Buses in Adelaide are the most extensive service provided by Adelaide Metro, which is the South Australian capital's public transport system. A large fleet of diesel, hybrid diesel-electric, and electric buses operate services. Bus routes typically terminate in the CBD or at a suburban interchange, in a network characterised by its radial nature. Buses sometimes get priority on roads and at intersections, with dedicated bus lanes and 'B'-light bus only phases at traffic lights.
History Buses in Adelaide have been known under several names. The State Transport Authority (STA) combined the metropolitan rail operations of the former South Australian Railways Commission with the bus and tram operations of the former Municipal Tramways Trust in December 1975. In July 1994, the STA was abolished and government public transport services were transferred to TransAdelaide, a publicly owned corporation.State Transport Authority (South Australia)
In 1995–96, there was a partial tendering out of bus services. TransAdelaide retained three contract regions, while Serco, in its first Australian bus operation, won two contract regions, and Hills Transit, a TransAdelaide company, won the Adelaide Hills operating contract. Services were run and marketed under each operator's name, presenting a disjointed network to the public.
The 2000 round of tenders saw the end of TransAdelaide's (and therefore the Government's) direct operation of bus services in Adelaide, although it retained tram and rail services. Serco won the North–South, Outer North, and Outer North-East contract areas, Torrens Transit the east–west contract area and City Free services, Australian Transit Enterprises (ATE) trading as SouthLink the Outer South contract area, and Transitplus, a joint venture between ATE and TransAdelaide, the Hills Contract area. At this time the Adelaide Metro brand was implemented across all transport operators, appearing to the public as a unified network, with common livery, timetable designs and a city information centre.
Fleet and vehicles The Adelaide Metro bus fleet consists primarily of Scania L (4-series) (L94UB, L94UA) and K-series (K230UB, K280UB, K320UB, K320UA, K360UA) buses with various body styles from Custom Bus (CB60, CB60 Evo II, CB80) and BusTech (VST). There is also a significant number of older MAN buses of several models and with several bodies. Smaller numbers of other buses also service the network. Contract operators also own some vehicles, with Torrens Transit/Transit Systems having a diverse fleet of buses transferred from other operations around Australia.
As of 2020, deliveries of Scania K320UB hybrid diesel-electric buses with BusTech VST bodies. In September 2022, the Minister for Transport announced that the final pure diesel bus have been delivered, and that all future deliveries would be hybrid diesel-electric or full electric.
Operators Adelaide Metro buses are split up geographically into six contract regions.
The current contracts, awarded in March 2020, began on 5 July 2020 for a period of eight years.
Region Current Operator Depot(s) Notes North-South Torrens Connect Morphettville, Port Adelaide Includes 300 Suburban Connector; formerly integrated bus and tram contract until August 2025 East-West Torrens Transit Mile End, Newton Includes Free City Connector services Outer North East Torrens Transit St Agnes Includes O-Bahn services Outer South Busways Lonsdale, SeafordAll 700 services. Outer North Torrens Transit Edinburgh North Hills SouthLink Aldgate, Mount Barker Operates all 800 services.
Former operators which had operated Adelaide Metro services in the past but no longer operate in Adelaide are: Light-City Buses - operated the North–South (including the 300 Suburban Connector) and Outer North East contract areas (including O-Bahn services) from 2011 until its purchase by Torrens Transit in 2018. Transitplus - operated the Hills contract area from 2000 until 2010 when joint owner TransAdelaide was abolished and services were taken over by joint owner Australian Transit Enterprises (SouthLink).SouthLink Serco - operated the North-South, Outer North and Outer North East contract areas. Serco ended its contract in 2004, at the contracted half-term break-point. Outer North services were taken over by SouthLink while North-South and Outer North East services were taken over by Torrens Transit.
System features
Go Zones Many arterial roads leading towards the city have several routes servicing them, allowing for high frequency with a maximum wait of 15 minutes between 7.30am and 6.30pm on weekdays and every 30 minutes at night on weekends until 10pm. These are: Kensington Road Lower North East Road/Payneham Road Montacute Road/Payneham Road Glen Osmond Road The Parade/Rosslyn Park Magill Road/Coorara Avenue North East Road Bridge Road/Walkleys Road Para Hills/Kelly Road Fairview Park Tea Tree Gully Hope Valley Golden GroveHampstead Road Galway Avenue Main North Road/Mawson Lakes Boulevard Churchill Road Prospect Road Duthy Street Unley Road King William Road Anzac Highway South Road Main South Road Goodwood Road/Prospect Road Marion Road Winston AvenueGlenelg to Entertainment Centre Crittenden Road/Tapleys Hill Road Port Road Richmond Road/Galway Avenue Croydon Park Torrens Road/Hawker Street Liberty Grove Hanson Road Valetta Road/Ashley Street Grange Road/West Lakes to Magill Henley Beach Road/Torrensville Henley Beach Road Sir Donald Bradman Drive
There is a Mega Go Zone on the Adelaide O-Bahn which has a 15 minutes maximum wait, 7 days a week. Mega Go Zone buses service Tea Tree Plaza Interchange, Paradise Interchange, Klemzig Interchange and the city.
