Commuter data obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) shows that a staggering 67% of commuters have abandoned the Gawler to Adelaide Rail Corridor as a form of public transport, since substitute bus services have been introduced.

The secret data was released following an FOI request lodged by local Member of Parliament, Mr Tony Piccolo who was active in lobbying for better substitute services.

The data shows that in the month of February 2018 when train services were running as normal there were 240,837 Monday to Friday commuters using trains on the Gawler line.  For the weekends, there were 38,185 trips recorded. This was a total of 279,022 commutes using the train service during that month.

In comparison, for the month of July 2021, when substitute bus services were the only option, there were only 72,699 Monday to Friday commuters using the bus service from Gawler.  Over the weekends during the month, there were 17,675 trips recorded.  

My Piccolo said this is a staggering 188, 648 fewer commuters, which is a huge 67% drop.

“That means there must be thousands more cars on the roads incurring the

expenses city car parking, petrol and the stress of driving to and from work in peak hour traffic,” said Mr Piccolo.

“It is clear that local people are fed up with the two-hour bus journey to the city.”

“While the Government is providing substitute buses, commuters are paying full price fares, despite the inconvenience and longer journey times.”

“Given the extended delay to bringing back the rail, substitute bus fares should be free. That is the least Transport Minister Corey Wingard could.”

To add insult to injury, documents obtained from the Marshall Liberal Government’s privatisation partner and rail operator, Keolis Downer reveal that the Gawler Rail Electrification Project (GREP) won’t be ready before May next year confirming information obtained from sources by Mr Piccolo.

The internal report suggests that,

“The GREP project seems to have further slipped to May 2022.”

Mr Piccolo said, sadly the document also warns the ongoing delays pose problems for Keolis Downer which is still going through the process of training drivers, nearly a year after taking over running the trains.

“With delivery now planned in Q1 2022 (May), KDA will have additional new drivers who have never driven on this railway which is a significant risk to the opening of this railway.”

Originally, the line was scheduled for completion in late 2020, which was later changed to January 2021. In April, Minister Wingard said the Gawler line would be closed until November 2021.

Mr Piccolo said while he was bitterly disappointed by the further delays, he is not surprised as the Minister told ABC Radio in October that the completion date for the rail upgrade “… is fundamentally irrelevant.”

“Only last week, the Minister claims that the GREP would be operational in early 2022, yet the Government’s “business partners” and rail operators are saying something different.”

“If the Minister is certain of his facts, it is quite simple to clear up – just name the date !”

 

Patronage - Gawler Line - Feb 2018

Validation day

Validation week | day | Total Daily Validations

* (from Nth Adel to Gawler Central Stations incl)

1/02/2018 Thursday 11041

2/02/2018 Friday 10940

3/02/2018 Saturday 4873

4/02/2018 Sunday 2714

5/02/2018 Monday 10893

6/02/2018 Tuesday 10789

7/02/2018 Wednesday 10743

8/02/2018 Thursday 10222

9/02/2018 Friday 10594

10/02/2018 Saturday 4951

11/02/2018 Sunday 4084

12/02/2018 Monday 11064

13/02/2018 Tuesday 11630

14/02/2018 Wednesday 12385

15/02/2018 Thursday 12134

16/02/2018 Friday 13625

17/02/2018 Saturday 6600

18/02/2018 Sunday 3996

19/02/2018 Monday 12247

20/02/2018 Tuesday 12045

21/02/2018 Wednesday 12660

22/02/2018 Thursday 12556

23/02/2018 Friday 12596

24/02/2018 Saturday 6393

25/02/2018 Sunday 4574

26/02/2018 Monday 13774

27/02/2018 Tuesday 14334

28/02/2018 Wednesday 14565

Gawler Line Total

(sans Adelaide validations ) 279022

‍

Final Monthly

‍

(includes  daily Gawler Line total and monthly total for Adelaide Station validations)

397399

*Raw data for the patronage figures at Adelaide Station does not specifically identify daily validations for those on the Gawler Line - the data only indicates the monthly validations for the Gawler Line - hence the two sets of figures which equate to the Final Monthly Total.

Daily Patronage for Substitute Buses - July 2021 (GA1 - GA4)

Validation day | Validation week day | Total Patronage

1/07/2021 Thursday 4404

2/07/2021 Friday 3969

3/07/2021 Saturday 2544

4/07/2021 Sunday 2071

5/07/2021 Monday 3680

6/07/2021 Tuesday 3972

7/07/2021 Wednesday 4325

8/07/2021 Thursday 4337

9/07/2021 Friday 3917

10/07/2021 Saturday 2805

11/07/2021 Sunday 2043

12/07/2021 Monday 3824

13/07/2021 Tuesday 4027

14/07/2021 Wednesday 4007

15/07/2021 Thursday 3974

16/07/2021 Friday 3365

17/07/2021 Saturday 2707

18/07/2021 Sunday 2405

19/07/2021 Monday 4731

20/07/2021 Tuesday 3182

21/07/2021 Wednesday 1164

22/07/2021 Thursday 967

23/07/2021 Friday 1090

24/07/2021 Saturday 573

25/07/2021 Sunday 593

26/07/2021 Monday 1094

27/07/2021 Tuesday 1095

28/07/2021 Wednesday 3720

29/07/2021 Thursday 3953

30/07/2021 Friday 3902

31/07/2021 Saturday 1934

Monthly Total 90374

‍