How to Catch a Bus, Train or Tram in Adelaide: Tap On, Doors, Stops and Paying Without Cash (Adelaide, SA)

To catch public transport in Adelaide, plan your trip online, then tap your metroCARD, bank card or phone on the yellow validation machine as you board. Adelaide Metro says you do not need to tap off when you leave a bus, train or tram, and you can no longer pay with cash when you catch a bus.

This guide follows Adelaide Metro’s how to catch a bus, train or tram page, as checked on Tuesday 20 October 2026. For prices, see our Adelaide Metro fares guide.

How do I plan a trip?

Adelaide Metro lists two tools. Plan My Journey finds your exact location when you select “Use my location”, and you can enter any other place in the “to” and “from” fields. My Next Service finds your nearest stop and all real-time arrivals, using your current location or a typed address.

Once you know where you are going, the timetables show the full schedule of a route, split into bus, train and tram, with the time your service arrives on any day.

How do I pay?

• metroCARD: Adelaide Metro recommends it if you catch public transport often and want to transfer between buses, trains and trams. Buy one from a retailer or facility, then recharge it online if it is registered, at the InfoCentre in the Adelaide Railway Station, at a retailer or vending machine, on a vending machine on board trains and trams, or by calling the InfoLine on 1300 311 108.
• Tap and Pay: use your bank card or smart device if you do not use public transport in Adelaide often.
• Buy & Go: the free app sells tickets with QR codes. Ticket prices are the same as metroCARD fares.

Tap and Pay and Buy & Go are available on all buses, trains and trams. Can you pay cash? Adelaide Metro’s answer is that you can no longer pay with cash on a bus. Buy a metroCARD before you board, use Tap and Pay with a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card or smart device, or buy tickets in the Buy & Go app.

How long does a fare last, and when is it peak?

Adelaide Metro fares are the same on buses, trains and trams, and each fare allows a travel period of two hours for any distance travelled. Adelaide Metro’s Tap and Pay page adds that you can transfer to all buses, trains and trams within those two hours if you use the same card or device you first tapped.

• Peak: before 9:00am and from 3:00pm Monday to Friday, all day Saturday, and services until 4:00am on Sunday, which count as Saturday services.
• Off-peak: 9:01am to 2:59pm Monday to Friday, 4:00am to midnight on Sunday, and all day on public holidays.

How do I validate my ticket?

Tap on the yellow machine and go. Hold your metroCARD or bank card at the lower part of the machine, under the screen. If you have no metroCARD, tap a bank card or smart device, or scan your Buy & Go QR code ticket. Before you validate a metroCARD, it must be recharged with a selected amount, which you can do through your metroCARD account or at a retailer or facility.

What the machine does	What it means
A “ding” and a green light	Your metroCARD has validated
A “ding” and a green light, but you need to add more money	Validated, but you need to add more money
A “ding” and green and yellow lights	Validated and successfully recharged
A “buzz” and a red light	Your metroCARD has not validated

How do I catch a bus?

1. Get to your stop five minutes before the scheduled arrival time.
2. When the bus approaches, hold your arm out to signal the driver to stop.
3. Enter by the front doors. On an O-Bahn service you can also enter by the middle doors.
4. Tap your metroCARD, bank card or smart device, or scan your Buy & Go QR code ticket.
5. Find a seat where possible. Priority seats and allocated spaces are near the front for people living with disability or mobility issues.
6. When your stop is near, press the coloured stop signal on the poles.
7. Leave by the back doors.

If you have a wheelchair or mobility aid, Adelaide Metro says the driver will tilt the bus or put a ramp out for you.

How do I catch a train?

1. Wait on the platform behind the safety line.
2. If you have a wheelchair or mobility aid, wait over the white and blue International symbol of Access icon so the driver can assist you.
3. The train approaches slowly. Once it has stopped, press the flashing button on the middle or side of the door.
4. Tap your metroCARD or bank card or smart device, or scan your Buy & Go QR code ticket.
5. Trains stop at all scheduled stations. When yours stops, press the flashing button on the middle or side of the door to get out.

On door safety, Adelaide Metro says that if the doors are closing you should stand back and let them close. It is not safe to put an arm, a leg or any object between the doors. A flashing button means it is all right to open a closed door.

How do I catch a tram?

1. Wait on the platform behind the safety line, and wait over the Access icon if you use a wheelchair or mobility aid.
2. When the tram has stopped, press the flashing button on the middle of the door.
3. Tap your metroCARD, bank card or smart device, or scan your Buy & Go QR code ticket. Adelaide Metro adds that this applies only between South Terrace and Brighton Road.
4. When your stop is near, press the coloured stop signal on the poles.
5. When the tram stops, press the flashing button on the middle of the door to get out.

What is the O-Bahn?

The O-Bahn is a guided busway serving the north-eastern suburbs, which Adelaide Metro says allows faster travel to and from the Adelaide CBD. O-Bahn buses are any Adelaide Metro buses that travel along the O-Bahn as part of their scheduled route. As noted above, you can board these buses through the middle doors as well as the front.

Quick plan

• Plan the trip with Plan My Journey, and check arrivals with My Next Service.
• Choose how to pay before you board: a recharged metroCARD, a bank card or phone, or a Buy & Go ticket.
• Tap on at the yellow machine, and listen for the ding and look for the green light.
• Do not tap off.
• For help with a metroCARD or a trip, call the InfoLine on 1300 311 108.

Sources

• Adelaide Metro — How to catch a bus, train or tram (checked 20 October 2026)

Featured image: The O-Bahn at Tea Tree Plaza Interchange (photo: Abesty / CC0)

OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Adelaide Metro. Procedures can change; check the Adelaide Metro page above before you travel.