On the Extension plans for Tonsley and Noarlunga lines thread
fabricator wrote:
Tonsley has the 600-601 bus for example which is an east west route, Blackwood station to Tonsley via Flinders Uni and Hospital. Slow enough but then continues to Oaklands (Noarlunga train), Glenelg (tram) and then all the way to West Beach. What is with the obsession the government in this state have with making important connecting buses for trains/major shopping center etc, into insanely long routes which never keep to the timetable ???
Long routes have that disadvantage, but they also have significant advantages. For a start they attract a lot more passengers, as they give a one seat ride to a lot more places.
The route actually used to be longer - most of it was part of the 340 from Marino Rocks to Port Adelaide! But they found Flinders was a more important destination for passengers.
Since then it's connected to the City via Grange, but as this route was slow and indirect it wasn't surprising they split it. Even so, the current northern terminus is IMO too insignificant - it would be better to extend it to West Lakes.
As for the terminus at the southern end of the route, Blackwood isn't much further than Flinders, and extending this route up there removes the need for a separate route to overlap it between Marion and Flinders, so fewer buses are required for the same level of service.
Shorter bus routes are usually more reliable, but that doesn't mean it's always better to have shorter bus routes.
