Some public transport trips are more expensive in Adelaide than anywhere else

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, some Australians have turned to public transport in an effort to curb the pinch at the petrol pump.

But for many, public transport is a necessity that enables them to undertake the basics of everyday life.

"Public transport is the only way that I can access things like engagement with employment opportunities, education, culture, public events and health appointments," Ann-Maree Anderson told ABC News.

She rents in Mount Barker, an Adelaide Hills town about 30km south-west of the CBD. 

Ms Anderson has recently graduated from university, volunteers for poverty outreach groups and is associated with the Anti-Poverty Network, and has recently shifted from Austudy to the Jobseeker support payment. 

"I can drive and I do have a licence, but I do not have a car. Keeping a car maintained at the moment, and running it, is out of my budget,"

she said.

Analysis shows high expenses in Adelaide

Governments across Australia have introduced a range of measures to reduce public transport fares. 

Tasmania offers free public bus travel, as did Victoria before introducing a half-price fare until the end of the year.

The NT government has offered free buses for several years and Queensland's LNP government recently legislated the universal 50c fare introduced by Labor in 2024.

Other states and territories have introduced various measures to trim fares, such as age-based free travel and other fare discounts.

The SA government pointed to three measures introduced this year to address cost-of-living pressures.

"By slashing the cost of 28-day student passes and expanding the Seniors Card, millions of more dollars have stayed in the pockets of South Australians," a government spokesperson said.

"The government also put a three month pause on annual increases for MetroCARD public transport fares to provide cost-of-living respite for commuters during the early impacts of the conflict in the Middle East."

An analysis of single fares by ABC NEWS showed Adelaide commuters, including those like Ms Anderson, were currently paying the second-highest fares in the country, behind Sydney.

For short trips, Adelaide's fare prices were comparatively the most expensive in Australia.

That's because Adelaide Metro uses a network-wide fare system, charging commuters with a single tap of a metroCARD or payment card. 

In Sydney – which has the most expensive public transport fares in Australia – those short trips of fewer than 8km on a bus or tram, or 10km on a train, are charged at rates lower than Adelaide's standard fares.

The SA government's delay to its annual fare rise meant prices grew roughly 3.3 per cent in line with CPI on October 1. 

Certain fares, including regular and concession metroCARD single trips were raised above CPI though, as were regular 14-day MetroCards, and both 14 and 28 day concession MetroCards.

Fare reductions can get people on board, sometimes

Transport strategist Dr Elliot Fishman, who is the director of the Institute for Sensible Transport, said public transport provided practical means to reduce household spending and the need for more than one car. 

But when it came to reducing fares, there have been varying results for boosting use of public transport.

Dr Fishman's group analysed the fare reductions taken by the Victorian and Queensland governments.

In Queensland, he said "there was a small increase in usage, but a lot of the increasing usage came from existing public transport users".

In Melbourne, the program had seen a "13 to 20 per cent increase in public transport [usage] compared to before those fare reductions".

"For the increase in patronage, it was more effective for the government to reduce and eliminate the fares than it would have been to provide an increase in the quality of the service to try and get the same boost," he said.

Dr Fishman said Brisbane's Bus Rapid Transit system and Melbourne's rail-heavy network moved large numbers of people each day, were primed to benefit from fare subsidies. 

There have been calls from The Greens to offer free public transport fares, something which the current state government has pushed back on. The SA Liberal Party also campaigned on introducing 50-cent fares like Queensland in the lead-up to March's state election.

"The Melbourne experience may not be entirely replicated in Adelaide because we're dealing with a different level of service quality," Dr Fishman said. 

"So, I think the most important thing is to have a high quality service and what does that mean? It means a frequent service, a service that covers a large proportion of the population and that is relatively time competitive with the car."

Adelaide's system, he said "forms more of a social safety net for mobility for the community than some of the other eastern city capital cities."

Cheaper options have been proposed, but no change on the horizon

Last year, the Royal Automobile Association of SA [RAA] proposed several measures including a reduced rate 12-trip ticket, rather than a time-dependent ticket, digitised MetroCards and smart ticketing options and extensions of the MetroCard boundary to Murray Bridge.

"At the last state election, RAA recommended a new 12-trip Adelaide Metro fare for $36, which would help regular users reduce travel costs more than the current 14-day pass does, considering many commuters now work from home on some days of the week," a spokesperson told ABC News. 

They added the RAA was supportive of the "targeted public transport fare relief introduced by the state government for students and seniors, to reduce costs for those who need it most."

The state government said its cost measures were "always measured against the broader budget impact, and the government has no plans to provide additional subsidies at this time".

"We’ve got a much smaller population than other jurisdictions and we rely very heavily on our bus network, and our bus network is doing a lot of the heavy lifting," treasurer Tom Koutsantonis told ABC NEWS on Tuesday. 

"Despite the cost [of fares], every dollar we get goes back into the system, which gives us more security, allows us to upgrade our buses, our trains and our trams."

For Ms Anderson, the concern was that high prices and fares may restrict people like her from accessing both the essentials, and niceties, of living.

"People need to be able to access friends, family, health appointments, mental health appointments, free cultural events in the city. We have these so that we can all join together as a community," she said.

"To have a percentage of the population ... not be able to access things that they need to maintain a basic level of health and social interaction does bring into question again, what is the purpose of our public transport system if not to facilitate our movement?"