City council push for 50 cent bus fares
Adelaide City Council will advocate for the state government to trial a reduced flat fare for all public transport services, similar to the system recently adopted in Queensland.
Lord Mayor Jane Lomax-Smith will write to the Premier requesting the state government consider a six-month trial to reduce fares and explore a similar scheme as introduced in Queensland.
Queensland’s 50-cent fare trial was an election commitment from its former Labor government, matched by the current Liberal government.
In six months, Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads observed an 18.3 per cent jump in public transport patronage and commuter savings of about $3640 for travellers taking the train five times a week.
Councillor Janet Giles brought the motion to council, and commended Queensland for “being brave enough to try this”.
“I think they’re in some ways leading the world and I think we should be second,” she said.
“My intention is to show some leadership and request that the state government show some leadership too in really seriously thinking about how can we deal with the question of congestion, the cost of living impact on fares and how can we actually use our public transport systems to actually benefit the state, benefit business, benefit individual people and benefit the environment all at the same time.”
Councillor Simon Hou, who has been in favour of reducing public transport costs for some time, said he had contacted a longstanding Brisbane City councillor to get more information about how they negotiated with their state government on this move.
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“At the end of the day it’s not our decision, it’s the state government’s decision,” he said.
Councillor Mary Couros, who voted against the move, said the council would be better off taking a “strategic approach”, especially given Transport Minister Tom Koutsantonis has said he is not interested in making public transport free.
Koutsantonis was asked last week about adopting 50-cent fares like Queensland and a Greens push to make public transport free for the Adelaide Fringe and Adelaide Festival.
“Politicians and public transport is often about trying to get votes, what I’m interested in is the longevity of the system,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.
Services like the Footy Express allow punters to travel for free to Port and Crows matches at Adelaide Oval. It’s paid for by the event operators, not the taxpayer, according to Koutsantonis. This picture: Premier Peter Malinauskas/via Instagram.
Koutsantonis said current events, like AFL Gather Round, that have free public transport are paid for by the event organisers, and that Fringe or Adelaide Festival would need to do the same if they want free public transport for commuters going to ticketed events.
“Public transport is, in a sense, a utility that has a value, and the idea that we would just give it away for free devalues that system,” he said.
“90 per cent of the cost of public transport is borne by the taxpayer, 10 per cent is raised by fares so I think the more we give away, the more harm we do to the public transport system.”
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Koutsantonis said his priorities are to deprivatise public transport and decarbonise fleets.
In the council debate, Deputy Lord Mayor David Elliott said there could be other options to investigate an equitable fare structure, noting that Western Australia successfully rezoned their public transport system rather than opting for a blanket reduced fare.
“So, while [I’m] absolutely on board with the idea of 50 cent fare concept, I think there are some real barriers in South Australia for us to be able to financially achieve that, for the state government being able to afford that, but I don’t think there’s any reason why this council as a capital city shouldn’t be behind that and backing it 100 per cent,” he said.
Seven of the nine councillors present at last night’s meeting voted in favour of advocating to the state government to explore a similar reduced fare scheme in Adelaide.
What are South Australians paying for public transport?
Some councillors think public transport costs need to be more competitive with parking rates.
In July 2024, Adelaide Metro increased fares across all services by nearly 3 per cent in line with increased fees and charges for the 24/25 financial year.
The South Australian Government do have initiatives to assist specific groups like free travel for seniors, and concession rates for groups like healthcare card holders and students.
The main difference between South Australia and other states is that commuters pay the same fare despite the distance travelled. So someone travelling three bus stops into the city from Mile End would be paying the same as someone catching the train from Gawler.
A regular Metrocard fare in peak travel time is $4.40. For commuters catching the train into the city in peak hour for a five-day work week, they’re forking out $44 a week.
If you were to drive and park in a City Council-owned UPark, you could be looking at a $13 daily early bird rate during the week if you prebook. Other car park operators, like Wilson, have daily passes and monthly subscription offers through their Wilson Parking app, with deals from $12 a day.
In off-peak travel times, it’s $2.50 each way.
So on the weekend, you could spend $5 getting into the city on the bus. If you were to drive into the city on a weekend and prebook your park using the Wilson parking app, you could be paying the same $5 weekend parking rate in select locations. A UPark’s will set you back about $8 for a Sunday flat rate if you prebook.
