 600-700m between stops.  This is too far a distance for suburbia.

Route 225

This service like Route 229 only operates from the City in peak periods.  It connects with City buses at the inhospitable Gepps Cross then makes it's way to Mawson Lakes then out onto Main North Road then through Para Hills, Salisbury East and Brahma Lodge to Salisbury.

This services primary function is to service Northbri Avenue, Brahma Lodge and Para Hills, it does this yes but it has problems.  A few years ago it was re-routed away from Para Hills SC, supposedly because of the right turn buses made out of Goodall Road onto the busy Bridge Road.  I could accept that, but they left Route 560 to still perform this manoeuvre, so that argument is flawed.  

The Para Hills SC on Bridge Road is small as shopping centre's go, but nonetheless it is still an important communal focal point as it also has a surgery and the Somerset Hotel is adjacent.  Route 225 was re-routed away from these facilities.

In peak periods, passengers who choose to catch Route 225 to reach the City must endure an hour plus journey which wends its way through Para Hills, Mawson Lakes and Cavan before heading along Main North Road into the City.  Needless to say, not many people avail themselves of such a tortuous service.  Residents find alternative arrangements and Route 225 is ignored and operates with none or very few passengers.

The suburbs of Adelaide are littered with bus services that provide poor service and poor service coverage and have done for years.  Many of these services have operated along the same routes for over 50 years and whilst it may have been satisfactory in 1972, it no longer caters for community demands.

Route 720 in the southern suburbs was taken away from the premier medical facility in the south, Flinders Medical Centre.  Why?  This means that the huge suburbs of Hallett Cove, Sheidow Park and Trott Park have no direct access to the Flinders Medical Centre.  This, in my view is totally unacceptable and everyone responsible for making and allowing such a decision to be made should be ashamed of themselves.

The services MUST still operate because the suburbs must be provided with public transport, however, the services MUST be redesigned by people who understand travel requirements of the local communities to make the service more vibrant and user friendly.

Not only is the route traversed important, so too is the level of service.  Having almost the entire northern suburbs of Craigmore, Elizabeth Downs, Blakeview devoid of public transport after 9.30pm is a disgrace in this day and age.

I soon will have a double diploma in Counselling and Community Services and I will be an expert in this field!  Perhaps then when I have two pieces of paper in an unrelated field I could get a job in the transport department to rectify the issues I mentioned above, because I was given the cold shoulder for the past 30 years when I was actually in the system.

That's my opinion.

REDESIGNING ADELAIDE'S RAILWAYS

Our railway lines here in Adelaide leave a lot to be desired in standard and service delivery despite millions of dollars having been spent on it over the past 6 years.  We still have the worst railway system in the country and it operates well below it's potential.

Each line should be completely re-built, from scratch using Government / private partnership to fund.  Removal of insignificant railway stations would be paramount to provide faster services.  Radically improved connecting bus services would be utilised to fill in the gaps between the railway stations.  Removing many stations frees up vital funds to be spent on staffing the remaining stations and on service improvements.

Here is the changes I propose to each line:

NORTHERN LINE
North Adelaide - Improved for access to Entertainment Centre
Islington
Dry Creek
Mawson Lakes
Parafield
Salisbury
Elizabeth
Elizabeth North - currently Broadmeadows
Smithfield
Munno Para
Evanston
Gawler
Gawler Central

Ovingham, Dudley Park, Kilburn, Greenfields, Parafield Gardens, Chidda, Nurlutta, Elizabeth South, Womma, Kudla, Tambelin & Gawler Oval would be removed from service.

SOUTHERN LINES
Mile End
Adelaide Showgrounds
Emerson
Woodlands Park - moved closer to Raglan Avenue
Ascot Park - moved to cater for Sturt trains
     Clovelly Park
     Sturt - formerly Tonsley
Marion
Oaklands Park
Brighton
Seacliff
Marino
Hallett Cove
Hallett Cove Beach
Lonsdale - altered to operate Monday-Friday until 7pm
Christie Downs
Noarlunga Centre
Seaford Meadows
Seaford

Goodwood, Clarence Park, Edwardstown, Mitchell Park, Warradale, Hove and Marino Rocks would be removed from service.

