News & Discussion: Public Transport Contracts, Service & Policy

[monotonehell]

What do people think about getting rid of paper tickets for good and only allowing the use of Metro Cards?

Not good imo. Having the option for a single use ticket means tourists and casual users can buy one ticket for $3.4/$5.30 instead of $10. Also instead of throwing away a plastic card, it's a bit of paper.

If a tourist is going to do more than a couple of trips it might be worth a card.

As noted above; Melbourne have done away with their single trips and it's very confusing for tourists. Cries that they should be more organised are not helpful.

(As an aside, the on board ticket machines could be made simpler for tourists.)

[SBD]

In Brisbane, when a tourist is finished with their card, they can sell it back at some ticket outlets, and recover both the full cost of the card itself, and any remaining credit on it. I can't remember if single trips were also available, as we bought cards for the week we were there, and traded them in just before we left.

[Norman]

In Brisbane, when a tourist is finished with their card, they can sell it back at some ticket outlets, and recover both the full cost of the card itself, and any remaining credit on it. I can't remember if single trips were also available, as we bought cards for the week we were there, and traded them in just before we left.

Pretty sure you can still buy paper tickets, printed on receipt paper.

[Westside]

So these bus lanes will be fairly similar to the short bus lane that's been at the Henley Beach Rd / South Road intersection for about the last 15 years?
https://goo.gl/maps/gLvWTN9WrZS2

New Setback Bus Lanes on Anzac Highway...
http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/__data/assets ... cation.pdf

Nope. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. The bus lanes will be between the sets of lights. They will start just after each intersection and end just before the next. This allows 3 lanes of traffic through each intersection, but requires non-bus vehicles to merge out of the left lane just after the intersection as the bus lane resumes again.

[PeFe]

As noted above; Melbourne have done away with their single trips and it's very confusing for tourists. Cries that they should be more organised are not helpful.

Whats confusing about it ? If you are going to Melbourne as a tourist then you do a bit of research on transport options.....
10 seconds on the internet tells you that it is card only.........hardly a radical idea, London (a much much bigger tourist destination) has moved to virtual card only fare structure.
Yes you can still buy single tube tickets, but the last 3 times I have been there I can not recall seeing anyone buying single tickets,
and the buses are card only making it really a card only city for tourists.

Adelaide Metro could do a bit more to speed up the bus system by really pushing the use of a smart card by locals, it is so frustrating being on a bus and six people get on all wanting to buy single tickets.
Also there should be a day cap on Metrocard and a weekly pass option.

Sydney has adopted a new approach following the Opal card rollout, single tickets are available (20-30 % dearer than the card) but full priced tickets only.........concession/seniors must use a card, otherwise they must purchase a full price single ticket.

[monotonehell]

As noted above; Melbourne have done away with their single trips and it's very confusing for tourists. Cries that they should be more organised are not helpful.

Whats confusing about it ? If you are going to Melbourne as a tourist then you do a bit of research on transport options.....
10 seconds on the internet tells you that it is card only.........hardly a radical idea, London (a much much bigger tourist destination) has moved to virtual card only fare structure.
Yes you can still buy single tube tickets, but the last 3 times I have been there I can not recall seeing anyone buying single tickets,
and the buses are card only making it really a card only city for tourists.

As I said, not helpful. Tourists aren't always forward thinking. Sure some are, but you catch any Glenelg Tram during the day when a bunch of tourists are trying to work out how to buy a ticket on the tram. You can cry "get organised!" all you like. You can't change people doing spur of the moment things. Instead of getting annoyed, how about we make it easier for them. (Nb this mostly applies to the Glenelg Tram.)

Adelaide Metro could do a bit more to speed up the bus system by really pushing the use of a smart card by locals, it is so frustrating being on a bus and six people get on all wanting to buy single tickets.

How many of those six people are doing this every day? Metrocards are promoted heavily. What's a better incentive to encourage people to ride more and get a Metrocard when they do; having a first time user being able to buy a single trip, or having them ejected from the vehicle because they have to have a metrocard, getting this bad experience and reverting to their car for ever?

There's already a price incentive to go to Metrocard if you become a regular user.

Also there should be a day cap on Metrocard and a weekly pass option.

I agree, cap it at a daytrip fare? But possibly hard to implement on the simple, off the shelf, cheap system we have? The governement saved millions and teething troubles in roll out compared to the Opal, Miki debacles.

[PeFe]

I agree, cap it at a daytrip fare? But possibly hard to implement on the simple, off the shelf, cheap system we have? The governement saved millions and teething troubles in roll out compared to the Opal, Miki debacles.

