public transport is only for privileged city folk. No doubt paid to a degree by miners and farmers don't share the privilege of empty buses running around on public holidays. I visited a city over January and was astounded how often buses run with so few people.

Paul,

There is nothing second rate about the running of SAs public transport, and your saying that doesn't make it so. You just like to disagree on principle. The less governments want to run businesses, the better in my view. They also handed the operations of SA Water over to a private manager some time ago, and that works fine also.

Just tonight we had a Queensland rail executive on the news trying to justify commuter trains being cancelled without notice.

They have a driver shortage, because the railways are being run by the unions, as happens with most government enterprises.

He even tried to justify the union preventing them hiring train drivers & trainee drivers from the general public, & not the unions members.

If ever there was second rate management bunch it has to be this mob.

No drivers.

Millions of dollars worth of new foreign sourced trains, that can't fit into the system.

Kowtowing to the unions, can it get worse. Hell Clive Palmer could do a better job.

Thanks Foxy, the far right ideologists with their blind belief that private is good, public is bad mantra, need to get down and take a look at the real world of conservative cost and benefit cover ups. using nothing other than smoke and mirror tactics to hide the real truth about privatization of public transport, the truth hidden from the taxpaying public.

The usual practice of Conservative governments is to spruce up the system, with fare hikes and a lick of paint, then a sell off at rock bottom prices. Not wishing to leave their mates, the new operators, holding the baby, these Tories will then play the Fairy Godmother by granting the private operator all that he wishes. Huge cash subsides, become the order of the day. By hiding the facts, it can then be claimed, there has been improvements and savings. when nothing of the sort has occurred.

Melbourne's tram system was held up as the shining light of privatization by the Conservative Federal Governments mouth piece Infrastructure Australia. The truth was somewhat different.

The truth can be found in this article from 'The Age'.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/billions-go-to-train-and-tram-operators-with-little-improvement-20151208-glilfc.html

Paul doesn't want to understand. The only thing 'private, and the best thing, is the actual running/management of SA's buses. "Best" because the private companies -there are more than one - manage and operate much better than government bureaucrats ever did. The government, on behalf of the SA public, still owns the buses and the infrastructure. Paul's ignorance stems from his blind socialist ideology - the same ignorance that has his beloved Greens waffling on about Australia Day dates and receiving a very small percentage of votes from level-headed, down to earth Australians who want service, not extreme left ideology. His biggest howler on this occasion is his linking the truth with The Age!

ttbn, I am not familiar with what they are doing in the provinces, given the size of the village of Adelaide, I would be surprised if their bus fleet consisted of more than one bus, which only runs on Thursday afternoon to take the old biddies to bingo.

tt, its not really private if the government has to pour in hundreds of millions to prop it up. Why aren't these private gurus, who you claim are so fantastic at running things, running the system at not cost to the taxpayer. They should stop wanting the best of both worlds, and stop befitting from socialism.