In July 2022, we delivered on our election commitment and made public transport free all day, every day for Seniors Card holders, who were previously charged for services during the morning and afternoon peak periods on weekdays from 7am to 9am and 3pm to 7pm.
Seniors have embraced free travel during these times, with a significant uplift in trips taken over the first 12 months of the program.
From just over 477,000 trips taken in June last year by Seniors Card holders, the 12 months from July 2022 have seen a total patronage of 7,338,675 by seniors card holders – a monthly average of 611,556 and a 37 per cent increase on the previous full financial year.
And while there has been seasonal variation on patronage levels, the figure has remained above 600,000 in all but two of the past 10 months.
With free travel any time on Adelaide Metro services for approximately 430,000 South Australian Seniors Card members, catching the bus, train or tram has become a simpler and more flexible way to get where you need to go.
More than 1.7 million trips have been undertaken by senior card holders in the morning and afternoon peaks during the first 12 months of the initiative, collectively saving Seniors Card holders between $3.4 million and $5.1 million, depending on whether travellers would have opted for the $2 MetroCard trip or $3 paper ticket.
While seniors who were already travelling during off-peak times continued to do so, we’ve seen an increase in journeys by seniors who would otherwise have stayed home or who would have had to make alternative arrangements to arrive at their appointments.
To access free travel, simply validate your Seniors Card each time you board a service or pass through barrier gates.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
The increase in patronage by Seniors Card holders since we extended free travel to all day, every day shows the success of this initiative, which has given eligible South Australians more choice and greater independence by removing a barrier to public transport.
Effectively, this has enabled a new cohort of seniors to be able to travel by public transport, and in doing so we’re taking steps to revive patronage numbers across the network that were hit by the COVID pandemic.
This is first and foremost a measure to assist older South Australians with cost of living pressures, and we’ve collectively saved the state’s 430,000-odd Seniors Card holders as much as $5 million on ticket fares over the past year.
But there’s a universal benefit, as every time someone uses public transport we’re getting more cars off the road, improving congestion across the network and reducing the impact on the environment.
As put by COTA SA CEO Miranda Starke
COTA SA advocated for free public transport for Seniors Card holders and we are delighted to see such strong uptake, which indicates how important this is for older people in our community.
At a time of significant cost of living pressures for many older South Australians living on low and fixed incomes, removing the cost barrier to participating in community life on a full-time basis is crucial.
With this initiative we are seeing more older South Australians able to contribute as workers, volunteers, carers, shoppers, grandparents and active community members – and that’s a good thing for all of us.
