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AUSTRALIAN ELECTRIC TRACTION ASSOCIATION SOUTH AUSTRALIAN DIVISION
PO BOX 8162 STATION ARCADE ADELAIDE South Australia 5000
ESTABLISHED 1955
Advocating the Development of Electric Transportation within a balanced transit network
President: (Mr) R T Wheaton
Internet: www.electrictraction.org.au
Home Phone 08-8331 9043
Email address: [email protected]
AUSTRALIAN ELECTRIC TRACTION ASSOCIATION
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN DIVISION
To
The Government of South Australia
Submission
on
The Integrated Transport and Land Use Plan
15 January 2014
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INTRODUCTION
The Australian Electric Traction Association South Australian Division (AETA
SA) is a transit advocacy group that was established in 1955. Its goal is to:
Advocate the development of electric transit within a balanced transit system.
Our slogan is - Move People Not Vehicles.
We are politically non-party and not formally associated with other
organisations.
The AETA SA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Draft Integrated
Transport and Land Use Plan.
Light Rail Proposals
The plans for a return of trams in form of light rail services on page 46 and 47 should
be subject to a thorough feasibility study which should be publicly available and
should not be seen as a panacea in all circumstances.
However, if a proposed tramline is built, .a defined hub should be its terminus (e.g.
Glenelg, Adelaide CBD, Entertainment Centre and Adelaide Airport). Feeder buses
should be provided to operate from the termini to ultimate destinations (e.g. Magill
University to Paradise Interchange and Adelaide Airport to West Lakes Mall or
Glenelg). An example of a successful feeder bus service currently operates in
Melbourne on tram Route 75 City to Vermont South with a timetabled connection to
Knox City Shopping Centre from the Vermont South tram terminus.
A Light Rail network should provide for a much higher frequencies compared to the
less frequent current bus services of between 7 ½ and 15 minutes but also to the
heavy rail service. Tram services could operate between every 2 and 6 minutes
during the day and every 8 to 12 minutes at other times which is similar to world’s
best practice for operating such a service.
We have noted that some of the proposed tram routes are along existing bus Go-
Zone frequencies and we would recommend as a short term measure to improve the
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frequencies along these corridors in line with the Inner City Rim Strategy launched
by the State Government in 2012.
We recommend the frequencies be a minimum of 10 minutes for buses during the
day and 15 minutes at other times.
Better integration of public transport and community facilities
Public transport planning to community facilities such as shopping centres, schools,
recreation centres appears to be an after thought by many town planners.
Unfortunately there are some who consider public transport to be a hindrance or
nuisance. One developer in the north eastern suburbs was said to have said “Why
should we plan for public transport provision when everyone who moves here will
have a car and drive a car”.
We recommend that public transport provision (i.e. Bus/tram/train routes) be
developed early in the development stage of housing estates and shopping centre
allotments.
Some bad examples of poor public transport provision in housing estates include:
Golden Grove and Mawson Lakes. Some good examples include Blakeview (Blakes
Crossing), Munno Para West (Playford Alive Project) and Northgate (Lightsview).
However, for shopping centre development and main town centre development we
note that Seaford Railway Station is located some 500 metres from the Seaford
Shopping Centre, Mawson Lakes Interchange is located 2 to 3 kilometres from
Mawson Town Centre and Noarlunga Centre Interchange is located 600 metres from
Colonnades Shopping Centre. Whilst there are bus services that link up these
locations once a person who has alighted from these interchanges there is no clear
signage to indicate this and are often seen struggling with shopping on both arms to
get back to the interchange from the shopping centre.
We recommend that bus stops and interchanges be located within 300 metres of the
entrance of a community facility or shopping centre. For example at Blakeview the
bus stop is located outside the front door of the shopping centre. However, we do
note that sufficient parking is always provided within 10 to 50 metres from the
community facility’s entrance.
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Public Transport Route Frequency
A concentrated effort should be to standardise frequencies of public transport
services to operate between 10 and 12 minutes which will solve the problem of
connectivity.
Where a service can only operate hourly or less frequently due to low patronage it
should, where practicable, be able to operate to an interchange which provides
transfers to a much higher frequency service such as an O-Bahn, train or tram
service.
