News & Discussion: Public Transport Contracts, Service & Policy

[Norman]

Solar, wind, waves, thermals... And in the interim, coal.

[fishinajar]

what are we going to use to power the electricity plants?

Our wind and solar power producers would hopefully allow the electric transit and CBD, hospitals etc. to continue operating, so long as the power network is ready to prioritise these services.

[jk1237]

hi, look I'm prepared to cop criticism for being elitist, but are the any other city residents or actual commuters who use the City Connector 99A/C etc. Living just off Hutt St, the idea of the connector buses is brilliant, they are sort of frequent, nice enough buses, however just one thing - I probably use one of them maybe once every 2-3 weeks and I have not been on one single bus over the past 3 months, that hasn't had a group of 5+ drunken homeless bums swearing and shouting at each other. I don't know if I'm lucky to have them on every single bus, and personally I'm not too fussed by them because I usually put loud music in my ears to block them out, but you can tell by the cringing, concerned and worried looks by fellow passengers (especially single females) that they are not making the buses at all confortable to travel on. To make things worth, there are usually a handful of tourists on each one that all of a sudden drop their jaws and go very quiet. Welcome to Adelaide eh? Again today, another bunch of drunks got on, they all virtually tripped over themselves while getting on (standard normal happening), they absolutely smell like wine and urine (standard on every bus) they shout at each other (standard on every bus) they try and sit down but always fall into other normal passengers. As a city resident, you become immune to the interesting loonies, drunks and oddballs of the city, but it does freak some people out when they are stuck on a bus and excruciating long traffic lights (ie the few hundreds metrs from North Tce to the start of Hutt street seems to take 10 mins) to be surrounded by shockingly unpleasant people.

Not sure what can be done, but there really needs to be warning signs to tourists and commuters that advise this bus route is frequented by homeless drunks so take caution

[Norman]

The best thing to do is call the police if they are disturbing other passengers. The bus driver should really take some responsibility and report it.

[claybro]

hi, look I'm prepared to cop criticism for being elitist, but are the any other city residents or actual commuters who use the City Connector 99A/C etc. Living just off Hutt St, the idea of the connector buses is brilliant, they are sort of frequent, nice enough buses, however just one thing - I probably use one of them maybe once every 2-3 weeks and I have not been on one single bus over the past 3 months, that hasn't had a group of 5+ drunken homeless bums swearing and shouting at each other. I don't know if I'm lucky to have them on every single bus, and personally I'm not too fussed by them because I usually put loud music in my ears to block them out, but you can tell by the cringing, concerned and worried looks by fellow passengers (especially single females) that they are not making the buses at all confortable to travel on. To make things worth, there are usually a handful of tourists on each one that all of a sudden drop their jaws and go very quiet. Welcome to Adelaide eh? Again today, another bunch of drunks got on, they all virtually tripped over themselves while getting on (standard normal happening), they absolutely smell like wine and urine (standard on every bus) they shout at each other (standard on every bus) they try and sit down but always fall into other normal passengers. As a city resident, you become immune to the interesting loonies, drunks and oddballs of the city, but it does freak some people out when they are stuck on a bus and excruciating long traffic lights (ie the few hundreds metrs from North Tce to the start of Hutt street seems to take 10 mins) to be surrounded by shockingly unpleasant people.

Not sure what can be done, but there really needs to be warning signs to tourists and commuters that advise this bus route is frequented by homeless drunks so take caution

Don't despair, I can assure you the problem is not peculiar to this bus route or Adelaide. The problem of homelessness and drunkenness has reached epidemic proportions here in Perth. Drunken arguing people, mainly of aboriginal decent just jump on trains and busses, without paying, abusing themselves, other people and generally are a menace. Why would a bus driver even try to confront them? The police just seem to move them on to somewhere else to catch another bus and annoy other people. I have to say, pleasingly the problem seemed no where near as bad in Adelaide as Perth on my last 2 visits there. As a society we seem to have become completely at a loss to deal with this and just let these folk run riot. We are all fed the "white guilt" line about their plight, but making the majority of working citizens feel guilty is not helping these people at all. Time to toughen up, and make them accountable for their public behaviour like everyone else.

[metro]

The drunks on Adelaide's free buses and trams are nothing compared to the pickpockets and gypsies of Paris and Brussels, on the TGV-Thalys out of the very orderly and civilised Western Germany and heading into Brussels I remember there were special announcements on the train warning of thieves and pickpockets who board the train at Brussels-Midi and steal unguarded baggage.

