A hastily-written email to TransAdelaide

[TroyGFC]

I am not into rubbishing Adelaide as a rule but when it comes to roads and trains, regardless of which government is in power at the time, they always wan't to do projects that are half-arsed all the time.
From my experience, whenever Perth and Melbourne get an idea for a project, it gets done and generally gets done properly but for some reason in Adelaide there always seems to be fiddly little issues about 'it might affect someones view' or 'it might pass through an unsightly area' or some other ridiculous reason. This new 'link/toll/express' road in Melbourne is a classic example of just bloody doing it. Maybe some of the Victorian residents on this forum might explain how effective it is.
The city block here was well thought out but I don't think much foresight went into the layouts of the suburbs, particularly so in the cases of the newer ones where there has been a greater understanding of modern technology compared to what there was say 100 years ago.

Exactly, I've always said that.
Imo, Rann should just build the Tram extension, taking it through to North Adelaide (terminus @ Aquatic centre).
Screw what the public opinion is- what's the point of the Tram's current terminus? Might be gepgraphically the centre of the city, but it's 4-5 blocks away from the commercial hub.

Exacly, then fix up the current aquatic centre (scrap Marion Domain Pool), the money saved can go towards tramway.

[PhilG]

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[Dissident]

First - on that last comment, people just couldn't be bothered. The Beeline Bus is apparently packed everytime it travels from Victoria Square to the station. Yeah - it's lazy, but it's a fact.

I know, people are.
But seriously, I find it hard in MY mind to justify 50 million on a 5 minute walk.

That just doesn't equate.

[Magpiespower]

It amazes me when I hear people complain about...the London Tube.

Once had to wait 12 minutes for a train on the tube.

On a Sunday.

Outrageous!

[Rushby Hinds]

Letter i sent a few months ago

In this age of spiralling petrol costs, Adelaide Metro is urging us to "get up and go" and to catch public transport when ever we can. I am in the fortunate position of having a bus stop within close walking distance from home, which connects straight to an express train to and from the city at Brighton.

The problem lies when the train from the city is delayed by more then a few minutes. The buses at Brighton (or Hallet Cove Beach) do NOT wait for the train to arrive.

While this may not sound like a regular event, sadly it is a very common occurrence, (average about once a week), resulting in a long wait by the side of the road for the next bus to come.

I have complained to Adelaide Metro about this, with the response being it is South link's fault. I have complained to Southlink, and there response it that "the buses must run on time".

I agree that it is good that the buses run on time, but surely it is more important that there are passengers on board as well?


Recently there were track-works on the Noarlunga train line, and we were advised before departure that the trip would take an extra 10 minutes. I enquired as to whether Southlink had been advised, and the answer was "probably not". I then asked Southlink if the buses would wait, and the answer was "it isn't our problem if the train timetables change". Resulting in a fifty minute wait by the side of the road.


Can someone important please knock some less important people's heads together for me?

[abber]

Transadelaide never fail to amaze me with their ineptitude.

This morning the 7.29 from Belair arrived in Adelaide at 8.23, 15 minutes late. The reason? A driver failed to show up for work so Transadelaide cancelled the service. The result? Irate passengers standing from Coromandel into town.

I find it staggering that Transadelaide would not have a standby driver(s) for emergencies/no shows.

Pat Conlon doesn't seem to do anything. Perhaps he can fill in.

[Dutchy]

abber - let Iain Evans know as he is not only the opposition leader who would love to have a crack at Conlon about this but also the local member up there so would make sure something occurs to look after hi constituents...

[PhilG]

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[Dissident]

What transport companies need to understand about "connecting" services is that the connecting service is there to save them money and resources of having two services running in part simultaneously, while having an almost seamless "travel experience" for passengers.

Many servies in the last "shake up" of timetables were reduced - meaning that someone who used to catch one bus all the way home, now caught one half way, got off, and caught another.

That's fine. Do it. But don't make headaches for people.
If there was a service all the way home before and now it's split - MAKE SURE it still eables the person to get home. A person, on a connecting link, must get to ONE BUS OR TRAM OR TRAIN on time - from then, it's up to the transport people to make the ride seamless.

[TroyGFC]

Good old Olsen. What can I say PRIVITISATION SUCKS. Isnt it funny how the Librals are blaming Labor for poor transport when it was their fault through privitising everything!!!

[heater31]

Good old Olsen. What can I say PRIVITISATION SUCKS. Isnt it funny how the Librals are blaming Labor for poor transport when it was their fault through privitising everything!!!

the libs would'nt have to privatise every thing if labor didn Fu*k up in the first place

[Leaping Lindner]

Neither side of politics gives two bits about Public Transport. Not enough votes in it and not "shiny" enough to count as an achievement.
If anyone thinks one side of politics cares more about Public Transport than the other they are fooling themselves.

