Buses in Adelaide

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Scania L94UA buses of Torrens Transit ready during 2012 Adelaide Christmas Pageant on Currie Street.
Scania K230UB bus of Light-City Buses wait for departure at Paradise Interchange.

Buses in Adelaide comprise the most extensive service of the South Australian capital's public transport system, the Adelaide Metro. A large fleet of diesel and natural gas powered buses operate services which typically terminate in the city-centre or at a suburban interchange. Buses get priority on many roads and intersections, with dedicated bus lanes and 'B'-light bus only phases at many traffic lights. According to the 2008 State Budget, all buses that entered service during the 1980s will be withdrawn within the next 5 years and replaced with new buses.

Most of the Mercedes-Benz O305 buses have been withdrawn from service, which some of them are rail replacement buses.

History

Buses in Adelaide has been known under several names. The State Transport Authority was formed in 1974-5, combining the metropolitan rail operations of the former South Australian Railways Commission, and the bus and tram operations of the former Municipal Tramways Trust (MTT). In July 1994, the STA was abolished and government public transport services were transferred to TransAdelaide, a publicly owned corporation.[1]

In 1995-96, there was a partial tendering out of bus services. TransAdelaide retained 3 contract regions, Serco, in its first Australian bus operation, won 2 contract regions, and Hills Transit, a TransAdelaide company, won the Adelaide Hills operating contract.[2] Services were run and marketed under each operator's name, presenting a disjointed network to the public.

The 2000 round of tenders saw the end of TransAdelaide's (and therefor the Government's) direct operation of bus services in Adelaide, although it retained tram and rail services. Serco won the North-South, Outer North, and Outer North-East contract areas, Torrens Transit the East-West contract area and City Free services, Australian Transit Enterprises (ATE) trading as SouthLink the Outer South contract area, and Transitplus, a joint venture between ATE and TransAdelaide, the Hills Contract area.[2] At this time the Adelaide Metro brand was implemented across all transport operators[3] , appearing to the public as a unified network, with common livery, timetable designs and a city Information Centre.

Operators

The Adelaide Metro buses are operated by:[4]

  • Torrens Transit - East-West contract area (includes City Free)
  • SouthLink - Outer South, Outer North and Hills contract areas.
  • Light-City Buses - North-South and Outer North East contract areas (includes the 300 suburban connecter and O-Bahn services).

Companies which had operated Adelaide Metro services in the past but which no longer operate in Adelaide are:

  • Transitplus - following the abolition of joint owner TransAdelaide in late 2010, Transitplus services were taken over by joint owner Australian Transit Enterprises's SouthLink.[5]
  • Serco - Serco ended its contract in 2004, at the contracted half-term break-point.

System features

Go Zones

Many arterial roads leading towards the CBD have several routes servicing them, allowing for high frequency "Go-Zones", with a maximum wait of 15 minutes on weekdays. These are:

  • Prospect Road
  • Main North Road/Mawson Lakes Boulevard
  • Bridge Road/Walkleys Road
  • North East Road
  • Galway Avenue
  • Payneham Road/Montacute Road
  • Magill Road/Coorara Avenue
  • The Parade
  • Kensington Road
  • Glen Osmond Road
  • Duthy Street
  • Unley Road
  • King William Road
  • Goodwood Road/Winston Avenue
  • South Road/Main South Road
  • Commercial Road (from Noarlunga Centre)
  • Marion Road
  • Anzac Highway
  • Richmond Road
  • Sir Donald Bradman Drive
  • Henley Beach Road
  • Ashley Street/Valetta Road
  • Grange Road
  • Crittenden Road/Tapleys Hill Road
  • Port Road
  • Hawker Street/Torrens Road/Pym Street
  • Hanson Road/Liberty Grove
  • Churchill Road

There is a Mega Go Zone on the O-Bahn which has a maximum 10 minute wait on weekdays and 15 minutes on weekends. Go Zones branching off the O-Bahn have a 15 minute maximum wait. These include:

  • O-Bahn Busway to:
    • Para Hills via Nelson Road and Kelly Road
    • Golden Grove via Golden Grove Road
    • Tea Tree Gully via Smart Road
    • Surrey Downs via Hancock Road
    • Hope Valley via Lower North East Road