[crawf]

As a society we seem to have become completely at a loss to deal with this and just let these folk run riot. We are all fed the "white guilt" line about their plight, but making the majority of working citizens feel guilty is not helping these people at all. Time to toughen up, and make them accountable for their public behaviour like everyone else.

Well said.

I haven't caught the city free buses in years, and don't I think I can ever recall seeing anything what jk1237 has described. White or black, it's not acceptable behaviour and a shocking image for tourists.

[Patrick_27]

I catch the first morning service of this route every Tuesday to Thursday and I haven't had this problem, however I have had this problem on other PT routes. The trams are notorious for Aboriginals who swear and I've seen people get off the tram with their children because of this. Whilst it's not appealing and the language is foul, I don't think they mean anyone but themselves any harm. I actually find the drug users that can be found on the train network to be more of a problem.

It's a growing issue in the CBD. I've noticed in recent months a lot more homeless people appearing throughout the city streets, some on their own others in groups. Unfortunately this is something that comes with the rising unemployment rate, some of the newer people to homelessness aren't as skilled as those who have been doing it for years and collecting bottles and cans to make means.

The reason you'll probably find them going along this route is because the buses are free and there's a bottle shop near the corner of Hutt Street and South Terrace, the Police should be cracking down on it's owners for selling alcohol to people who are already obviously drunk, it is the law.

[jk1237]

The City Connector is very good at connecting Rundle Park, to Hutt Street and Whitmore Square. Number 1 is where they usually hang out during the day, numbers 2 and 3 are where the shelters are. The old city loop didn't really connect areas that the homeless would get to.

Yes the tram attracts a few because of the South Tce stop. They have had a full-time security guard at the South Tce stop for past 2-3 years, purely because of the drunks.

I don't think there has been a rise in drunks, and I am finding them much better behaved than 10 years ago, but instead of being 'out of sight out of mind', it seems they are congregating in spots closer to busy areas, and are informed of which buses and trams are free. Overall, I can clearly remember the 90s in Adelaide City where loads of anti-social behaviour was the norm. Much better nowadays

[skyliner]

The City Connector is very good at connecting Rundle Park, to Hutt Street and Whitmore Square. Number 1 is where they usually hang out during the day, numbers 2 and 3 are where the shelters are. The old city loop didn't really connect areas that the homeless would get to.

Yes the tram attracts a few because of the South Tce stop. They have had a full-time security guard at the South Tce stop for past 2-3 years, purely because of the drunks.

I don't think there has been a rise in drunks, and I am finding them much better behaved than 10 years ago, but instead of being 'out of sight out of mind', it seems they are congregating in spots closer to busy areas, and are informed of which buses and trams are free. Overall, I can clearly remember the 90s in Adelaide City where loads of anti-social behaviour was the norm. Much better nowadays

in general I agree with your last para jk1237. I recall Victoria Sq. around the old WC block in the '90's - terrible ad for the city with all the drunks around that. I think some of the issue depends on where you are and when as to frequency etcetc.

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[Will]

hi, look I'm prepared to cop criticism for being elitist, but are the any other city residents or actual commuters who use the City Connector 99A/C etc. Living just off Hutt St, the idea of the connector buses is brilliant, they are sort of frequent, nice enough buses, however just one thing - I probably use one of them maybe once every 2-3 weeks and I have not been on one single bus over the past 3 months, that hasn't had a group of 5+ drunken homeless bums swearing and shouting at each other. I don't know if I'm lucky to have them on every single bus, and personally I'm not too fussed by them because I usually put loud music in my ears to block them out, but you can tell by the cringing, concerned and worried looks by fellow passengers (especially single females) that they are not making the buses at all confortable to travel on. To make things worth, there are usually a handful of tourists on each one that all of a sudden drop their jaws and go very quiet. Welcome to Adelaide eh? Again today, another bunch of drunks got on, they all virtually tripped over themselves while getting on (standard normal happening), they absolutely smell like wine and urine (standard on every bus) they shout at each other (standard on every bus) they try and sit down but always fall into other normal passengers. As a city resident, you become immune to the interesting loonies, drunks and oddballs of the city, but it does freak some people out when they are stuck on a bus and excruciating long traffic lights (ie the few hundreds metrs from North Tce to the start of Hutt street seems to take 10 mins) to be surrounded by shockingly unpleasant people.