Adelaide’s Bus Go-Zones have been highly successful and could be easily
expanded to provide for feeder services to railway stations as has been proposed in
the plan. However, other Go-Zones to consider in the long term include:
Port Adelaide to Tea Tree Plaza
Flinders University to Glenelg via Sturt and Brighton Roads
Mawson Lakes to Paradise Interchange via Routes 501
Milne Road from Para Hills to Tea Tree Plaza
Golden Grove Village to Salisbury Interchange via Green Valley Drive or
Target Hill Road
Full length of Kensington Road to Wattle Park
Glynburn Road from Glynde Corner to City
North East Road from Holden Hill to Tea Tree Plaza
McIntyre Road to Golden Grove Village or Salisbury via Main North Road and
Park Terrace.
It should be noted that frequencies of more than hourly discourage would be
and existing public transport users onto the public transport system. See
appendix as to what passengers and operators must do to improve frequencies
and what passengers really think of frequencies.
Bus Services
Cross suburban bus routes should be introduced that are not too long to enable on-
time running to be maintained. All cross suburban and circuit routes (i.e. Route 300-
Suburban Connector and City Free services) maps etc. should include details of
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intersecting bus routes similar to what was shown in 2002 Circle Line Route 100..
This will promote connectivity and the integration of Adelaide Metro’s bus services.
Some potential cross suburban services include:
Mawson Lakes to Port Adelaide
Expansion of the Port Adelaide to Tea Tree Plaza (route 361) to service West
Lakes or Semaphore (in summer months).
Glenelg to Port Adelaide
Paradise Interchange to Port Adelaide
Paradise Interchange to West Lakes Mall via Payneham Road, North Terrace,
Port Road, George Street, South and Grange Roads.
Reinstating the Cross Suburban service from Adelaide Airport to Elizabeth
and Golden Grove Village via Adelaide O-Bahn
Golden Grove Village to Salisbury Interchange extension to Elizabeth
Interchange via Lyell McEwen Hospital.
Don’t have through routed bus services having the same route number in both
directions. Examples include M44 and W90/91 In 1993, bus routes 580 and 581
were introduced between The Levels to Mile End. The 580 went from The Levels to
Mile End the return trip was numbered 581 to help with easy identification. This
problem is compounded when the other radial routes currently through routed
through the City change their number in the City.
Multiple bifurcations of bus routes of different lengths can cause delays to bus
services. Examples are along The Parade and Unley Road. For example on Unley
Road bus services are coming from Glenelg to the city via Unley Road thereby
creating late running for services which commence from the upper parts of Unley
Road. On The Parade the situation similar with a bus service coming from Paradise
Interchange via Glynburn Road and St Bernard’s Road which can cause The
Parade’s Go-Zone of a maximum of 15 minutes to have buses bunching up and
negating the aim of a regular reliable service in these instances..
Greater consideration needs to be made to introduce feeder bus services from long
distance locations like Goolwa/Victor Harbor to connect with trains at Seaford
Bus/Rail Interchange following the success of the Angaston/Nuriootpa bus services
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terminating at Gawler Station to provide a timetabled connection between bus and
train at that location. In the case of the Goolwa/Victor Harbor region, this would
enable an improved service to be provided to this rapidly developing area.
Passenger Information Provision
A network map needs to be developed which could be sold at Info Centres and
Metrocard retailers to help those who don’t have access to the Internet, I-Phones, or
I-Pads due to a disability, lack of expertise, or because of costs. Such a map would
also be beneficial to tourists and other visitors and enable them to more easily plan
their activities. We have noted that on subsequent visits to the Info Centre our
members have said staff have been informed not to print such a publication or that
the Info Centres printer does not produce good results for printing of such a large
map.
We find it ironic that Metro Tasmania and ACTION (ACT) can produce yearly an
updated Network map of their system yet their marketing budgets are substantially
much less than Adelaide Metro’s. To use a quote from a spokesperson from one of
those agencies: “We provide a network map for the elderly who use them regularly
and if we start alienating people who can’t access the Internet to get a network map
we are doing a disservice to the general community”.
