A Friday Note - 20 October 2017

Dear all,

A real taste of summer in the city with hot days and very warm nights early in the week.

SAFETY

As of midnight on Thursday, October 19 there had been 80 fatalities on South Australian roads so far this year.

CITY TRAM

Stage Three of the City Tram Extension begins this weekend, following on from the work we’ve done in recent weeks along North Terrace.

The patience from road users in the area was much appreciated and allowed our workers to make great progress in laying tracks for the 1km extension from King William Street to the East

CAPITAL INITIATIVES

Our Capital Initiatives team continues to do a power of work in helping to deliver projects quickly and efficiently, while encouraging more work for South Australian workers and businesses.

Since August, the group has released 16 tenders or expressions of interest for packages of work, while setting in place a foundation for the way we deliver projects that will provide significant benefits to the community for years to come.

Another significant milestone was reached during the week with the Oaklands Crossing project, Port Adelaide rail spur and Operational Control Centre relocation, being presented to the Parliamentary Public Works Committee.

The $200 million Public Transport Program has two shortlisted companies bidding for the Alliance contract.

The successful contractor will deliver key public transport projects for the State, including the Oaklands Crossing upgrade, Port Adelaide Rail Spur, the new Port Dock Railway Station, and Mike Turtur Bikeway, as well as upgrading existing Park n Ride facilities at Klemzig and Tea Tree Plaza.

O-BAHN

Last weekend four different bus models trialled our 670m O-Bahn tunnel.

Passenger services are scheduled to start later this year.

You can access a virtual tour through the tunnel here.

MOBILE TICKETING

South Australia has joined the race to become the first state in Australia to offer residents a smartphone-based ticketing system for buying fares on public transport.

The first trial is underway, with Department staff volunteering to test the new technology.  This is being undertaken by a provider called Masabi, offering a pre-paid mobile ticketing platform called "Justride" which allows passengers to buy and store tickets in a virtual ‘wallet’ where they can be used even when offline.

The second trial is being offered by Xerox, using the Seamless app on NFC-enabled smartphones.  Under this option, passengers would be provided with a monthly, invoice, post-payment service.

Android owners are invited to join a second trial, due to commence on 10th November. Those interested can email DPTI.MobileTicketing@sa.gov.au and the Project Team will be in touch with you shortly.

Or if you’d like to have your say in our survey, please click here.

|DRIVING INNOVATION

Well done to Steve Azzopardi, Brendon Batt and all the Vehicle Operations team at Regency Park who did a fantastic job at working with Hyundai, to get the first Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle registered in South Australia.

It’s an exciting step and just another example of where we can add real value in getting new and innovative technology onto our road network.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

Today’s Flashback Friday photo was submitted at a community day at the Gawler Railway Station. It shows a staff group photo from 1978.

Have a good weekend

Michael Deegan