Article: Adelaide commuter fury at being in buses like cattle ...

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From The Advertiser via news.com.au click here!

Adelaide commuter fury at being in buses like cattle as express services run half-empty

Adelaide commuter fury at being in buses like cattle as express services run half-empty

   Michael Milnes, Cara Jenkin
   From: The Advertiser
   May 18, 2011 11:30PM

ADELAIDE commuters are irate at having to cram on to crowded buses while express ones roar past half-empty.

While the express buses provide many commuters up-track with the luxury of at least two seats to every one person, commuters at the Klemzig O-Bahn station literally are left in the cold.

Commuters at the third and last interchange on the O-Bahn track are queuing up to half an hour, watching the express buses drive past with a handful of passengers, yet most buses that stop have standing room only.

Queues of up to 100 waiting commuters are forming between 8am and 9am as they wait to load on to buses heading into the city.

Klemzig commuter John Wood said it seems the majority of the buses are express and quite a lot of them are not full.

"And we have huge queues, one of the express buses is driving past now and it's empty, here's comes ours now . . . but it's full," Mr Wood said.

"It depends what time you get down here, but as you can see, most of the busses aren't stopping and some people do get a bit frustrated."

Another Klemzig resident, Catherine Maczkowiack asked: "If express buses weren't full, why couldn't they stop".

One commuter, who did not wish to be identified, said tensions were building among commuters as they waited up to half an hour at peak times. "It's a slap in the face watching 10 half-empty buses with plenty of room for passengers drive past us, as 'express', in the space of 10 minutes, while we wait for an already jam-packed bus to stop so we can cram on like cattle," she said.

"It's been happening for about two years and people are getting frustrated that their complaints aren't being listened to and instead are told that these express buses are popular with people so they won't change them back to regular buses."

Klemzig woman Tiffany Browne said: "When you do see five or six express buses go past and they aren't full, it is quite frustrating.

"If the express buses did stop at Klemzig if they weren't full, it would only take them a minute or two more," Ms Browne said.

The first set-down for buses that stop at Klemzig is not until the city, either opposite the Royal Adelaide Hospital or at Hindmarsh Square.

A Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure spokesman said 62 out of 184 O-Bahn bus services between 7am and 9am stopped at the third and final stop into the city. He said express buses were necessary to give passengers travelling from outlying suburbs with a timely and efficient service.

Read more: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/adelaide-commuter-fury-at-being-in-buses-like-cattle-as-express-services-run-half-empty/story-e6frea83-1226058550168

[#Metro]

Ah, this is like sitting at Buranda and watching all the 150 and 130s go past.

Adelaide Metro's excuse is bunk. It only takes about 60 seconds to pull up, load, unload a bus etc if you have prepaid boarding.

Too hard it seems.