Adelaide Metro and regional buses broke down thousands of times in past three years, new data shows

Buses on the Adelaide and regional SA networks broke down thousands of times in the past three years, causing huge inconvenience..

Buses on the Adelaide and regional South Australian networks have broken down more than 7000 times in the past three years, leaving drivers and passengers stranded.

Public transport advocates and the bus drivers’ union are calling for more and better maintenance to reduce the problem.

Figures released to the opposition under Freedom of Information laws reveal the number of times bus breakdowns required a call-out between March 2018, when the Liberals took power, and February this year. The number totalled 2561 in 2019, dropping to 1921 in Covid-affected 2020.

Further figures supplied to the Sunday Mail by the Transport Department showed the problem has fluctuated over the past decade.

It peaked at 4739 call-outs in 2014, when Labor was in power. But the tallies for each Labor’s final two years in office (2157 and 2251) were considerably lower than the 2934 in 2018 and the 2019 figure.

People for Public Transport secretary Margaret Dingle said the figures indicated buses were not being adequately maintained.

“Any bus breakdown does inconvenience passengers because they have to get off the bus and sit around until the next one comes,” she said.

“It does happen sometimes, particularly in hot weather, (and) it causes delays and discourages people from using public transport.”

The Transport Workers Union said the fleet was ageing and servicing needed to be done more regularly.

State branch secretary Ian Smith said operators were doing the bare minimum maintenance required by the government.

Transport Workers Union (TWU) branch secretary Ian Smith said bus operators were doing the bare minimum in maintenance. Picture: AAP Image/Roy Vandervegt

“The contractors are given a bucket of money and some targets they have to meet, and one of the ways they make more money is by doing less maintenance,” he said.

“That doesn’t mean they’re not doing the maintenance they have tom but the bottom line is, if it’s going to affect your profits, you’re going to be reluctant to do it.”

The highest monthly figure in the past decade was 723 call-outs in August 2018. The 88 in June 2020 was the first month since October 2011 to have fewer than 100 call-outs.

A Transport Department spokesman said the most serious maintenance issue affecting passenger safety since March 2018 was a fire in the engine area of a bus.

“The driver and the single passenger on board were able to safely exit the bus without injury,” he said.

Under new contracts that took effect last year, buses on the Adelaide network have been run by four private operators: Torrens Connect, Torrens Transit, Busways and SouthLink, a subsidiary of Keolis Downer.

Opposition transport spokesman Tom Koutsantonis said “there is clearly a massive problem with the metropolitan bus fleet”.

“People can’t get to work on time or to school as a direct result of the Liberals’ poor management of our public transport system,” he said.

The department said under 0.1 per cent of overall trips were affected by breakdowns, and the bus replacement program ensured a minimum of 34 buses were replaced each year.

“In the event of a breakdown, every effort is made to minimise disruption to the network and inconvenience to passengers,” the spokesman said.

He added that all buses were serviced monthly, and preventive maintenance is carried out where required.

Transport Minister Corey Wingard said claimed breakdowns were more common under Labor.

“The new bus contract kicked in during July last year and already we’re seeing a decrease in breakdowns and call outs,” he said.