Not sure what can be done, but there really needs to be warning signs to tourists and commuters that advise this bus route is frequented by homeless drunks so take caution

This is why I have stopped eating alfresco in the CBD.

The problem in Australia is that certain people only have human rights, but no human responsibilities.

[crawf]

Went on the Adelaide Metro website to add more credit to my metrocard and it keeps coming up with an error message.

Tried calling the Infoline and ofcourse they are closed... Perth on the otherhand, their infoline is open till 12.30am on weekdays and 2am on weekends.

Seriously when the hell is this city going to get a decent public transport service?!. I've noticed lately trains have been running late or cancelled causing absolute chaos and an OHS issue for commuters. The cheap PA system sucks and it just sounds like muffle inside the trains, and you can't hear the announcements on the platform due to the noise from the diesel trains.

The Government should forget token projects like the O'bahn and put some serious investment on upgrading the existing network and services. I hope P.T becomes a serious issue in the next state election, Labor has had enough years to get their act together. Enough is enough

[Goodsy]

Went on the Adelaide Metro website to add more credit to my metrocard and it keeps coming up with an error message.

Tried calling the Infoline and ofcourse they are closed... Perth on the otherhand, their infoline is open till 12.30am on weekdays and 2am on weekends.

Seriously when the hell is this city going to get a decent public transport service?!. I've noticed lately trains have been running late or cancelled causing absolute chaos and an OHS issue for commuters. The cheap PA system sucks and it just sounds like muffle inside the trains, and you can't hear the announcements on the platform due to the noise from the diesel trains.

The Government should forget token projects like the O'bahn and put some serious investment on upgrading the existing network and services. I hope P.T becomes a serious issue in the next state election, Labor has had enough years to get their act together. Enough is enough

The O-Bahn isn't token, it's one of the most used pieces of public transport we have

[metro]

Crawf I fear it would be the same level of incompetence or worse under a Liberal govt. The DPTI is mostly run by a bunch of road/bus loving idiots who clearly hate the rail system, because we get stupid decisions like: scrapping electrification, buying new trains that seem to lack chopper control (for smooth acceleration) and a/c that sounds like an aircraft's jet engines at cruising altitude, they also spent years of inconveniencing people with no trains to rebuild all of the tracks so that when services resume they run slower and rougher than before, while at the same time passengers put up with their local train stations that are constantly a mess of graffiti and/or literally have weeds growing through the platform (Warradale, Glanville, Woodville), and the rest are mostly nothing more than a bus stop on a platform with only a bus stop sign with a timetable. Then there's the more subtle things like the platform announcers you mention, in every other city announcement are blasted loud enough for the whole station to hear, even over a passing freight train, but in Adelaide it's from a quiet mumbling little box that anyone who is hearing impaired would struggle to comprehend even standing right next to it. Everywhere else you buy tickets at the stations and validate at ticket gates or card readers on the platform, not on the train where people crowd around the doors for 20min as everyone tries to validate/buy their tickets which clearly slows down the trains in the morning rush hour. Lastly the Adelaide Metro website is just atrocious, everytime I use it there's a problem and it never works on my phone, and there are zero staff around to help out if you're a lost tourist but there's plenty of Wilson security standing around doing nothing.

The O-Bahn isn't token, it's one of the most used pieces of public transport we have

If that's true then why does it need improving if it's already a success? It moves more people than the Gawler and Seaford Lines combined so surely the under-performing rail network is a much higher priority for investment, especially seeing as electrification work has just kind of been left in the lurch with all those poles between Elizabeth and Gawler. They should have finished electrifying the rail system before starting the Obahn tunnel.

[bits]

If that's true then why does it need improving if it's already a success? It moves more people than the Gawler and Seaford Lines combined so surely the under-performing rail network is a much higher priority for investment, especially seeing as electrification work has just kind of been left in the lurch with all those poles between Elizabeth and Gawler. They should have finished electrifying the rail system before starting the Obahn tunnel.

If I was in charge I would have pulled out the train lines and replaced them with O-Bahn tracks. Adelaide people have made it pretty clear the O-Bahn is exactly the type of public transport they will use.
Surely the O-Bahn tracks are cheaper. Cheaper vehicles, cheaper tracks, less transfers between services etc.

Why couldn't there be an O-Bahn track to replace the Outer Harbor line?