PORT LINE
Bowden
Croydon
Woodville
     Albert Park - moved to Port Road intersection
     Seaton
     Grange
St Clair
Alberton
Port Adelaide
Glanville
Largs
Taperoo
Osborne
North Haven
Outer Harbor

West Croydon, Woodville Park, East Grange, Cheltenham, Ethelton, Peterhead, Largs North, Draper & Midlunga would be removed from service.

HILLS LINE
Mile End
Adelaide Showgrounds
Millswood
Unley Park
Mitcham
Clapham
Eden Hills
Blackwood West - formerly Coromandel
Blackwood
Glenalta
Belair

Goodwood, Torrens Park, Lynton & Pinera would be removed from service.

That is a total of 31 stations removed from the network.  By removing these stations from the system trains can operate at higher speeds and thus reduce the overall journey times for passengers.  As mentioned previously, significant alterations and improvements to some bus services and perhaps the creation of new services to fill in the gaps in between the remaining stations would be required prior to the various station closures to take place.

As an example, it is proposed to remove Womma, Kudla and Tambelin Stations between Elizabeth and Gawler, so re-routing Route 452 via Womma Road and Woodford Road would cover Womma Station.  Introducing a new service, Route 460 from Smithfield to Gawler via Coventry Road would easily cover Kudla and Tambelin stations and if routed via Main North Road & Dalkeith Road would provide a public transport service to the adjacent caravan park.

That's just my opinion.

ROADWORKS

Whilst travelling around Adelaide over the past number of years there has been many instances where roadworks have impacted significantly on traffic flow, especially on major arterial roads.

It is time now for Adelaide to get with the 21st Century and accept the fact that it is indeed a City not a country town with a population of 500.  Non-essential roadworks that necessitate the closure of a traffic lane on major arterial roads should be conducted at night to reduce the impact to traffic flow.

Yesterday, on Main North Road, Nailsworth the City bound lanes were banked back for over a kilometre because the left lane was closed, not for roadworks but for footpath works!!  This sort of traffic congestion adds significantly to emissions, delays public transport services, impedes emergency vehicles and causes unnecessary stress to motorists.

Obviously, emergency roadworks are necessary from time to time as the result of a traffic accident or burst water main and these are minimal and a fact of life but the remainder of works could  easily be carried out at night.

That's my opinion.

CROSS SUBURBAN SERVICES

There remains a need in Adelaide for a more concerted effort from Government and service providers to introduce more cross suburban services.  One only has to look at the huge volumes of traffic in the AM peak, say from 5.30am until 10am, coming from North East Road and Stephens Terrace then heading down Nottage Tce, Main North Rd Rd then right onto Fitzroy Tce then disperse along Park Terrace to Port Road then onto South Road or turn right onto Torrens Road.

Looking at the occupants of these vehicles, they are a mixture of suit wearing people, parents taking children to school and people wearing hi-viz clothing such as factory workers.  I can only summise that majority of the thousands of vehicles making this journey head to either inner southern and western suburbs.  The reverse traffic flow is evident in the PM peak from about 2.30pm through 7pm.  There are also significant traffic on the contraflows too.

One then asks themselves where is public transport for these people? Non-existent that's where!  There is no bus services that cater for this enormous amount of traffic.  I am sure that if a service were to be introduced say operating from Modbury to Edwardstown without going through the City, over time it would become quite successful.

There are other areas of Adelaide that have similar cross suburban traffic flows but for the purpose of this blog I have just focussed on the inner Northern suburbs.

There is also huge volumes of traffic that use cross link Osmond Terrace at Kensington, Nelson Street & Stephens Terrace, in both directions and pretty much all day.  At Osmond Tce/Kensington Rd traffic disperses or comes from either East or West and at the other end it disperses either onto the Park Terrace ring route mentioned above or traffic turns right onto Main North Road and heads north.  Where this traffic ultimately ends up or originates from is anyones guess, but has anyone ever tried to find out?  Again, I ask where does public transport fit into all of this?  It's nowhere to be seen.

