News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

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Brucetiki
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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#526 Post by Brucetiki » Mon May 21, 2018 9:41 pm

HeapsGood wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 1:56 pm
Does anyone know when the old buses will be phased out at Southlink?

By old, i mean the uncomfortable, loud, lacking air conditioning, lacking window tinting, old brown seaters... they are by far the worst buses out and I deliberately avoid them. I would rather spend another 5-10 minutes waiting for the next bus then catch them.
If you're referring to the Brown Bombers, they were retired in 2005 - one was at the History Festival celebrations at the NRM over the weekend.

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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#527 Post by Brucetiki » Mon May 21, 2018 9:41 pm

adelaide transport wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 4:20 pm
The oldest buses operated by Southlink are the NL 202's,the oldest being built in 1997,meaning they still have 4 years left before they are retired.
They're also airconditoned and don't have brown seats.

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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#528 Post by HeapsGood » Tue May 22, 2018 1:58 pm

I'm not sure of the model of the bus, but they have the 2 x 2 seats facing each other at the front of the bus, the 2 big areas for disabled seating with 1 or 2 fold down chairs, and then the steps up to the back section of the bus, where there are also 2 seats facing each other. From memory, they have like brown upholstery seating. There may be air conditioning, or there may not be - it usually doesn't work well in summer. They are the most horrible buses out.
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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#529 Post by HeapsGood » Tue May 22, 2018 2:01 pm

Ok it's definitely these buses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHrShc677gg

Which is the NL202. They are absolutely horrible and seem older than 1997.
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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#530 Post by jorcoga » Tue May 22, 2018 3:51 pm

Yeah Torrens Transit has a nasty, nasty habit of running those buses on my route right on peak hour. Meanwhile I get the 100 to work two days a week and often get an articulated bus. On a route where even in the middle of morning peak there's very rarely more than 10 people aboard...

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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#531 Post by Brucetiki » Wed May 23, 2018 6:03 pm

HeapsGood wrote:
Tue May 22, 2018 2:01 pm
Ok it's definitely these buses https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHrShc677gg

Which is the NL202. They are absolutely horrible and seem older than 1997.
Oh yeah, the NL’s are awful. Not as bad as the midi’s - their smaller cousin (which have been retired several years before they needed to).

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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#532 Post by muzzamo » Wed May 23, 2018 6:39 pm

jorcoga wrote:
Tue May 22, 2018 3:51 pm
Yeah Torrens Transit has a nasty, nasty habit of running those buses on my route right on peak hour. Meanwhile I get the 100 to work two days a week and often get an articulated bus. On a route where even in the middle of morning peak there's very rarely more than 10 people aboard...
In peak hour, they need all their buses on the road. Outside of peak i've noticed they use the newest buses, presumably because they have the lowest running costs.

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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#533 Post by jorcoga » Thu May 24, 2018 3:29 pm

muzzamo wrote:
Wed May 23, 2018 6:39 pm
jorcoga wrote:
Tue May 22, 2018 3:51 pm
Yeah Torrens Transit has a nasty, nasty habit of running those buses on my route right on peak hour. Meanwhile I get the 100 to work two days a week and often get an articulated bus. On a route where even in the middle of morning peak there's very rarely more than 10 people aboard...
In peak hour, they need all their buses on the road. Outside of peak i've noticed they use the newest buses, presumably because they have the lowest running costs.
Do they really have significantly more buses on the road during peak hour than during the middle of the day? You're right about buses after about 7pm or so but the service frequency on most routes (Torrens Transit ones, anyway) is more or less the same at midday as it is at 8am or 5pm.

My point stands that the NL202 is ideal for the various cross-suburban routes (100, 300, J8, 361 etc) that are relatively sparsely used and tend to primarily serve the purpose of getting people to their local shops or kids to their school - generally fairly short trips. My commute on the 100 takes a bit under 20 minutes and anecdotally very few of the people that get off at Arndale are already aboard there when I get on. Using them on busy routes in peak times? Not so much.

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Re: News & Discussion: Buses

#534 Post by Norman » Thu May 24, 2018 8:31 pm


jorcoga wrote:
muzzamo wrote:
Wed May 23, 2018 6:39 pm
jorcoga wrote:
Tue May 22, 2018 3:51 pm
Yeah Torrens Transit has a nasty, nasty habit of running those buses on my route right on peak hour. Meanwhile I get the 100 to work two days a week and often get an articulated bus. On a route where even in the middle of morning peak there's very rarely more than 10 people aboard...
In peak hour, they need all their buses on the road. Outside of peak i've noticed they use the newest buses, presumably because they have the lowest running costs.
Do they really have significantly more buses on the road during peak hour than during the middle of the day? You're right about buses after about 7pm or so but the service frequency on most routes (Torrens Transit ones, anyway) is more or less the same at midday as it is at 8am or 5pm.
Definitely. For example, the M44 runs double the frequency in peak and the G10 runs triple the frequency in peak. Then add to that the school buses and services that only run in peak hours.

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Re: News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

#535 Post by 1NEEDS2POST » Tue Jun 26, 2018 7:28 pm

Flinders University has just started running a driverless shuttle bus that runs on public roads. Anyone can book a ride on it.

https://www.flinders.edu.au/flex-bus

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Re: News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

#536 Post by ChillyPhilly » Thu Jul 26, 2018 7:52 am

Is it time buses accepted card transactions?
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Re: News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

#537 Post by Norman » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:20 am

ChillyPhilly wrote:Is it time buses accepted card transactions?
It would be easier to allow the card readers to accept debit and credit cards.

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Re: News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

#538 Post by claybro » Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:33 am

Norman wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:20 am
It would be easier to allow the card readers to accept debit and credit cards.
Presume you mean tapping on with your own credit/debit card? Would it even be possible to programme the machines to charge different amounts for different cards for the same journey ie bank surcharges? And aren't the metro cards able to provide data on travel habits which might be missing from private credit/debit cards? Not sure just how they actually use the system other than fare collection.

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Re: News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

#539 Post by Eurostar » Thu Jul 26, 2018 11:19 am

ChillyPhilly wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 7:52 am
Is it time buses accepted card transactions?
I liked the idea of being able to use my bank card to top up my myki on the bus especially at Tullamarine Airport where there is not easy to find your bank's ATM machine.

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Re: News & Discussion: Adelaide Metro Buses

#540 Post by 1NEEDS2POST » Thu Jul 26, 2018 5:41 pm

claybro wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:33 am
Norman wrote:
Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:20 am
It would be easier to allow the card readers to accept debit and credit cards.
Presume you mean tapping on with your own credit/debit card? Would it even be possible to programme the machines to charge different amounts for different cards for the same journey ie bank surcharges? And aren't the metro cards able to provide data on travel habits which might be missing from private credit/debit cards? Not sure just how they actually use the system other than fare collection.
If credit cards replace metrocards, could ticket inspectors verify you have paid for a valid ticket?

These days, you can make payments with your phone. Apparently Adelaide Metro has looked into this. https://www.itnews.com.au/news/adelaide ... ort-436267

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