Working in the CBD

I thought I'd start a thread on some of the practical issues around working in the CBD to help those who are coming over with jobs, or likely to get jobs, in the CBD to make informed choices about where to live. Feel free to add anything you think I've missed or add a correction if I've got something wrong (hard to believe but I don't know everything).

Okay, first thing to point out is not all jobs are in the CBD. There are plenty of big employers in other areas and there are quite a number on the outskirts of the CBD. This advice is mostly meant for the CBD but some could also apply to other areas.

Travel

Unless you live within walking distance you will need to use some form of transport to get to work. I've listed out the different forms below along with comments about each. For more information about buses, trains and trams have a look at adelaidemetro.com.au

Car

The obvious one I suppose. Car travel is pretty popular here and things can get busy at peak times. If you have a job that is flexible with start and finish times then travelling early can help to miss the worst of the traffic. I know people that start work at 8am so they cam avoid the worst of the traffic. Getting across the city can be a bit of a nightmare, especially at peak time, with the hundreds of traffic lights that all seem to change to red just as you get to them.

If you travel by car you will need to park it. Car parking in the CBD can be really expensive, especially around the main shopping area. Some car parks do early bird parking where if you are in before 9am or 9:30am you can park for the day for just $12 or $13. Just watch these though as you might have to validate your ticket and some you only get the early bird price of you leave after 3pm. If you are going to be parking everyday then it can work out cheaper to get a parking pass. I think these are around $250 a month. They don't guarantee a space though, just get you entry to the car park, and if the car park is full you would have to park elsewhere and pay. It is possible to get reserved spaces but these cost much more. Some employers will allow you to salary sacrifice your car parking which can save you more money.

Buses

Buses will vary on how frequent and reliable they are depending on where you live. The North East is well served by the O-Bahn, that is basically a bus that runs on a track. This gets in to the CBD much faster than driving and is very popular. There are car parks at the O-Bahn stations but you have to get there pretty early to get a space. Alternatively you can catch a bus to the station and get the O-Bahn in to the city. I'm not sure how often the O-Bahn buses run but it is pretty regular.

Other areas will have a reasonably regular service in the work travel periods but then not much else during the day. Other areas have Go-Zones where the buses are supposed to be at least every 15 minutes between 7:30am and 6:30pm. A bus trip costs me $3.39 at peak time using a metro card for two hours unlimited validations. This basically means you can get on as many buses as you like within a two hour period for no extra cost. Travel is cheaper outside of peak times and concession card holders and students also travel cheaper. If you are not travelling far you can also get a two section ticket which is $1.84 per trip with a two section metro card.

The buses themselves vary from being brand new to being very old but usually seem pretty clean. Most have air conditioning but it works better on some buses than others.

Train

I've never caught the train so can't really comment too much about this, although I do know there are train lines in Fromm the south and north of the city (and possibly elsewhere?). The train station in the city is located on North Terrace almost half way between East Terrace and West Terrace. Once you get off the train you have to then get to your place of work and the best way will depend on where your work is. There is a tram stop almost right outside the train station (tram travel is free in the city) or you could catch the free loop bus. Depending on the time of day and where you are going it may be quicker to walk from the train station to work than try and catch further public transport, although in the really hot or wet weather this might not be so pleasent.

Trams

Again I've never really caught the tram and I'm not overly familiar with where they run to and from. I know there is a tram from Glenelg to the city and that the trams are free in the city but that is about the limit of my knowledge. Hopefully someone else can add more.

Bike

If you live close enough then cycling might be an option for you. Adelaide doesn't do too badly for cycle lanes on some of the main roads and there are loads of places to leave your bike in the CBD. The worst thing about riding would be the car drivers, many of whom seem to think cyclists shouldn't be allowed on the road. If you live near the Linear park that runs by the Torrens river you could ride all the way in to the CBD without having to go on a road at all. The Torrens runs right from Athlestone/Highbury in the North East to West Beach/Henley Beach in the West.

Adelaide CBD Itself

The CBD is about 1 mile square and is surrounded by parklands. The main shopping area (with all the clothes shops etc) is around Rundle Mall but there is also Chinatown and the Central Market around Grote Street and a number of retail outlets on a Hutt Street, and various other places around the CBD. After you get over the travelling in to it the CBD can be a pretty nice place to be working.