I believe the Metrocard system can do "more"....its just a matter of reprogramming.
I too wondered about its capabilities when it first appeared in Adelaide (as a cheap off the shelf system) but as soon as they brought out the 28 day pass...I knew it could do more.

Getting back to the tourist argument....public transport is there for the citizens of a particular city to get around......efficacy is primary...tourists have a lot of spare time during their day, making public transport work faster is not a priority for them.

And I will reiterate yet again how easy the internet has made travel, the majority of tourists I see have smart phones...........it is literally ten times easier than it used to be.
I started travelling in the 80's when I was in my 20's and had to rely on travel guides for local information......I am eternally grateful for Lets Go America warning me that the Phoenix bus system ceases to operate after 7pm weeknights and not at all on Sundays (and this is in a city over 2 million at the time!)

Smart transport cards are ubiquitous in the western world, very few people would have not seen one, or at least heard of one, the Adelaide Airport bus stop allows you to buy one.......you cant be spoon fed everything as a tourist, you need to make an effort to work out how a particular city works.
I think Adelaide rates "middling to good" with its public transport information for tourists, I would like to see more language options on the ticket vending machines though.

[Listy]

So these bus lanes will be fairly similar to the short bus lane that's been at the Henley Beach Rd / South Road intersection for about the last 15 years?
https://goo.gl/maps/gLvWTN9WrZS2

New Setback Bus Lanes on Anzac Highway...
http://www.dpti.sa.gov.au/__data/assets ... cation.pdf

Nope. In fact, it's exactly the opposite. The bus lanes will be between the sets of lights. They will start just after each intersection and end just before the next. This allows 3 lanes of traffic through each intersection, but requires non-bus vehicles to merge out of the left lane just after the intersection as the bus lane resumes again.

Thanks - now it all makes sense

[Vee]

New Adelaide Metro digital bus stop, featuring real time information has been revealed in Grote Street.

The new signage is an initiative of a joint partnership between the State govt / DPTI and the ACC.
Feedback is being sought.

This is the first of a proposed suite of bus stop signage designed to unify and enhance the look and feel of public transport, and incorporate city central wayfinding to provide whole of journey information in one location.

This first digital bus stop is located at existing stop W Grote Street, adjacent to the Hilton Hotel. 

It will provide next arrival times for all existing buses that service this stop on a continuously updated digital screen using real time information sourced from Adelaide Metro's state-of-the-art Bluetooth monitoring systems. This is a low-cost system that allows for future upgrade opportunities.

Helpful wayfinding information is incorporated into the stop to help you link up with other public transport services or find your way to popular destinations.

The stop has been developed with anti-graffiti covering and is highly vandal-proof for minimal external maintenance.

DPTI:
http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Announc ... ote-Street

[metro]

Like with most public transport innovations in this city i'm looking forward to it not being put in anywhere else, and never functioning properly.

[Nathan]

On the topic of the real time tracking, has anyone else noticed some buses seemingly spoofing their location? I can understand the odd instance of the GPS location being behind the actual bus (due to lag), but sometimes it can be quite a bit in front. I've been even on a particular bus, and the tracking is telling me we were half the entire length of North Tce ahead of our actual location. That can't be right.

[ChillyPhilly]

On the topic of the real time tracking, has anyone else noticed some buses seemingly spoofing their location? I can understand the odd instance of the GPS location being behind the actual bus (due to lag), but sometimes it can be quite a bit in front. I've been even on a particular bus, and the tracking is telling me we were half the entire length of North Tce ahead of our actual location. That can't be right.

Might depend on what GPS devices are being used. Some are accurate to a few metres, some a bit less so.

[bits]

Maybe it is like flight paths, where you assume they are running the planned path until info to say otherwise is given.

[monotonehell]

On the topic of the real time tracking, has anyone else noticed some buses seemingly spoofing their location? I can understand the odd instance of the GPS location being behind the actual bus (due to lag), but sometimes it can be quite a bit in front. I've been even on a particular bus, and the tracking is telling me we were half the entire length of North Tce ahead of our actual location. That can't be right.

I would guess that the system tries to account for lag by estimating ahead. Better to say the bus has already arrived and have it turn up a minute later, than to say it will come in a minute and you can see it driving past. Possibly the estimation gets a bit ahead of itself when the bus is held up for a moment?

My experience with the timing on buses has been good. But the tram I find seems to consistently leave two minutes earlier than the time indicated.

[Norman]

Some pics from today





They definitely look a lot better than the ones on the O-Bahn, so well done DPTI. I hope that these get rolled out to more major stops in the city.