Roam Zones

The Roam Zone concept began operation in the Hallett Cove, Sheidow Park and Trott Park area in September 2001. At specified times passengers can be dropped off or picked up away from bus stops, taking them to their door (or as near as the bus could get). Having done this, the roaming bus returns to its scheduled route. Roam Zones have bright blue bus stops located throughout. Adelaide Metro now features six Roam Zones:

  • Golden Grove (weekdays 10.00am-3.00pm and from 7.40pm; weekends from 7.00pm)
  • Holden Hill (daily from 7.30pm)
  • Hallett Cove, Sheidow Park and Trott Park (daily from 7.00pm)
  • Aberfoyle Park (weekdays 3.30pm-7.00pm)
  • Athelstone (daily from 7:30pm)
  • Davoren Park, Smithfield and Andrews Farm (daily from 7.00pm) [6]

Limited Stop Services

Limited stop services combine limited stops with express services to reach the outer metropolitan areas of Adelaide. Limited stop services include:

  • C1 Elizabeth via Adelaide O-Bahn, Golden Grove Village and Main North Road
  • C2 Greenwith via Adelaide O-Bahn and Golden Grove Village
  • 500 Elizabeth via Adelaide O-Bahn, Ingle Farm and Salisbury Interchange
  • 502 Salisbury via Adelaide O-Bahn, Ingle Farm and Bridge Road
  • M44 Golden Grove Village to Westfield Marion via Adelaide O-Bahn, City and Marion Road
  • T722 Seaford via South Road and Panatalinga Road
  • T842 Nairne via South Eastern Freeway
  • T863 Aldgate via South Eastern Freeway and Stirling

JetBus services

JetBus services were introduced in August 2005. These are direct daily routes that link Adelaide Airport with the city and other key destinations. JetBus routes are:

MAN NL202 CNG buses are among those scheduled for operating free bus services in Adelaide.

Free Buses

City Free buses are zero-fare, wheelchair-accessible circuit routes that service the Adelaide CBD daily, on one frequent route:

  • 98C and 98A : Bi-directional loop via North Terrace, Currie Street, Hutt Street, Halifax Street, Sturt Street, Grote Street, Morphett Street, Jeffcott Street, Ward Street, Hill Street, Tynte Street, Finiss Street and Frome Road [7]
  • 99C and 99A: Bi-directional loop via North Terrace, Currie Street, Hutt Street, Halifax Street, Sturt Street, Grote Street, Victoria Square, King William Street. This service operated under the '99C' only and it was only in 2014 that the name change took place. The 99C is a clockwise loop while the 99A is anti-clockwise.[8]

After Midnight Services

Available only on Saturday nights, these services run from midnight until 4AM Sunday morning - departing the City every hour.

SA Lotteries Footy Express

Adelaide Metro provide services to and from AAMI Stadium to areas across South Australia. Match day passes act as your ticket for the bus. Most services offer early arrival times and some routes will have services that leave an hour after the final siren. The locations in metropolitan Adelaide include:

  • FX1 Golden Grove Village via Golden Grove Road, Tea Tree Plaza Interchange and Adelaide O-Bahn
  • FX2 St Agnes via Tea Tree Plaza Interchange and Adelaide O-Bahn
  • FX3 Clovercrest Shopping Centre via Ingle Farm, North East Road, Regency Road and Centro Arndale
  • FX4 Elizabeth Interchange via Brahma Lodge and Elder Smith Road
  • FX5 Playford Alive Oval via Salisbury Interchange and Salisbury Highway
  • FX6 Salisbury North via Whites Road, Settlers Farm Shops, Paralowie, Hollywood Plaza and Martins Road
  • FX7 Davoren Park via Smithfield Interchange, Munno Para Shopping Centre, Elizabeth Downs, Elizabeth Park, Para Hills Community Club and Gepps Cross Hotel
  • FX8 Alberton Oval via Frederick Road (Port Adelaide games only)
  • FX9 Port Adelaide via Victoria Road, Outer Harbour and Military Road
  • FX10 Coopers Stadium via The Parade
  • FX11 Magill via Magill Road
  • FX12 Aldgate via Stirling, Crafers and Glen Osmond Road
  • FX13 Mount Barker via Cameron Road, Hahndorf, Verdun and Bridgewater
  • FX14 Belair via Blackwood Interchange, Shepherds Hill Road, Pasadena Green, and Goodwood Road
  • FX15 Torrens Park via Belair Road and Unley Shopping Centre
  • FX16 Adelaide Shores Holiday Park via Military Road and Henley Square
  • FX17 Morphettville via Park Holme Shopping Centre, Marion Road and Henley Beach Road
  • FX18 Hickinbotham Oval via Main South Road, Old Reynella, Panatalinga Road, Westfield Marion and Glenelg Oval
  • FX19 Seaford via Beach Road, Gulfview Road, Hallet Cove Shopping Centre, Brighton Station and Glenelg Oval
  • FX20 Aberfoyle Park via Black Road, Flagstaff Road, Castle Plaza, and South Road
  • FX21 Woodcroft via Happy Valley, Castle Plaza, South Road and Thebarton Oval
  • FX22 City via Port Road
  • FX23 Mawson Lakes via Main North Road
O-Bahn Bus en route to Paradise Interchange.

O-Bahn Busway

Main article: O-Bahn Busway

The Adelaide Metro's most frequented route is the O-Bahn guided busway to Modbury carrying around 9 million passengers a year. It is the world's fastest and until 7 August 2011 the world's longest guided busway, with a maximum permitted speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) and a length of 12 km (7.5 mi). It has three stations, Klemzig Station, Paradise Interchange, and Tea Tree Plaza Interchange at the Modbury end. Buses leave the track at Paradise or Tea Tree Plaza to continue services on normal roads, eliminating the need for passenger transfer.

Experience with Contracted Bus Operations

The tendering out of bus operations has been a bumpy ride for Adelaide commuters. The original 1996 partial service tendering saw services run and marketed under each operator's name, presenting a disjointed network to the public. The Adelaide Metro brand was created in 2000 to restore a unified face to the public.[3]

Contract holder Serco withdrew in 2004, at the contracted half-term break-point, after failing to renegotiate its contract on better terms. Serco had previously informed the Minister for Transport that it was not willing to continue to operate the bus services for a further five years on the terms contained in the then existing Contract. Serco had made a submission to the Department of Transport and Urban Planning proposing to operate the bus services in the contract areas on new terms and conditions. This submission was rejected by the Department of Transport and Urban Planning. The company unsuccessfully rebid for the contract in the subsequent competition.[2][9]

Light-City Buses was awarded two Adelaide's six public bus contract regions commencing operation in October 2011, taking over the North South and Outer North East Contract Areas from Torrens Transit. These two contract regions cover 43% of the bus services in Adelaide,[4] valued at $567 million over the eight-year life of the contracts.[10] The contracts are in place for an initial eight-year term, from 2 October 2011 to 30 June 2019 with an option to extend for a further four years, subject to government approval.[4] Since the start of operations of bus services by Light-City Buses in October 2011 service interruptions and delays which were initially dismissed as teething problems have continued to frustrate commuters. [11][12] Transfield has claimed most of the problems have been resolved and they are working on resolving the rest, however in May 2012, Transport Services minister Chloë Fox imposed a fine of $121,000 for failing to meet Performance Benchmark Targets:[13]

  • The number of Transfield buses running on time from 1 January – 31 March 2012 ranged from as low as 51.6%on Transfield North South contract region to 66.9% on the Outer North East region. Transfield was fined $121,345 for late running buses services as a result.[14]
  • In the 1 April – 30 June 2012 period Transfield, on-time running increased only marginally to 52.2% for the North South contract region and 71.3% for the Outer North East contract region. Transfield was fined $70,000 for its poor on-time running performance.[15]

Transfield have said that new timetables in July 2012 should help get buses running on time.