Bus stop timetables should only display the timetables for services that serve that
particular stop and not other routes that have been included on the printed version
of the public timetable but which are irrelevant to that particular stop. This has been
taken up with both the CEO of DPTI and former Executive Director of Public
Transport Services (Emma Thomas) and both had promised by December 2013
timetable changes that this would be rectified and but there has been no progress to
date.
We recommend that stop specific timetables introduced at bus stops (similar to PTV-
Victoria) and approximate journey times be shown under the timetable to the
respective terminus. The displayed timetables should be for all routes serving that
stop. All stops in the CBD should have their timetables displayed
Bus stops should also show on the blade of the stop (i.e. up top) what bus routes
service that bus stop. Stop numbers should also be reviewed. Some bus stops could
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have multiple bus stop numbers because several different bus routes service that
stop while some routes have stops with the same number due to route changes
while maintaining the historical stop number.
Bus stops should also highlight basic ticketing information such as the basic cash
fare schedule and nearby Metrocard retailer.
Information at Railway stations and tram stops
In the case of train and tram services, information regarding ticket availability etc. is
essential in view of the fact that these services are now operated with only the driver
who is not accessible to the travelling public. This is in addition to timetable
information similar to that recommended for bus stops.
Adelaide Metro Website
The website is in need of fine tuning particularly in planning your journey which at
times does not appear to show the most direct route and the timetables for specific
routes. An example of this is the 144 service which does not include details of the
140 service which is operated in lieu at peak periods but covers a common route on
the outer section.
Adelaide Metro Info Centres
Whilst most of the staff at the Info Centres are helpful, friendly and correct in what
information they provide. However, there have been instances where incorrect or
confusing information has been given. Instances include.
Staff directing a member who wanted to go to South Road Bedford Park to
wait for a bus in Grenfell Street when the correct location for the bus stop is in
King William Street
When asking for maps to be printed from the website the staff member looked
confused and said that a network map was not available on line and, if it is, its
commercial in confidence. Also he was told that if it was to be printed it can’t
be done because the Info Centre printer does not print in good quality.
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Some timetables on the racks date back to before the introduction of the
current timetable.
A staff member directed one of our members to catch a bus route that does
not exist or had stopped running for the day.
One of the oddest situations happened when a timetable change had been
announced staff were not told when timetables would be available. We know
that timetables should be out around a fortnight before the effective date but
staff have told members they will be out “today” when the employee did not
ask his/her supervisor to find out when they were coming out.
We think there is a need for better effort into training of staff and staff a ready
reckoner folder for all types of questions and answers.
Tram and train services
Currently according to our members the tram service has too much time and trams
are regularly stopping for periods up to two minutes to make up time at tram stops.
We would recommend that the timetable be reviewed..
Traffic light sequencing to provide tram priority should be provided especially at
Greenhill Road intersection, King William Street South and along North Terrace.
Adequate information should be provided tram stops and railway stations to provide
basic ticketing information. We also would like intersecting public transport
information highlighted at tram stops and railway stations to provide a seamless
transfer between say bus and tram and train and bus.
Major bus/rail interchange (including O-Bahn) should have a large interchange map
that has a list of suburbs and the relevant bus route number shown and departure
stand shown to help new passengers understand the system and existing ones and
how they can access a variety of destinations without needing to go into the city first.
Suburban rail services should operate half hourly on all lines till at least 10pm and
hourly after that till 1:00am every day of the week.
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In the case where delays occur to tram and train services, drivers should be kept
informed as to the cause and likely delay so that they can pass the information on to
the passengers. In the case of a major delay a disaster plan should be in place so it
can be implemented as soon as possible. The recent bout of hot weather has
revealed a weakness in the system. All infrastructure and rolling stock should be
capable of operating within a temperature range of 0 -50°C.
Level crossings should be in the long term eliminated at the following locations-
Oaklands (Diagonal and Morphett Roads)
Glenalta (Main Road)
Blackwood (Main Road)
Salisbury (Park Terrace)
Parafield Gardens (Kings Road)
Unley Park (Cross Road)
Hove (Brighton Road)
Ovingham (Torrens Road and Hawker Street)
Railway stations need be further gradually improved to improve their physically and
aesthetically appearance. Some railway stations are little more than a bus shelter on
a platform.
