Bus passengers in South Australia will receive better, faster and more frequent bus and tram services under a multi-billion dollar new contract signed by South Australia government.
The South Australian government announced the first private operator of the Adelaide tram network on Tuesday adelaide tram network, with the director admitting a "change" personnel, according to the advertiser`s The Advertiser.
The head of transport, Stephan Knoll, announced that the first private operator of the Adelaide tram network was a joint venture of three companies, Torrens Transit、UGL Railway Services and John Holland.
New bus contracts have also been signed, Busways South Australia will be added to become operators of services in the Greater South, while Torrens Transit will continue to operate services in the Greater North, East-West and Greater North, Keolis will maintain operational services in the Adelaide Mountains.
The new contract for buses and trams took effect on July 1 and was valid for eight years.
Noel promised that the new contract would provide better service. "These new bus (and tram) service contracts will provide better, faster and more frequent service to South Australians. "In the next few weeks, we will release details about improvements to bus (and tram) services before we enter the consultation period ," he said. "
Noel acknowledged that the new contract would "transfer personnel between companies ". "At present, we are working to address this issue to ensure that the impact on employees is minimized commuters are disturbed as little as possible so that a seamless transition can be achieved ," he said. "
SeaLink Tourism Group, which operates locally in Torrens Transit, said :" We are pleased to bring world-class innovation into the local market. "
"We firmly believe that public transport will attract more passengers if it is more reliable and convenient ," said Clint Feuerherdt, chief executive of the group. That is why we seek to improve connectivity, efficiency and passenger capacity within the scope of the contract. "Between high frequency services, bus and tram integrated services, we will develop new destinations for our customers on the bus network. "
UGL Managing Director Spears (Jason Spears) said the company "enjoys a high reputation in the operation and management of heavy rail and light rail throughout Australia" and looked forward to "providing safe and quality operations to the people of Adelaide ".
John Holland CEO Barr (Joe Barr) said the deal was the company`s first joint venture contract in 70 years, calling it the "exciting new chapter in South Australia ". "We have a long history of providing world-class public transport services to Australia and are committed to improving the commuting service in Adelaide ," he said. "
government announced the controversial plan in july last year to outsource adelaide`s train and tram services to private operators, prompting the south australia railway, tram and bus union (RTBU) to organize events and hold stoppage meetings.
The union lashed out at contract outsourcing, saying it was "terrible ". "From the experience of other states and overseas, we know that private operators maximize profits by minimizing costs ," says Phillips (Darren Phillips), union secretary for the South Australia and North Territories. This means that service and security will inevitably be reduced. "
opposition party leader marino skas (Peter Malinauskas) called for government to release details of the contract. He said ," we know... In the long run, public networks that serve the interests of commuters are always better than private networks that focus on the interests. He reiterated Labour`s commitment to return train and trams to public ownership if the party wins the 2022 state elections.
Adelaide City Bus Services (Adelaide Metro) has been outsourced since 2000. Last february, the state government issued a request for proposals to find new bus operators, asking interested parties to improve the network.
government said at the time that new operators would cut underperforming services, provide better services at less cost and adapt to emerging modes of transportation.
