Transport Acts

Reporting against the Air Transport (route licensing-passenger services) Act 2002

The following report is provided pursuant to section 19 of the Air Transport (Route Licensing-Passenger Services) Act 2002.

Operation and Administration of the Act in 2014-15

Adelaide - Port Augusta was the only route subject to a Route Service Licence during the 2014-15 financial year. This route remains marginally viable and is licensed in accordance with s5(3) of the Air Transport (Route Licensing-Passenger Services) Act 2002 (the Act) “...to encourage an operator or operators of air services to establish, maintain, re-establish, increase or improve scheduled air services on the route.”

Sharp Aviation Pty Ltd, trading as Sharp Airlines, is the licence holder and operated in accordance with its licence conditions throughout this reporting period.

Air Transport (Route Licensing—Passenger Services) Regulations 2014

Pursuant to section 16B of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1978, the Air Transport (Route Licensing—Passenger Services) Regulations 2002 were due to expire on 1September 2013. The expiry was postponed for a further 12 month period in accordance with section 16C of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1978.

On 1 September 2014 the Air Transport (Route Licensing—Passenger Services) Regulations 2002 were revoked and the Air Transport (Route Licensing—Passenger Services) Regulations 2014 commenced.

Reporting against the Passenger Transport Act 1994

Patronage in metropolitan Adelaide

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 s. 24A of the PT Act the following report is provided.

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 Home and Community Care program managed through the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion.

Reporting of patronage of Adelaide Metro passenger transport services in the Annual Report has historically only included Seniors free travel, however given advances in technology that now enable more accurate data capture, all ‘free travel’ has been included in the reporting for 2014-15. Free travel includes, but is not limited to, public transport for Special Events such as New Years Eve, Adelaide Oval Footy Express services, and tram travel to and from the Entertainment Centre to City South.

During this transition time, and only for the 2014-15 Annual Report, percentage data as below will be based on the additional free travel captured being excluded. This will allow an accurate comparison against the 2013-14 financial year. From 2015-16, all patronage reported in the department’s Annual Reports, including percentages, will include free travel.

In 2014-15, metropolitan public transport patronage changed as follows:

• initial boardings on the public transport system increased by 5.4 per cent
• transfer boardings on the public transport system increased by 5.9 per cent
• total patronage, including initial boardings and transfers, increased by
  5.5 per cent across the Adelaide Metro network in 2014-15.

Adelaide Metro boardings 2014-15 (millions)

The patronage figures listed below include the additional free travel data.

Initial boardings by mode

Initial boardings by passenger type

Initial boardings by ticket type

Note:*Reflects initial boardings – not total patronage.

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 5 000 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.

Negotiations continue with all venue managers and organisers, including the SA Jockey Club, the SA Cricket Association, Clipsal 500 and Adelaide Oval regarding arrangements for all special events.

Integrated ticketing arrangements and funding contributions have been successfully negotiated for a number of upcoming events, including the Liverpool Soccer match at Adelaide Oval, the AC/DC concert, and the 2015-16 soccer season. Negotiations are also underway for the 2015-16 cricket season at Adelaide Oval.

Adelaide Oval Footy Express services

Adelaide Oval Footy Express services to AFL games at Adelaide Oval achieved an average of 52 per cent of crowds attending matches each week using public transport to attend the game.

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. The City Connector service, which operates in two loops, runs every 15 minutes on weekdays within the CBD (previously every 20 minutes) and every 30 minutes to North Adelaide. Operating under contract with the Minster for Transport and Infrastructure, the City Connector uses dedicated buses with a distinctive green livery to differentiate it from general Adelaide Metro services. This service continues to be popular.

Regional services

The department regulates and contributes to funding transport services in some regional areas and fosters regional transport initiatives that provide collective transport solutions identified through extensive community consultation and detailed transport studies.

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 2014-15 was 822 944, a decrease of 13.31 per cent from the previous year.

The decrease in patronage has in part been attributed to cheaper regional airfares, more services/shops being introduced to regional towns, 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 2014-15 was 444 537, a decrease of 10.78 per cent from the previous year.

Complaints, commendations and submissions

Feedback on public transport

The department welcomes feedback from customers about passenger transport services and provides multiple opportunities through the Adelaide Metro website, Adelaide Metro Infoline and InfoCentres, as well as social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Complaints represented approximately 0.02 per cent of total public transport patronage (initial boardings and transfers) in the 2014-15 reporting year.

The chart and 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 2014–15.

The chart and 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 in 2014–15 was 8.97 minutes during the day (6 am to 6 pm), which represents a minor decrease compared to 9.26 minutes in 2013–14. At night (6 pm to 6 am) the waiting time was 9.52 minutes, which is a minor increase compared to 9.47 minutes in 2013–14.

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 1 036 general licenses in metropolitan Adelaide in 2014–15 including an additional 13 licenses released in the second half of the year.

Access taxis

For the 2014-15 financial year:

• 79.52 per cent of access taxi passengers were picked up within 10 minutes, a minor increase compared to 78.89 per cent in 2013-14.
• 87.93 per cent of access taxi passengers were picked up within 15 minutes, a minor increase compared to 87.41 per cent in 2013-14.
• 98.00 per cent of access taxi passengers were picked up within 30 minutes, a minor increase compared to 97.92 per cent in 2013-14.

There are 100 general taxi licenses with special conditions (access taxis).

Passenger Transport Standards Committee

The Passenger Transport Standards Committee (PTSC) is a statutory committee established under the Passenger Transport Act 1994responsible 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 2014-15 the PTSC met on 89 occasions and considered 277 matters including:

• 142 accreditation applications
• 134 disciplinary matters
• one vehicle related matter.

Of the 134 disciplinary matters, the PTSC:

• suspended the accreditation of 16 accredited persons for a period of time
• revoked the accreditation of 26 accredited persons and disqualified them for a period of time
• permanently disqualified six persons from holding accreditation under the Passenger Transport Act 1994.

After holding an enquiry, the PTSC found no cause for disciplinary action against 19 accredited persons, while the remaining accredited persons were fined, required to undertake re-training or reprimanded.