The Passenger Transport Act

Reporting against the Passenger Transport Act 1994

The department administers the Passenger Transport Act 1994 (the PT Act)and Passenger Transport Regulations 2009 by planning, regulating and funding public transport services (bus, train and tram, taxi and hire car) across South Australia. Pursuant to section 24Aof the PT Act the following report is provided

Patronage in metropolitan Adelaide

Public transport bus services across metropolitan Adelaide are provided by three private bus providers, operating as SouthLink, Torrens Transit and Light-City Buses.

All metropolitan rail and tram services are operated by the department through the Rail Commissioner entity which has accreditation under the PT Act. Public transport services in regional South Australia are also administered by the department. These include regular route services (country bus services), provincial city services, integrated transport plans, special medical-related services and dial-a-ride services.

The department supports community passenger networks across regional South Australia and within metropolitan Adelaide. This program is established to facilitate access to transport for people who are transport disadvantaged. The program is jointly funded by the Commonwealth Home Support Program and the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion.

Adelaide metropolitan initial boardings 2015-16 (millions)

The initial boardings on the public transport system increased by 0.2 percent from the previous year.

Initial boardings by mode

Initial boardings by passenger type

Initial boardings by ticket type

Note:*Reflects initial boardings – not total patronage. The patronage figures in the tables above include the free travel data.

Special event services

On 23 October 2014, an amendment to the Passenger Transport Act 1994 was enacted with respect to the management and funding of public transport for special events. The aim of the legislation is to facilitate the successful planning of special events in metropolitan Adelaide by requiring mandatory notification of major events and also to provide a mechanism for the costs of additional public transport services required for the event to be recovered where the event is considered a “commercial event”.

The key elements of the legislation include the requirement for venue managers to notify the department six months in advance (or as soon as the event is known) of any event expected to attract more than 5000 patrons and, where additional public transport services are required, that commercial events contribute to the cost of these extra services.

Events are classified as one of two different categories of event for the purposes of the legislation. The two categories are:

• Commercial Events – organised for profit where there is a fee for participants either in the form of a ticket or an indirect fee i.e. membership of a club or association; or
• Community Events – organised as not for profit, the event is open to the community and attendance is free or a voluntary donation from attendees may be sought.

Based on the information provided in the notification form, the department will make a determination regarding the need for additional or special public transport services to cater for the event and, where extra services are required, events categorised as “commercial” will be required to fund the services.

Integrated ticketing arrangements and funding contributions were successfully negotiated for a number of events, including the Liverpool Soccer match at Adelaide Oval, the AC/DC concert and the 2015-16 soccer season. Successful negotiations have been completed for the 2016-17 year including the Monster Jam at Adelaide Oval and the 2016-17 soccer season. Negotiations are also underway for the 2016-17 cricket season at Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide free services

The free City Connector service was introduced in the CBD and North Adelaide during January 2014 as a result of the integration of the City Free service funded by the department, and the Adelaide Connector service operated by the Adelaide City Council. This integration enabled service and frequency improvements over previous services. Operating under contract with the Minster for Transport and Infrastructure, the City Connector uses dedicated buses with a distinctive green livery to tell it apart from general Adelaide Metro services. Additional late night services were provided during the Fringe Festival to encourage greater use in the city.

Regional services

The department regulates and contributes to funding transport services in some regional areas.

Regular route services operate across regional South Australian and link major centres to Adelaide. Services operate in the Barossa Valley, Murray Mallee,
Mid North, Upper North, Far North, Riverland, Eyre, South East and Fleurieu regions.

Integrated transport services operate in the Coorong District Council, Karoonda East District Council, Murray District Council, Southern Mallee District Council, Mid Murray District Council, Southern Yorke Peninsula, Tatiara District Council, Eastern Riverland, Upper North, Mid North, Adelaide Hills, Victor Harbor and on Kangaroo Island.

Dial-a-Ride door to door services are provided in Gawler, Victor Harbor,
Port Lincoln, Murray Bridge, the Copper Coast and Barossa Valley. These supplement regular timetabled services and extend the range of public transport options for these communities.

Based on data provided by country bus operators, country bus patronage in 2015-16 was estimated as 778 166, a decrease of 5 per cent from the previous year.

The decrease in patronage has in part been attributed to cheaper regional airfares, internet banking/services/shopping and people generally choosing to use cars rather than travelling long distances on buses.

Provincial city bus services

Regular passenger services operate in South Australia’s provincial cities of
Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Whyalla, Port Augusta, Murray Bridge and Mount Gambier. Provincial city services are a combination of town and school services.

Based on data provided by provincial city bus operators, patronage in 2015-16 was estimated as 429 917, a decrease of 3 per cent from the previous year.

Complaints, commendations and submissions

Feedback on public transport

Feedback from customers about passenger transport services is welcomed by that department as it provides the ability to improve and assess existing services and practices. Customers are presented with multiple opportunities to provide their feedback through the Adelaide Metro website, Adelaide Metro Infoline and InfoCentres, as well as social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Complaints represented approximately 0.01 per cent of total public transport patronage (initial boardings and transfers) in the 2015-16 reporting year, with a reduction of 1280 (an 11 per cent reduction) compared to the previous year.

The table below shows Feedback information on public transport

Feedback on taxi and small passenger vehicle (SPV) services

The department receives complaints and commendations regarding taxis and small passenger vehicles. Complaints may lead to disciplinary action if a breach of the regulations under the Act is found to have occurred. Taxi complaints represented less than 0.01 per cent of the estimated eight million journeys provided in 2015-16.

The table below shows feedback information on taxis and SPVs

Waiting times

The taxi centralised booking services reported that the average waiting time for general taxis in metropolitan Adelaide for the 2015-16 year was 8.9 minutes during the day (6am to 6pm), and 8.4 minutes at night (6pm to 6am).

The figures include waiting times for phone-booked, hailed and taxi rank trips and meet the prescribed waiting time of 12 minutes, as stated in the conditions for accreditation.

There were 1035 general licenses in metropolitan Adelaide in 2015-16.

Access taxis

The taxi centralised booking services reported that the average waiting time for access taxis in metropolitan Adelaide for the 2015-16 year was 8.75 minutes during the day (6am to 6pm), and 9.25 minutes at night (6pm to 6am).

There are 102 general licenses with special conditions (Access Taxis).

Passenger Transport Standards Committee

The Passenger Transport Standards Committee (PTSC) is a statutory committee, established under the Act, responsible for exercising disciplinary powers under Part 4, Division 5 of the Act and for exercising or performing such other powers or functions as may be conferred on the PTSC by the Minister from time to time.

In 2015-16 the PTSC met on 80 occasions and considered 232 matters including:

• 128 accreditation applications
• 104 disciplinary matters.

Of the 104 disciplinary matters, the PTSC:

• suspended the accreditation of 24 accredited persons for a period of time
• revoked the accreditation of 19 accredited persons and disqualified them for a period of time
• permanently disqualified two persons from holding accreditation under the Act.

After holding an enquiry, the PTSC found no cause for disciplinary action against two accredited persons, while the remaining accredited persons were fined, required to undertake re-training or reprimanded.