The negative experience following this latest change of operators reflects the advice given to the Government in 2009, when it was recommended that contracts should be extended by negotiation, rather than re-tendered.[16] The expert advice was based on:

  • the efficiency of existing tender prices
  • the incumbent operators' service quality performance
  • the incumbent operators' entrepreneurship in regards to service development [17]

The expert advice stated that:

  • there are significant risks in any transition from one operator to another, including public uncertainty and staff unrest,
  • there would be difficulties inherent in ‘unpicking’ the then current network structure and timetables,
  • any change in operators was likely to present considerable risks, such as reduced service quality, reduced patronage growth, and limited benefits.[17]

The South Australian Government went ahead with tenders in 2010. As noted above, the resultant change of operator from the incumbent Torrens Transit to Light-City Buses in the North South and Outer North East Contract Areas has seen many of the warnings given come to fruition.

Professor David Hensher, Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at the University of Sydney, has commented that while three rounds of competitive tendering in Adelaide had ironed out the cost inefficiencies and lack of service incentives under the previous public monopoly model,

“ all the research on competitive tendering versus negotiated performance-based contracts is showing that one cannot squeeze any more out of the cost efficiency stone after three rounds and the risk of declines in service quality is real if this is pushed ”

—David Hensher, [18]

It is not just service performance which is suffering; Government data shows a steady increase in patronage over the first two complete rounds of competitive tendering, followed by a sharp drop-off in the past two years.[18]

Gallery

See also

Adelaide

Contracted Adelaide Bus Companies

Australia
Worldwide
  • List of bus companies

References

  1. ↑ "State Transport Authority". Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wallis, Ian; Bray, David (June 2001). "Competitive Tendering for Bus Services: The Improved Adelaide Model". Thredbo Series. Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Morgan, Peter (2000-04-21). "A new deal on the buses". The Advertiser. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Minister for Transport - Report on the Adelaide Metro Bus Service Contracts, August 2011, retrieved 2011-12-03.
  5. ↑ "SouthLink". Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  6. ↑ http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/routes/roamzone.html
  7. ↑ Previously known as The Connector, the service makes also makes use of a Solar Bus, Tindo (Tindo stands for solar in the local Aboriginal language); the 99C service is a clockwise loop while the 99A is anti-clockwise.<http://yoursay.adelaidecitycouncil.com/city-connector-bus
  8. ↑ http://yoursay.adelaidecitycouncil.com/city-connector-bus
  9. ↑ Kain, Peter. 019-2009-08-24-Kain-Australian-and-British-Experiences-with-Competitive.pdf "AUSTRALIAN AND BRITISH EXPERIENCES WITH COMPETITIVE TENDERING IN RAIL OPERATIONS". Retrieved 18 September 2012. 
  10. ↑ Transfield Services awarded $567 million Adelaide metropolitan bus contract, Friday, 29 April 2011, retrieved 2011-12-03.
  11. ↑ Kelton, Sam (27 October 2011). "Minister admits there are still 'teething problems' with Adelaide's bus service". AdelaideNow. Retrieved 2012-01-22. 
  12. ↑ "Major issues with new Bus Operator Transfield". Senstaional Adelaide Web Forum. October to December 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-22. 
  13. ↑ Kelton, Sam (6 October 2011). "Bus operator Transfield criticised for late and absent services". The Australian. Retrieved 2012-01-22. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fox, Chloë (2 May 2012). "BUS CONTRACTORS PENALISED FOR PERFORMANCE". Government of South Australia. Retrieved 2012-06-13. 
  15. ↑ Milnes, Michael (17 August 2012). "Buses on schedule just half of the time". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 2012-08-23. 
  16. ↑ Washington, David. "No more blood out of this stone". Flinders Indaily. Retrieved 4 October 2012. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Wallis, Ian; Bray, D, Webster, H (September 2009). "TO COMPETITIVELY TENDER OR TO NEGOTIATE - WEIGHING UP THE CHOICES IN A MATURE MARKET". 11TH CONFERENCE ON COMPETITION AND OWNERSHIP IN LAND PASSENGER TRANSPORT. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Washington, David. "Government bus strategy wrong: researcher". Retrieved 4 October 2012. 

External links

Bus transport in Australia
Cities
States and Territories
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