Back in the early 1990's I was lucky enough to be selected to work with a Transport Consultant who is now a Professor of Public Transport at Monash University.  His name is Professor Graham Currie.  I was selected to work with him and others on a transport modelling system called APTRANS where information was collected from the public via questionnaires.  They were asked where did their journey begin and where did it conclude.  This was done across all routes, trains and trams also.  The data collected was collated and then processed in a computer.  Models of proposed routes could then be added to the model and it would project potential passenger loadings based on the origin-destination data collected.

One such option I ran at the time was a service from Marion SC to Port Adelaide via South Road direct.  It would not run through the City just run along South Road from Sturt Road through to Grand Junction Road then into Port Adelaide.  The model suggested that such a service would be quite well patronised.  Today, if this service was to get off the ground it could be sent to Mawson Lakes.  Anyone who has traversed South Road from Anzac Highway to Grand Junction Road would agree that it has an enormous amount North-South traffic and again public transport has gone missing.

I understand that the City is vitally important to our transport network, but there are in 2015 huge amounts of potential customers that simply do not wish to go through the City.  This is evident in the couple of examples mentioned above.

Following is a couple of proposals I have for some cross suburban services that I believe would be quite successful if marketed correctly:

Route 390 - Modbury to Edwardstown
From Tea Tree Plaza via Smart Rd, Reservoir Rd, Grand Junction Rd, Awoonga Rd, Lower NE Rd, Payneham Rd, O.G Rd, NE Rd, Nottage Tce, Main North Rd, Fitzroy Tce, Park Tce, Port Rd, James Congdon Dr, Deacon Rd, Richmond Rd, Marion Rd, Sixth Ave, South Rd to the terminus at Castle Plaza.

Route 391 - Paradise to Adelaide Airport
From Paradise Interchange via Darley Rd, Sudholz Rd, NE Rd, Mullers Rd, Regency Rd, Main North Rd, Fitzroy Tce, Park Tce, Adam St, Manton St, Grange Rd, Rowells Rd, May Tce, Burbridge Rd to Adelaide Airport.

Route 399 - Kurralta Park to Sefton Park
From Stop 7 Anzac Hwy via Anzac Hwy, Leader St, Goodwood Rd, Greenhill Rd, Unley Rd, Wattle St, Glen Osmond Rd, Conyngham Rd, Cator St, Sydney St, Greenhill Rd, Stuart Rd, Swaine Ave, Prescott Tce, Osmond Tce, Nelson St, Stephen Tce, Nottage Tce, Main North Rd to the terminus at Stop 17.

Route 395 - Mawson Lakes to Marion SC
From Main Street via Mawson Interchange, Elder Smith Rd, Salisbury Hwy, Port Wakefield Rd, Churchill Rd Nth, Cormack Rd, Davis St, Grand Junction Rd, South Rd, Sturt Rd to the terminus at Marion SC.

Cross suburban rail services could also take up some of the load.  In a recent post I mentioned the re-introduction of rail services through Wingfield from Salisbury to Osborne.  There could also be a service operating from Salisbury or Elizabeth through to Tonsley utilising the gaol loop.

Many years ago there was a cross suburban rail service that used the gaol loop.  Some industrial trains operated from Mitcham to Islington Works, so it can be done.

Just my opinion.  Interested in your feedback.

BUILDING THIS STATE

This state urgently requires a huge public and private investment into our transport infrastructure to generate employment and stimulate growth.

A huge focus on this spending should be on rail which has (in this state) been let go to such a condition that South Australia is now the only main land state without a regional railway network for passengers and even some freight lines are in danger of permanently being closed.  All this at a time when other states and other countries are spending billions on their railways to move both freight and passengers.  In many countries rail travel is in direct competition with airlines for passengers, like the link from Paris to London with their high speed TGV.  Alas, Australia and in particular SA have nothing even close in comparison.

