Re-Imagining the Adelaide Bus Network
Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2021 8:48 pm
So I'm stuck in iso at the moment and it got me thinking about revisiting the much-maligned overhaul of the Adelaide Bus Network. Overall I found it to be quite positive, and just needed a few tweaks here and there to fill in a number of the gaps it left. So with my time at home, I went to task adjusting the routes as I saw them. Feel free to add your own observations on here too. Below is the overview of the network as a whole. I will also post basic route descriptions and a bit of an explanation on some of the changes. You may need to save the image to zoom in - it is quite detailed!
Basically, I liked the re-numbering and getting rid of the old number/letter combos. I also like the fact that routes keep their number from one side of the city to the other - it saves drivers having to change mid-route and encourages more regular cross-city routes. I also joined a number of the more minor routes together to provide more single-seat rides, which allow for more connections to other services, ie a single service from North Haven to West Lakes, from Marion to Stirling and made many of the routes around Aberfoyle Park and Hallett Cove extensions of their nearby go-zones.
Secondly, I felt that the need to make all go-zones a single route was restricting the network too much. You can see evidence of where a 'nearby' go-zone meant a whole suburb lost its route (ie the south eastern suburbs). It also meant that routes lost their flexibility around the end-point. (Ie Western routes may have ended at West Lakes/Henley Sq/Port Adelaide, so you had a greater choice of destination from that one trunk route when heading away from the city). So my proposal re-introduces a number of minor routes that provide a high-frequency trunk route, but still branch at the outer end.
I have also re-introduced many of the express services that the new proposal removed. You need these services in place to help provide quicker journey times to the connecting services at the other end. I have tried to simplify them by removing F routes so they can be truly express. I also went one step further and replaced the old T prefix with L for Limited stop routes. This is far more widely known than Transit-Link routes (whose name I haven't heard for many years).
Finally, I have definitely ignored the current service contract boundaries to design this network. The Government own these boundaries, so can do whatever they like to them (when out of contract, that is). I don't think we should be restricted by them, so you will definitely notice some unusual routes that may not be possible under the current contracts. However, I have tried to stay within the bounds of the resources we currently have (roughly), so it's not a complete imaginary what-if network.
Basically, I liked the re-numbering and getting rid of the old number/letter combos. I also like the fact that routes keep their number from one side of the city to the other - it saves drivers having to change mid-route and encourages more regular cross-city routes. I also joined a number of the more minor routes together to provide more single-seat rides, which allow for more connections to other services, ie a single service from North Haven to West Lakes, from Marion to Stirling and made many of the routes around Aberfoyle Park and Hallett Cove extensions of their nearby go-zones.
Secondly, I felt that the need to make all go-zones a single route was restricting the network too much. You can see evidence of where a 'nearby' go-zone meant a whole suburb lost its route (ie the south eastern suburbs). It also meant that routes lost their flexibility around the end-point. (Ie Western routes may have ended at West Lakes/Henley Sq/Port Adelaide, so you had a greater choice of destination from that one trunk route when heading away from the city). So my proposal re-introduces a number of minor routes that provide a high-frequency trunk route, but still branch at the outer end.
I have also re-introduced many of the express services that the new proposal removed. You need these services in place to help provide quicker journey times to the connecting services at the other end. I have tried to simplify them by removing F routes so they can be truly express. I also went one step further and replaced the old T prefix with L for Limited stop routes. This is far more widely known than Transit-Link routes (whose name I haven't heard for many years).
Finally, I have definitely ignored the current service contract boundaries to design this network. The Government own these boundaries, so can do whatever they like to them (when out of contract, that is). I don't think we should be restricted by them, so you will definitely notice some unusual routes that may not be possible under the current contracts. However, I have tried to stay within the bounds of the resources we currently have (roughly), so it's not a complete imaginary what-if network.