18 January 2021
The Keoride On Demand Public Transport trial service in Mount Barker (South Australia) is being extended for the second time to June 2021 since first starting in January 2020. From Monday 18 January, the service area will grow by 50 per cent when it expands to include Littlehampton and Nairne in the Adelaide Hills.
The Keoride trial is a collaboration between the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) and multi modal transport operator Keolis Downer. It has proven to be extremely successful from inception, with over 1,800 trips delivered in the first month of service, the fastest uptake for an On Demand service in Australia.
The Keoride trial is a collaboration between the Department for Infrastructure and Transport (DIT) and multi modal transport operator Keolis Downer. It has proven to be extremely successful from inception, with over 1,800 trips delivered in the first month of service, the fastest uptake for an On Demand service in Australia.
David Franks, Keolis Downer CEO, says “Keoride has been truly embraced by the community from day one. Thanks to the professionalism of our drivers and our customer service team we have achieved an ongoing customer satisfaction rate of 97%.”
“The collaboration with DIT has been exceptional and we have been constantly monitoring customer feedback to adapt the service to community needs,” Mr Franks says. “With the extension of the service area, we aim to encourage more people out of their cars to increase the use of public transport.”
From 18 January, fares will change and will now align with the Adelaide Metro Fare structure. This means that customers will have the option to use their metroCARD and benefit from a two-hour free transfer feature when connecting to another Adelaide Metro transport service. The option to pay via a credit card via the app also remains available, although does not include the two-hour transfer benefit onto other Adelaide Metro services.
“By providing more options to our customers, we will further improve their travel experience and encourage the use of public transport. There is no doubt this service delivers community benefits. From recent customer research, 86% of respondents agree the service offers a community benefit with 46% using the service to connect to the Park n Rides to transfer to Adelaide Metro services,” adds David Franks.
Keolis Downer has been operating Keoride services in Mount Barker since January 2020, with up to five vehicles at any one time on the road and 80,000 passengers carried in the first 12 months of the trial.
In Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Keoride has been operating since November 2017 and has been highly successful, with over 400,000 trips delivered in the first three years of operations, and over 19,000 trips delivered monthly.
About Keolis Downer
Keolis Downer is a leading operator and integrator of public transport in Australia. With nearly 5,000 employees and a presence in five states, Keolis Downer enables 350 million passenger journeys per year. We operate and maintain the largest tram network in the world in Melbourne (Yarra Trams), the light rail network on the Gold Coast (G:link), and more than 1,000 buses in NSW, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. From 31 January 2021, we will also operate the Adelaide Metro train services.
Established in 2009, Keolis Downer is a joint venture between Keolis, a leading public transport operator established in 15 countries, and Downer, the leading provider of integrated services in Australia and New Zealand.
| ALL MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Samuel Catling – New Mobilities – Stakeholder and Customer Engagement Manager +61 423 221 238 / Samuel.catling@keolisdowner.com.au |