What an excellent thread thank you for sharing. Parking is so much cheaper than Sydney where it cost us $8 per hour when Rob visited me in hospital

I use a the tram in from Glenelg a fair bit. From Glenelg itself it takes about 35-40 minutes into the CBD, a little bit longer, depending on the exact stop.

The timetable is good and lists all the stops en route https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/routes/Tram

If you download the Adelaide Metro app it does the same job for all the public transport and lists it in real time so you can see exactly when the next tram is due at your stop.

The tram starts/ends at Glenelg Moseley Square at the beach end and runs into the Entertainment Centre in the city.

IIRC its free between Victoria Square and the Entertainment Centre stops in the city. And then the last 3 stops in Glenelg, from stop 15, Dunbar Tce to Moseley Square are also free. So if in the city its handy as you can hop on and off a few stops without needing a Metro Card. However, be warned, in the city it can be busy trying to get on or off on some of these stops and in the time you stand and wait for a tram you could have walked the two stops you wanted to and be there already. Depends if you mind walking city heat over stuffed tram on certain days I guess

Air con has always been good when its on. In my experience that is.

Here is the link to the Metro Card info. It is for use on buses, trams and trains.

https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Tickets/Metrocard

We all have one and top them up as and when. We also then let friends borrow them if they come from out of town to visit and have them install the Adelaide Metro app too so they know times and locations etc.

Cycling

I do know a fair amount of people who think nothing of cycling in from further out and in all honesty often get to work just as quick as if they were using a car. Hubby cycles into the city often for races and we have friends who cycle from about 20kms in to the CBD for work on a daily Mon-Fri during rush basis and find it fine. That takes a bit longer than if in a car but in rush hour its perhaps not as big a difference as it would be in quieter times of the day.

If you are a regular cyclist who used to cycle a bit of a distance to work in the UK and want to do so here, you probably will be able to do so relatively easily with some planning of routes and so on. As NicF said, the cars on the road can make it interesting and some of the main roads are not for the faint of heart but there are lots of cycle routes to choose from to get you into the city.

FWIW, from Glenelg there is now a cycle path all the way into the CBD, much of it running alongside the tram line and you only hit roads a few times on the way in till much closer into the city. There is an underpass to negotiate and around there you can perhaps miss the link up back onto the cycle route then but once you have it figured out its fine.

Also there are these bike path maps to download or use. It needs a bit of an update perhaps but its a good starting point.

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/transport-travel-and-motoring/cycling/cycling-maps

Also you can go into any library and they will have a heap of walking and cycle path maps leaflets and lists etc you can grab for free.

Good thread, I can share my experience as I live in McLaren Vale which is 40km south of the city.

I was working in the CBD till a few weeks ago and caught the train from Seaford. Including walking, bus and train and then walk, my commute was about 1 hour 30 minutes in. The train journey itself from Seaford varies between 45 - 50 minutes as there are a lot of stops, railway crossings, etc. There are no true express services but this means that all stations along the line are very well serviced with regular trains. The same is true for the Gawler line. The Seaford line has recently been upgraded and whilst it had a shaky start, the trains are now reliable, clean and comfortable. This long commute was offset by working from home 3 days a fortnight and I think some companies are waking up to this as an option. The train is stoopidly cheap as well - I was paying just over $3 to get in (including the bus) and the same going home.

I recently moved job and now work on Richmond Road for the RAA at Mile End. They have free on-site parking and I've decided to start driving in. So far my journey has averaged between 40 - 50 minutes and has been quite reasonable considering the distance. I have lost the working from home but it's being talked about so it's another example of a positive mindset change in Adelaide.

Cycling is popular as Snifter says - plenty of people at both places I've worked at do cycle.

I have used all modes of public transport at one time or another. Currently I am lucky to be dropped off and picked up from home to the city where I work. I only live about 3-4 kms from the city but if I leave home at 8.30am I will likely get into work after 9.00 because of traffic. I can also leave at 9.00am and (almost) get into work at the same time as if I leave at 8.30am. Usually 8.00am is good and I can get in to work within 10 minutes. In thick traffic the bike riders have it good. I see a lot of people walking to work.