Lets look at freight lines.  Why on Earth would we even consider closing freight lines into the Mallee to places like Pinnaroo and Tookeyerta, near Loxton and thus place thousands of extra truck movements to negotiate the SE Freeway and the treacherous down hill run.  Why?  Railways are safer in this regard and reduce the amount of trucks required on the roads.  Don't get me wrong, trucking plays a vital role in moving freight as rail cannot cover everything, but for long haul, one cannot beat rail.  If it is operated properly.

We need the freight connector railway to be built from Port Adelaide to Virginia.  We also require new freight lines to be opened or re-opened in the mid north and Copper Coast.

As for country passenger services, they need to be re-instated to Whyalla, Wallaroo, Victor Harbor, Mount Gambier, Renmark and Broken Hill.  These services should use new or existing rail corridors and they will open up the area's served to tourism and commuters.  The use of high speed 'Sprinter' railcars like those used in Victoria would be ideal.

Suburban rail services to Nuriootpa should be commenced as soon as possible.  The line is already there, however, it would require an overhaul.  A passenger service as part of the existing suburban network would provide huge benefits for the Barossa Valley.  Intermediate stations could be located at Sandy Creek, Lyndoch and Tanunda.

Re-instating a passenger service from Gawler to Osborne should also be considered as there is a huge amount of traffic using the Port Expressway and Salisbury Highway.  Public transport does not cater for this market since the former GMH-Outer Harbor services were removed nearly 30 years ago.  The line is still there and just sits there rusting away.  To service the area's intermediate stations would be constructed at Wingfield (South Rd), Wingfield West (Hanson Rd), Rosewater (Grand Junction Rd).

The Northern Connector should be fast tracked for construction and be constructed in conjunction with the adjacent new railway.  There is also a huge number of road improvements required around the metro area and in the country as well as the continual maintenance which sadly has not been kept up with over the past decade or more.

The time is now to spend money to re-invigorate our economy in this state.  Partnerships with private sector should be considered to get these projects off the ground.  One sometimes has to spend money to make money.  Our wonderful state has so much potential but it is sadly going to waste.

Well, that's my opinion.

BUS STOPS / TAXI RANKS

Here in Adelaide we have the distinction of being one (if not the first) City in Australia and perhaps the world to systematically number it's bus stops radiating out from the CBD.  It has been a feature of our system for over 70 years.

The Muncipal Tramways Trust commenced operating bus services in 1925 from City to Firle to supplement nearby tram services.  As suburbia grew into area's not serviced by trams, so did the Trust's bus services.  One popular service the trust operated was that to Glenelg, Somerton and Graymore (now Glenelg North) via Anzac Highway.

The MTT was extremely conscious of providing a first class service, not only to the passengers but also for it's valuable employee's.  They commenced a programme of numbering bus stops radiating out from the City so passengers could identify landmarks and businesses by the bus stop number.  Numbers increased with the very sparse use of A's or B's after the number.  This usually occurred if there was a large gap between existing bus stops and development had taken place requiring an additional stop to be installed.

Furthermore, the MTT provided route direction arrows (pot hooks) for it's bus drivers to navigate through the back streets of suburbia.  To this day, there are many bus systems that do not have this system and drivers soley rely on their knowledge.

Up till now bus stops have been reflective yellow with black lettering and has stood the test of time.  However, I think we need to breath some life back into this important little system by redesigning the bus stops across Adelaide.

I really do like the new stop at the Adelaide Airport, as shown below:

The entire set up here is a perfect template for other bus stops across Adelaide, especially in high traffic areas.  The words 'BUS STOP' painted on the roadway, decent shelters and of course the new style bus stop.  All the information is there.  The stop number can easily be instated in the green area at top.  These are very smart looking stops and are easy to install.

This style of stop could also be adopted City wide to identify Taxi ranks and also be installed on railway stations for information.

Well that's my opinion.

GETTING BACK TO BASICS

The recent public backlash over the proposed extension of the O-Bahn into Grenfell Street by constructing a tunnel and running through Rymill Park highlights a serious problem that South Australia has had for the past 60 years. 

