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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-29 Daily Xml
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Dr CLOSE (Port Adelaide) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Transport Services. Can the minister update the house on the progress made in enhancing the Adelaide public transport system over the past year?

The Hon. C.C. FOX (Bright—Minister for Transport Services) (14:53): Thank you to the member for Port Adelaide, who spends a lot of time on public transport, as do many members of her family. Since the portfolio of transport services was established in October last year, there have been a number of significant enhancements of our public transport system. Adelaide's new world-class smartcard ticketing system, Metrocard—

Dr Close: I don't have one.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: You don't have one?

Dr Close: Not yet.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: You need to get one.

The Hon. I.F. EVANS: Point of order, Madam Speaker: the minister is using displays, which is not allowed by standing orders.

The SPEAKER: I am sorry. I hope the minister was not displaying material. Minister, you are not to display material. Minister, back to the question. You have three minutes 28 to answer it.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: I would just like to apologise to the member for Davenport, and I withdraw my card.

The SPEAKER: Thank you.

The Hon. C.C. FOX: Adelaide's new world-class smartcard ticketing system, Metrocard, by all metrics is proving to be an incredible success, both in terms of popularity amongst commuters and its operability. Commuters can now purchase the rechargeable Metrocards for travel on all Adelaide Metro buses, trains and trams. I am advised that, since these cards have been made available to the general public only a few weeks ago, over 50,000 Metrocards have been sold. This is an outstanding success as far as the commuter public embracing this state of the art, reliable and secure ticketing system is concerned.

To further demonstrate the extraordinarily rapid uptake of the Metrocard by commuters, I am advised that overall Metrocard validations accounted for 40 per cent of total daily validations, just over halfway to our initial target of 72 per cent, only 18 days after the system was launched. Specifically, rail commuters have been the most enthusiastic users of the Metrocard, accounting for 60 per cent of all rail validations. A range of online facilities has also been developed to support the Metrocard, including being able to register your card and your details via the Adelaide Metro website for security purposes. Specifically, the card can be cancelled if reported lost or stolen and the balance can be transferred to a new card.

The government has also established priority bus lanes on critical road corridors throughout the city and introduced quarterly reviews of bus timetables to ensure that they are as responsive and efficient for our commuters as possible. Both these initiatives have significantly improved the on-time running of our bus services. A new and improved Adelaide Metro website has also been launched, which is easier to navigate, provides better access to timetables and journey planners, and features important information on topics such as the Metrocard.

Another significant initiative in the public transport sphere has been the rollout of free wi-fi across the bus and tram networks, which is designed to assist passengers with their work or study while commuting to their destination. These investments in public transport services demonstrate the government's commitment to providing a modern, safe, comfortable and reliable public transport network to the commuters of Adelaide.

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