If the Northern Connector is built, an opportunity to re-introduce passenger services
from Adelaide to Virginia could be considered as a future option as the interstate
passenger and freight rail services will be relocated to travel in the median of the
Northern Connector. This would enable the Playford Initiative which will be
completed in thirty years from now to have bus services act as feeders to not only
the existing Munno Para Interchange but also to a newly built Virginia station.
The Tonsley Interchange proposal to extend the Tonsley Rail line to Bedford Park
should be implemented as soon as possible..
The AETA SA recommends that in the long term a passenger rail service be
operated from the Barossa Valley to Adelaide. This is important as population
growth in this region was 6.1% compared to 6.2% for the Greater Adelaide Region
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from 2007 to 2012. Source: ABS Regional Population Growth Australia 30 August
2012.
Metrocard Boundary
The Metrocard boundary in the long term should ultimately be extended to cover the
Greater Metropolitan Area with an additional zones being implemented to
compensate for the increased expenditure of operating more public transport
services to these regions.
Rural Passenger Services
It is noted that in other states bus services outside the metropolitan area are
operated under contract to the state rail service and that standard rail tickets are
issued for the journey. It appears that these journeys are therefore subsidised in a
manner similar to rail travel in these states Is this the case in South Australia? If not,
we consider that the subsidising of such travel should be considered.
Provincial Bus Services
Provincial bus services should be rebranded similar to Adelaide Metro services. We
recommend a name change of CityMetro would encompass the provincial cities of
Port Lincoln, Whyalla, Port Augusta and Port Pirie.
This would mean all of these cities would have a standardised livery for buses and
the same timetable and route map format as Adelaide Metro timetables.
In the long term provincial cities bus services could accept Metrocard and this would
be similar to what has been recently implemented in Victoria with the Myki ticketing
system.
Adelaide O-Bahn Services
The opinion of the AETA SA was, and remains, that the development of a
specialised mode of transport for the Modbury Corridor should have been light rail.
Whilst the Adelaide O-Bahn has been largely successful with 20,000 passengers
using it each weekday or 8.1 million passenger journeys per year this is to be
expected in view of the demographics of the area served. The principal problem
continues to be the access to the CBD after leaving the guide way at Gilberton. The
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time savings on the outer portion of the journey are often negated by the time
required to travel from the city to Gilberton. We recommend that a plan be made to
consider replacing the Adelaide O-Bahn with light rail which could be through routed
to the Glenelg tram line or other routes under consideration. The O-Bahn
Infrastructure is nearing its use-by date and is operated very similar to a light rail
services (i.e. a handful of trunk routes with feeder buses operating in non-peak
times). Also buses are now only limited to operate at 85kph compared to 100kph
because of the wear and tear of the track and buses not being suitable for high
speeds due to tyre wear.
With light rail stops could be located in the following additional locations thus
providing am improved service to these areas:
St Peters- Stephen’s Terrace
Marden- Lower Portrush Road
Campbelltown- Lochiel Parklands
Holden Hill- Lyons Road
Holden Hill North- Grand Junction Road
With an extension being implemented as originally planned to Golden Grove Village.
The interchanges along the O-Bahn should also provide adequate seating which was
taken away in the latest refurbishment of Klemzig, Paradise and Tea Tree Plaza
Interchanges and that wind breaks being established at these interchanges
especially at Paradise Interchange.
Road Issue
Road works, except for emergencies such as burst water mains or gas main
leaks/explosions,. should be done at the same time as interstate and that is from
9pm to 6am This would create less congestion and frustration for motorists and in
the long term lessen pollution. That roadwork signs should also not be still on the
roads where roadwork has finished. Many motorists are reporting constant frustration
with no roadwork being done but the roadwork signs are still posted.
.
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Conclusion
These are just some ideas to improve our transport system. Public Transport in
Greater Metropolitan Adelaide can and needs to be improved to increase patronage
but it needs the will of Governments, transport planners, transport operators and
town planners to work in collaboration to make this happened. Currently, this is not
happening from our observation and this is why Adelaide’s public transport seems to
look neglected by the general public compared to other cities in the world and in
Australia.
D J P Beres
Secretary
R T Wheaton
President
Appendix