Public Transport Adelaide: Trams, Trains & Buses

Adelaide's public transport network (operated by Adelaide Metro, a division of the Department for Infrastructure and Transport SA) is one of Australia's most underrated: the city's compact and walkable geography (the Colonel Light 1836 grid is only 1 square mile) and the extensive bus, tram, and train network provide genuinely good public transport coverage for Adelaide's modest population size. The free City Tram (the Adelaide tram service operating on the Glenelg line between the Entertainment Centre and Glenelg beach, free between the Entertainment Centre and the Adelaide Railway Station) and the O-Bahn busway (the world's longest guided busway at 12km, connecting the CBD to the north-eastern suburbs via the Torrens River linear park) are Adelaide's most distinctive transport assets. The Metrocard (Adelaide's tap-on tap-off smart card) provides automated fare capping and a significant discount compared to cash fares.

The Free City Tram and the Adelaide Tram Network — the Adelaide tram (the Glenelg line, connecting the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to Glenelg Beach via the Adelaide Railway Station, Victoria Square, King William Street, and the South Terrace hospital precinct) provides both free CBD travel (between the Entertainment Centre and the Adelaide Railway Station) and fare-paying travel to Glenelg beach. The City Tram's free CBD section is one of Adelaide's most used public transport services, providing a quick and convenient north-south link through the CBD without the need for a Metrocard or any payment. A tram extension to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre at Hindmarsh and a proposed extension to the northern suburbs are under planning.

O-Bahn and the Northern Bus Network — the O-Bahn busway (the world's longest guided busway, running in a concrete guideway channel alongside the Torrens River from the Adelaide CBD to Tea Tree Plaza shopping centre in the north-eastern suburbs) provides one of Adelaide's fastest public transport services: the 12km busway can be traversed in 12 minutes, significantly faster than driving the equivalent distance in traffic. The O-Bahn carries approximately 40,000 passengers per day and is Adelaide Metro's highest-patronage transit corridor.

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