Getting Around Adelaide

Adelaide is one of the easiest Australian capitals to get around. The CBD sits in a tidy one-square-mile grid ringed by parklands, most attractions are within walking distance, and an integrated network of trams, trains, buses and the O-Bahn busway — all run under the Adelaide Metro banner — radiates out from a single hub at the Adelaide Railway Station on North Terrace.

Best of all, a good slice of it is free: the city tram zone and the City Connector buses cost nothing, and the airport is barely 15 minutes from town. This guide walks through every option — how to pay, the trams and trains, buses and the O-Bahn, getting in from the airport, taxis and rideshare, cycling, and when a car is actually worth it.

How to pay: tickets and fares

Adelaide finished a network-wide ticketing upgrade in early 2026, and paper tickets are gone. There are now three ways to pay, and all of them work on every bus, tram and train:

• Tap and Pay — tap a contactless debit or credit card, phone or smartwatch on the yellow smart validators. Simple for visitors, but it only charges the Regular (adult) fare.
• Buy & Go app — the free Adelaide Metro app sells the full range of tickets and passes, including concession and student fares, and lets you hold up to five tickets at once.
• metroCARD — the reloadable plastic card, best for regular travellers and anyone eligible for a concession. Buy and top up at the InfoCentre, vending machines and 270+ retailers. New cards carry a small one-off fee.

One fare covers two hours of travel with free transfers between modes, and a daily cap means you are never charged for more than two trips in a day on the same card. Off-peak fares (roughly weekday mid-morning to mid-afternoon, after 7pm, and all weekend and public holidays) are noticeably cheaper than peak. Holders of an SA Seniors Card travel free at all times.

Trams and the Glenelg line

The tram is the most useful single line for visitors. It runs from Moseley Square at Glenelg, on the coast, straight through the city along King William Street, with branches out to the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Festival Plaza and the Botanic Gardens. Trams are frequent — around every five to ten minutes on the core route — and run until roughly 11:30pm.

The clever part is the free tram zone: travel is free anywhere in the city between the South Terrace stop, the Entertainment Centre, Festival Plaza and the Botanic Gardens, and free again along Jetty Road at Glenelg between the Brighton Road stop and Moseley Square. Just hop on — do not tap on inside the free zone, or you will be charged. You only pay if you ride through to Glenelg past South Terrace, or into the city past Brighton Road.

Trains

Seven suburban lines fan out from the Adelaide Railway Station, running seven days a week until about midnight (less often at night and on weekends). The Seaford, Flinders and Gawler lines are modern and fully electric; the Outer Harbor, Grange and Belair lines use air-conditioned railcars; and a new Port Dock line is being built.

• Seaford line — the one visitors use most, heading south to the beaches at Brighton, Seacliff and Hallett Cove.
• Belair line — climbs into the Adelaide Hills to Belair National Park.
• Outer Harbor line — runs out to historic Port Adelaide and the coast.

Note that Glenelg is served by the tram, not a train, and there is no train to the airport.

Buses and the O-Bahn

Buses are the backbone of the network, reaching virtually every suburb, typically from around 5:30am to 11pm on weekdays with lighter weekend services. Most carry bike racks on the front.

Adelaide's signature service is the O-Bahn — a guided busway where buses lock onto a dedicated concrete track and run out to Tea Tree Plaza in the north-east at up to 100km/h, covering the trip in about 15 minutes. It is one of the fastest guided-bus systems anywhere and by far the quickest way to reach the north-eastern suburbs.

Free city transport

Two services cost nothing at all and are perfect for sightseeing:

• Free City Connector buses — route 99A/99C loops the CBD on weekdays, and route 98A/98C loops the CBD and North Adelaide every day. Together they run roughly every 15 minutes on weekdays, linking Rundle Mall, the Central Market, Victoria Square, the museums and North Terrace. Services run from early morning to about 7:15pm, later on Fridays.
• Free tram zone — as above, free right across the city core.

From Adelaide Airport

Adelaide Airport is one of the closest to any Australian city centre — about 6 km, a 15-minute drive. There is no train or tram to the terminal, so you have three sensible options.

The JetBus (routes J1 and J2) leaves from Stop 10 on Sir Richard Williams Avenue, just west of the pick-up area, and reaches the city in about half an hour — remember buses take no cash, so tap a card or use a metroCARD. The taxi rank is on the western side of the pedestrian plaza. Rideshare uses a signed pickup zone by the Terminal Car Park; a $4.50 airport fee is added to taxi and rideshare fares leaving the airport.

Taxis and rideshare

Taxis can be hailed, booked by app, or picked up at ranks across the city. The main operators are Adelaide Independent Taxis, Suburban Taxis and 13cabs (13 22 27), with Suburban Access Taxis providing wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Rideshare is well established — Uber, DiDi and Ola all operate, along with local options — and is often a little cheaper than a taxi outside surge periods.

Cycling, e-scooters and walking

Adelaide is flat, gridded and genuinely bike-friendly, with dedicated paths like the River Torrens Linear Park Trail and plenty of on-road lanes. The Adelaide Free Bikes program lends bicycles for short trips at no charge, you can carry a bike free on trains (space permitting) and on the racks on the front of buses, and e-scooters operate around the CBD for that first or last kilometre.

Honestly, though, walking is often quickest in the city itself: Rundle Mall, the Central Market, the North Terrace museums and galleries, the riverbank and Adelaide Oval are all an easy stroll apart.

Driving and parking

You do not need a car for the city, but one is handy for exploring further afield. The CBD grid is simple to navigate, with council UPark car parks and metered on-street parking, and Park 'n' Ride facilities at interchanges like Tea Tree Plaza let you leave the car and finish the trip by public transport. Where a car really earns its keep is the day trips — the Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale and the Fleurieu Peninsula, or a longer run north to the Flinders Ranges.