I used to ride to work a few years ago now but I stopped after a truck ran me off the road, luckily I knew they were going to do it otherwise it could have been pretty dire. I also walked to work for a number of years and that was probably my favorite - it would take 40 minutes and I could cut across the parklands.

The Tram used to be always packed whenever I tried to get in to work, although that was probably the fastest way in to work. It felt like we were crammed in and we had to breathe in. There were times when the tram had a "full" sign and would not stop to pick up passengers. It is free from South Terrace to the Entertainment centre although a lot of people can't get on the tram in peak period from South Terrace to get to the city because it is so full. There is also a "Park n Ride" at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. It costs $4.00 to park your car there and take the tram to the city and return for the full day. The bus wasn't very good as the roads are congested and it was always stopping, it was always full. Not to mention people travelling on buses/trams/trains who seem to like coughing and spluttering and I really hate that people don't open their windows (do they still have windows that open?).

When I lived at Hallett Cove which was a while ago now, they didn't have the transport right as bus services didn't operate after a certain time which necessitated taking my car to the train station. That did change but I still took the car to the train station because it would save up to 20 minutes.

I don't know why but I don't think we have the public transport system right. It's improved but when I am in Sydney or Melbourne there is minimal waiting time if you miss a bus/tram/train and it just seems to run smoothly despite having a larger population and seemingly being more congested but it seems to work better.

The tram is free between South Terrace and the Entertainment Centre (-where you can get a $2 Park and Ride), as well as within Glenelg.

There are also free connector services around the perimeter of Adelaide City, clockwise and counter clockwise

Public transport is also a lot cheaper if you buy a multi trip ticket or get a Metro Card (like an Oyster card).

Tickets will give you an unlimited number of transfers between Bus, Train, Tram and O'Bahn within a two hour period

Tickets are also a great deal cheaper between 9 am and 3 pm

PT is free for those with a concession, student or seniors card at off peak times; all weekend and all Public Holidays

Public Transport to major events at the Adelaide Oval, Entertainment Centre, and on New Years Eve etc etc is free

The O'Bahn is a dedicated express bus track offering a 100km an hour service (approx every 5 to 10 minutes during the day).It will get you into the heart of the city in about 10 minutes, and it is being extended for an even quicker service.

However the buses themselves are not dedicated to running only on the track. They become flexible suburban services at either end of the track. The O'Bahn interchanges offer Free Parking (and free lock ups for pushbikes ) at Modbury, Paradise and Klemzig.

Frankly you would be a bit of a mug to commute by car to a job in the city.

JB

The tram is free between South Terrace and the Entertainment Centre (-where you can get a $2 Park and Ride), as well as within Glenelg.

 

There are also free connector services around the perimeter of Adelaide City, clockwise and counter clockwise

 

Public transport is also a lot cheaper if you buy a multi trip ticket or get a Metro Card (like an Oyster card).

 

Tickets will give you an unlimited number of transfers between Bus, Train, Tram and O'Bahn within a two hour period

 

Tickets are also a great deal cheaper between 9 am and 3 pm

 

PT is free for those with a concession, student or seniors card at off peak times; all weekend and all Public Holidays

Public Transport to major events at the Adelaide Oval, Entertainment Centre, and on New Years Eve etc etc is free

 

The O'Bahn is a dedicated express bus track offering a 100km an hour service (approx every 5 to 10 minutes during the day).It will get you into the heart of the city in about 10 minutes, and it is being extended for an even quicker service.

However the buses themselves are not dedicated to running only on the track. They become flexible suburban services at either end of the track. The O'Bahn interchanges offer Free Parking (and free lock ups for pushbikes ) at Modbury, Paradise and Klemzig.

 

Frankly you would be a bit of a mug to commute by car to a job in the city.

 

JB

Public transport is not free for students or confession card holders at off peak times. Only seniors get free travel. Children under five travel free at all times when with an adult (not sure how many under fives travel without an adult, but anyway). Up to two children under 15 can travel free at weekends, school holidays and public holidays when with an adult travelling on a day trip ticket. All details of the fares can be found here https://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/Tickets/Fares