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A State Government survey of public transport users has found that only around half of commuters believe that they are getting good or better value for money.

The survey, commissioned and undertaken in late 2018, provides a baseline of commuter satisfaction data which will help inform the State Government and South Australian Public Transport Authority (SAPTA) as it seeks to drive patronage and deliver more customer focussed services.

The results show that;

• Only 56 per cent of train users think they are getting good or better value for money;
• Only 54 per cent of bus users think they are getting good or better value for money;
• Only 56 per cent of tram users think they are getting good or better value for money;

The survey also found there was room for improvement with overall satisfaction at 80 per cent for bus users, 87 per cent for train users and 91 per cent for tram users.

“This survey provides a strong and comprehensive baseline to help inform future policy while highlighting areas in need of improvement,” said Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Local Government Stephan Knoll.

“The results are quite clear – there is a lot of room for improvement.

“It’s definitely not worst-case scenario with overall satisfaction around the 80 per cent to 90 per cent mark depending on the different modes of transport.

However, with only half of paying commuters saying they think they are getting good value for money – we can and must improve.

“Generally speaking, across the public transport network, the top three things customers want are better reliability of services, more frequency and less crowded services.

“We know we are still some way behind other jurisdictions when it comes to providing better and more customer focussed services.

“The survey found that, for example, in Perth customer satisfaction on trains and buses outperforms that in South Australia by 7 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.

“The Marshall Government is looking at new innovative ways to bring South Australia’s public transport network into the 21st century, through our on-demand bus trial and first and last mile trials.

‘It’s also clear that the Gawler line is a bit of an outlier and isn’t performing as well as the other rail lines.

“That’s why we are investing to deliver around 15 per cent more capacity on that line through the $615 million Gawler line electrification project.

“We are also investing in other public transport infrastructure, $33.5 million in new Park ‘n’ Rides along the O-Bahn and the $125 million Flinders Link Project.

“We are also in the process of tendering for the provision of bus services and the supply of Adelaide Metro buses – two of the biggest leavers we have to pull to improve services and improve customer satisfaction.”