Limited stop services
Limited stop services combine limited stops with express services to reach the outer metropolitan areas of Adelaide. Limited stop services include:
Elizabeth Interchange via O-Bahn, Golden Grove Village and Adelaide Airport Greenwith via O-Bahn and Golden Grove Village Elizabeth Interchange via O-Bahn, Ingle Farm and Interchange Mawson Interchange via O-Bahn, Ingle Farm and University of South Australia Salisbury via O-Bahn, Ingle Farm and Bridge Road Golden Grove Village to Flinders University via O-Bahn, City and Goodwood Road (Only operates during Flinders University semester) Golden Grove Village to Marion Centre Interchange via O-Bahn, City and Marion Road Noarlunga Centre via South Road Seaford via South Road and Panatalinga Road Mount Barker via South Eastern Freeway Mount Barker via South Eastern Freeway and Mount Barker Road Narnie via South Eastern Freeway and Mount Barker Aldgate via South Eastern Freeway and Stirling
Airport services
Buses are the only form of public transport serving the Adelaide Airport. Unlike cities such as Melbourne, regular Adelaide Metro services directly link the airport and the city. JetBus airport services were originally introduced in August 2005. These are direct routes that link Adelaide Airport with the city and other key destinations. Services direct from the Airport to the CBD run frequently 7 days a week, while those to surrounding suburbs run infrequently and not at all on weekends. Some, but not all, buses are equipped with luggage storage space.
Services to Adelaide CBD from Airport Glenelg Interchange to Elizabeth Interchange via Harbour Town Centre Interchange, Adelaide Airport and O-Bahn Busway City to Adelaide Airport Glenelg Interchange to Greenwith via West Beach, Adelaide Airport and O-Bahn Busway
Services to western and southern suburbs
West Lakes Centre Interchange to Marion Centre Interchange via Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide Airport and Marion Road West Lakes Centre Interchange to Marion Centre Interchange via Torrens Road, Armada Arndale, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide Airport and Marion Road
Free city services
Free City Connector buses are zero-fare, wheelchair-accessible circuit routes that service the Adelaide CBD and North Adelaide daily which are joint of initiative of Government of South Australia, Adelaide City Council and Adelaide Metro, on four routes:
City & North Adelaide Loop Bi-directional loop via North Terrace, Currie Street, Hutt Street, Halifax Street, Sturt Street, Grote Street, Morphett Street, Jeffcott Street, Ward Street, Hill Street, Tynte Street, Finiss Street and Frome Road. The 98A service is an anti-clockwise loop while the 98C is clockwise.Previously known as The Connector, the service makes also makes use of a Solar Bus, Tindo (Tindo stands for solar in the local Aboriginal language. City Loop Bi-directional loop via North Terrace, Currie Street, Hutt Street, Halifax Street, Sturt Street, Grote Street, Victoria Square, King William Street. This service operated under the '99C' only and it was only in 2014 that the name change took place. The 99A service is an anti-clockwise loop while the 99C is clockwise. The 97A bus ran for a few months, so did the Beeline.
There is another free service which only runs during the Adelaide 500.
O-Bahn Busway
The Adelaide Metro's most frequented route is the O-Bahn guided busway to Modbury carrying around 9 million passengers a year. It is the world's fastest and until 7 August 2011 the world's longest guided busway, with a maximum permitted speed of 100 km/h (62 mph) and a length of . It has three stations, Klemzig Interchange, Paradise Interchange, and Tea Tree Plaza Interchange at the Modbury end. Buses leave the track at Paradise or Tea Tree Plaza to continue services on normal roads, eliminating the need for passenger transfer.
After midnight services Available only on Saturday nights, these night services run from midnight until 5am Sunday morning, departing the City every hour.
Tea Tree Plaza Interchange / Golden Grove Village Interchange to City via Golden Grove Road and O-Bahn City to Tea Tree Plaza Interchange Marion Centre Interchange to City via Goodwood Road City to Aberfoyle Hub via Goodwood Road and Marion Centre Interchange City to Wattle Park via The Parade West Lakes Centre Interchange to City via Military Road and Henley Beach Road Newton to City via Montacute Road and Payneham Road Ingle Farm to City via Hampstead Road and North East Road Gawler to City via Mawson Interchange and Main North Road Semaphore to City via Port Adelaide, Arndale Centre Interchange and Torrens Road Marion Centre Interchange to City via Glenelg and Anzac Highway Salisbury Interchange via O-Bahn and Paradise Interchange Fairview Park via O-Bahn and Hancock Road Moana via Marion Centre Interchange and Reynella
Adelaide Oval Footy Express Adelaide Metro provide services between Adelaide Oval and areas across South Australia. Tickets for the games also act as the ticket to travel free on any Adelaide Oval Footy Express bus, train or tram, in order to alleviate overcrowding on regular services. Most services offer early arrival times and some routes will have services that leave an hour after the final siren. The locations in metropolitan Adelaide include:
Old Reynella Interchange to Adelaide Oval via Brighton station, Marion Centre Interchange and South Road Aldgate to Adelaide Oval via South Eastern Freeway and Glen Osmond Road Athelstone to Adelaide Oval via Payneham Road Burnside to Adelaide Oval via Greenhill Road Rosslyn Park to Adelaide Oval via The Parade Mawson Interchange to Adelaide Oval via Main North Road Rosewater to Adelaide Oval via Days Road and Torrens Road Port Adelaide and Outer Harbor to Adelaide Oval via Port Road West Lakes Centre Interchange to Adelaide Oval via Grange Road Henley Beach to Adelaide Oval via Henley Beach Road Blair Athol to Adelaide Oval via Prospect Road Mitcham Square to Adelaide Oval via Unley Road Mitcham Square to Adelaide Oval via Fullarton Road Glenelg Interchange to Adelaide Oval via West Beach and Sir Donald Bradman Drive Elizabeth Interchange to Mawson Interchange via Salisbury Highway (transfer required)