A distinct lack of transport vision.

Ever since the flawed decision to replace our once popular tramway network with buses was made in the mid 1950's, Adelaide has suffered greatly from a disjointed transport network that struggles not only with it's own hurdles but more importantly with the ever popular motor car.  Developers, town planners, councils and Governments have paid little or no attention to public transport for decades, until now when it is virtually impossible to get any serious development or satisfactory development off the ground without stirring up a hornets nest of opposition.

Just cast your minds back to the tram extension.  It was slammed almost on a daily basis from the opposition in Parliament, the media and the public.  It was tagged as the tram to nowhere, with many people saying it will cause traffic chaos and it will be ugly with the overhead wires etc.  Now, 8 years on the tram is more popular than ever.  Try taking it away!  Where are the people who said it would fail?  Where is the media singing it's praise?

Lets go back even further in history to about 1979 / 1980 when there were discussions about the construction of the Northeast Busway (O-Bahn) or light rail from the City to Modbury.  There was a huge public outcry over the expenditure for public transport from the above mentioned critics.  History will show that the O-Bahn option was selected and construction was underway in 1982.  The system opened for service on 9th March 1986 and almost immediately there was an enormous increase in bus patronage from the North Eastern suburbs and beyond.  It was, and still is a huge success.  I ask again what ever happened to the critics?  What have they got to say for themselves now?

Over the past 60 years since the demise of the trams in Adelaide, there have been a handful of major transport initiatives as those mentioned above, but they are very few in comparison to other Cities or to the growth of our City.  In 2015, we only have one electrified railway line with arguments over the electrifying the other one and ultimately leaving two others running on diesel.

With the exception of Saturday nights our public transport ceases operation just before or just after midnight.  Some suburbs and much of the Northern suburbs have no services after 9.30pm.  In this day and age its disgraceful.  We still have a public transport system that operates as if it were in 1950 when the street lights were switched off at 1am and nothing was open.

Our transport systems need to get with the times.  There should be some bus services and rail services, along with the tram that operate 24/7.  On street car parking in high traffic areas in the CBD and in suburbia removed to assist with traffic flow.  Public transport to be given priority at all major intersections thus making bus and tram travel a more appealing option.  Parking a car in the CBD should be a hindrance, but only if the public transport is up to the challenge.  Sadly, at present it is not.

Well that's my opinion.

TRAFFIC MISMANAGEMENT

There is plenty of examples in Adelaide of poor traffic management and it is something that drives most of us almost insane.  I believe that Colonel William Light who is buried in Light Square and who holds the distinguished honour of being the only person buried within the CBD would be turning in his grave at the complete and total mis-management of traffic in our beautiful City.

Our City is one of only a handful in the world that was planned.  Our wide streets are the envy of much bigger Cities than ours, like New York or London.  Colonel Light in his infinite wisdom planned our City on a grid pattern with wide streets, which were designated as the main thoroughfares.  Other narrower streets were designed as distributor roadways and thus designed not to be a part of the main traffic routes.

On any day one enters the City and finds themselves constantly stopping at the numerous traffic lights.  One asks themselves why?  Why can't they be synchronised?  In any direction of travel on North Terrace, King William Street, Grenfell Street, Currie Street, Wakefield Street or Grote Street often find themselves being stopped at each intersection.  Yet if one goes to New York, one can travel from one end of Manhatten to the other without stopping.  The lights go green one after the other and if you maintain the speed limit they go green one after another in sequence at any time of the day.

This simple concept is lost to Adelaide.  We stop traffic at King William St then James Place then Gawler Place then the Car Park then Hindmarsh Square then Frome St.  It is crap and totally unacceptable.

Why can't the James Place pedestrian lights be replaced with an underpass.  A fence running up the middle of the roadway to prevent pedestrians from J walking.  Why must trams have to sit for sometimes two minutes waiting to turn from King William Street into North Terrace? 

Car parking / Loading Zones and Taxi zones should be moved from the major thoroughfares and into adjacent side streets.  All street car parking should be banned within the CBD as there is more than enough in car parks and on the periphery.