[PhilG]

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[Leaping Lindner]

Pardon my cynicism but I'm still keeping an eye out for those Tram Conductors that Mr Bracks said would be reintroduced last election.Or was it the election before last? Maybe they are being employed building the StKilda/Port Melbourne tram line that was also promised.

[mick]

Pardon my cynicism but I'm still keeping an eye out for those Tram Conductors that Mr Bracks said would be reintroduced last election.Or was it the election before last? Maybe they are being employed building the StKilda/Port Melbourne tram line that was also promised.

Interesting that is, Mr Rann was going to de-privatise many things when he was in opposition, we're still waiting!!! It annoys me that this turkey is going to spend $50 million on a track to nowhere when the rest of the system is not working properly. One of the newer reasons touted for the new track is "urban renewal" in the west end. The UniSA campus was supposed to achieve this some years ago, it didn't, the same low lifes are still hanging around Hindley st and environs.

[RustyCage]

Pardon my cynicism but I'm still keeping an eye out for those Tram Conductors that Mr Bracks said would be reintroduced last election.Or was it the election before last? Maybe they are being employed building the StKilda/Port Melbourne tram line that was also promised.

Interesting that is, Mr Rann was going to de-privatise many things when he was in opposition, we're still waiting!!! It annoys me that this turkey is going to spend $50 million on a track to nowhere when the rest of the system is not working properly. One of the newer reasons touted for the new track is "urban renewal" in the west end. The UniSA campus was supposed to achieve this some years ago, it didn't, the same low lifes are still hanging around Hindley st and environs.

So a university campus down the far end of the road will make "low lifes" move away from Hindley Street? How does that work? Sure, 70% of people walking down Hindley Street from Morphett St to West Tce are people going to or from the uni, but how does that effect anyone else?

As much as you wanna bag Mike Rann at every opportunity you get, he's actually done a fair bit of good for this state, and is a much better option for Premier than someone who at the last election couldn't even say why he wanted to be premier, someone who after a short stint as premier after taking over from the fraud who got sacked almost lost the leadership of the party anyway, but only kept it because there was noone else. And what a great choice Vicky Chapman would be!!! All she does is criticises other peoples opinions. Has she ever offered anything new? No. And just how did Dean Brown become the Liberal leader just two days after first getting elected to parliament?

As for the buy back of things that the Libs privatised, such as ETSA and the Modbury Hospital, Rann has to wait for the current contract for the hospital to run out before he can not renew it, and buy it back. As for the electricity, how much do you think that would cost? Sure the state government now has more money after the court action against the government by Don Panoz after fraudster Olsen broke the contract for the Le Mans race (promising the $8m to go to nursing and more doctors, which, as it turns out must be the name of the Libs general revenue account), and also would have more money if Brown didn't outsource the data processing for the whole of government and parliament to a new company (that his brother was a director of), that doesn't come cheap. And wasn't it Brown who sold the Grand Prix to Melbourne, costing South Australia millions and millions of tourism dollars every year, as well as many hours of global TV promotion?

Mike Rann has done more for the state than any Premier, either Labor or Liberal for a very long time. SA has become a respected force nationally, competing and winning against larger and wealthier states to win national and international contracts after restoring the states AAA credit rating. Ranns educational reforms have been copied by many different governments around the world, and SA has become known as the education capital of Australia.

I could write more, but wont.

[mick]

Your definition of achievement must be very much less than mine

[RustyCage]

Your definition of achievement must be very much less than mine

We probably just rate different things as being important, thats all.

[PhilG]

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[Squawk]

About the only thing the SA Transport Department has done right (and even then they made a mess of the design of the road) was stick those tunnels in straightening up the highway from Crafers to Glen Osmond. Mind you, it also wrecked any chance of the trains coming back to the Hills area.

The state govt got federal funding for this - AUSLINK.

The comment about a Rann "legacy" is the truest statement so far.

PAFC1870 - if you monitor the govt media releases, all good news stories incorporate 3 words - "The Rann Govt". All Shit sandwiches include blaming the feds for not enough money or blaming the libs.

Problem now is, on Sept 21 you will see that the govt has NO money (already!). 5 years in they have no legacy to show the state other than the Port Adelaide sink hole (opening bridge fiasco and the expressway). The only way to get change in govt is to get rid of the no forced redundancies provision for public servants and to then pay market rates for good people to do good jobs. They also need to give Chief Execs tenured employment so that they don't tell Ministers what they want to hear, but tell them what they need to hear. Also, Chief of Staff jobs should be merit based, not handed out to incompetent graduates of "Young Labor" at $100k a year with no merit selection process.

Finally, Cabinet met at the Royal Show last Monday. I wonder if any of them caught the train there? I'd hazard a guess at the answer - No. A perfect opportunity for all members of Cabinet to catch a train (for free - they get free public transport) and experience all the stuff ups. That is, catch public transport from home to the Show, not from North Tce to the Show!