The Government has the opportunity to make millions by adopting the American style of illegal parking.  Fining and removing the vehicle.  We must set up a large compound out at say Gillman.  Any vehicle that is parked illegally, is swiftly removed and towed to this location.  $300 + the parking fine to retrieve your vehicle.  After 6 months the vehicle if not claimed is sold at auction.  Cars parked illegally in Adelaide cause traffic chaos.  Fining the vehicle does not remove the traffic hazard.  If people don't like it stiff. Don't park illegally.

However, the powers that be must seriously get their collective heads out of their arses and start managing our traffic better than they have been.  If New York and London can do it, surely Adelaide would be a piece of piss.

That's my opinion.

POOR SERVICE

It is laughable that some friends of mine who wish to attend football matches and any other function at the brilliant Adelaide Oval find it almost impossible to get home on public transport, despite the fact the oval is in the City.

 

Persons who live in Craigmore, Blakeview, Paralowie, Gulfview Heights and many places down south have bus services that simply go missing in the evenings.  Some night events, especially the football do not finish until at least 10.30pm, so if you live anywhere that is serviced by Route 443 for example you are stuffed as you should have been on the 8.50pm train from Adelaide.

 

Furthermore, none of the AOX services help you either!

 

Now, forget the AFL for a minute.  What about if you are a student attending a night lecture at TAFE, they conclude at about 9pm or 9.30pm.  What about going out to dinner or catching a movie or other special show?  residing in the above mentioned area's you MUST use your car (if you have one) or just miss out.

 

We are endeavouring to minimise the number of people who take the risk of drink driving, yet the Government in their ultimate wisdom have removed the alternative.  This is quite simply bizarre.

 

Of course they will use the money factor and the fact that they have none.  Well let me let you and them in on an observation and a way of redirecting some resources to provide adequate night services to areas in need.  There are a number of individual services in Adelaide that are designated as GO ZONES and operate to a basic 15/30 minute frequency.  This is overkill.  A 20/40 frequency would be more than adequate on these routes at least: 506 541 W90 235 502 just to mention a few.  Then there is the duplication of services such as Golden Grove Road which has C1 C2 G40 548 all running on the same section.  Then there is Route 560 which is burnt off by the more frequent 500 & 502.

 

Our system is very very slow to adapt to changing community requirements and it is now beyond a joke and a shame.  Gulfview Heights has been populated for over 15 years and still to this day has no bus service operating through it.  There are other large parts of suburbia that are poorly serviced and not all are in the outer suburbs.

 

I agree that cost is important and the key, but public transport is just that, PUBLIC.  It is an essential service just like postal services etc etc.  Unfortunately our system is sadly lacking any vision for the future.

 

As I have mentioned in previous posts the entire system is controlled by a number of empire builders who are hell bent on re-inventing the wheel from ridiculous route numbering, bizarre timetabling and poor stop numbering standards.  Yes, even something relatively simple as stop numbering (a unique invention by the former MTT over 60 years ago) has been made diabolical because of the unfounded use of letters and thus making some service skip numbers.  Above all, it makes the system difficult to understand and use for customers.

 

An injection of funding and the removal of some misguided individuals who quite simply have no idea about simple public transport services is urgently required.  Public transport is not rocket science and it does not need to be as complicated as it is.

 

That's my view.

ROUTE NUMBERS

Am I alone in believing that the route numbering system of Adelaide's bus services have become confusing and ultimately user unfriendly?

I think it is confusing for tourists and people in general who are unfamiliar with a service to expect them to fully understand that they have to catch a C1 from C1 or a J1 from T3 and a B10 from I3.

Could our system possibly revert to using some single or double digit route numbers?

Route 1  (J1A)
Route X1 (J1X)
Route 2  (J1)
Route 3  (J2)
Route 4  (162)
Route 10 (B10)
Route 11 (B12)
Route 13 (H33)
Route 20 (G10)
Route 550 (C1)
Route 551 (C1G)
Route 552 (C2)

Just an example.  What do you think?