At a glance
- How many
- More than 30 Park ‘n’ Ride locations around Adelaide
- Free
- Most, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Crafers (two locations) and Golden Grove
- Tea Tree Plaza
- $2 with a valid metroCARD, SA Seniors Card or Tap and Pay ticket; $10 without; not discounted with Buy & Go
- Adelaide Entertainment Centre
- $5.50 from 5:00am to 6:30pm if you enter before 5:00pm; $19 if you enter between 5:00pm and 5:00am
- How to pay
- Cashless at both paid sites: pay with a card or smart device as you exit
- Tram
- The tram between the Entertainment Centre and the city is free
- Check
- Entertainment Centre events can close or restrict the car park
Most Adelaide Park ‘n’ Ride car parks are free and open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as of 23 October 2026. Adelaide Metro lists two exceptions, Tea Tree Plaza and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, where parking is charged but, in its words, heavily discounted for Adelaide Metro users.
Adelaide Metro says there are more than 30 Park ‘n’ Ride locations, and that you can park your car and complete the rest of your journey on public transport to save time, money and carbon emissions. This guide follows the Adelaide Metro Park ‘n’ Ride page, checked on Friday 23 October 2026, which gives details for four sites: the Entertainment Centre, Crafers, Golden Grove and Tea Tree Plaza. For the other locations, use Adelaide Metro’s interactive map.
What does Tea Tree Plaza Park ‘n’ Ride cost?
Parking at Tea Tree Plaza is discounted to $2 for people with a valid ticket on a metroCARD, a SA Seniors Card or Tap and Pay. Adelaide Metro says the discount is not available with Buy & Go tickets. Casual parking without a valid public transport ticket is $10.
The car park is cashless, and you reach it from Smart Road, via the O-Bahn access road. To be eligible for the $2 rate you need both of these:
- A valid metroCARD, SA Seniors Card or Tap and Pay ticket. Adelaide Metro explains this as having used public transport within the last 2 hours.
- Enough money on your metroCARD or Seniors Card, or in your Tap and Pay bank account, to pay the parking fee.
How do I pay at Tea Tree Plaza?
Tap the same payment option you used to buy your valid ticket on the yellow smart validator as you exit. That means your metroCARD, your SA Seniors Card, or the same Visa, Mastercard or American Express card or digital wallet you used for Tap and Pay. Casual parkers can pay with Visa, Mastercard or American Express by tapping the smart validator by the boom gates as they leave.
The Buy & Go page repeats the exclusion: a Buy & Go QR code ticket cannot be used for the discounted Tea Tree Plaza parking. If you plan to use this car park, our Adelaide Metro fares guide explains metroCARD, Tap and Pay and Buy & Go.
For the bus itself, Adelaide Metro’s how to catch page says you can enter an O-Bahn bus by the front doors or the middle doors, tap your metroCARD, bank card or smart device to validate, and that you do not need to tap off when you leave. At Tea Tree Plaza’s exit, though, the yellow validator is where you pay for parking.
What does the Adelaide Entertainment Centre Park ‘n’ Ride cost?
| When you enter | Fee |
|---|---|
| Between 5:00am and 6:30pm, if you enter before 5:00pm | $5.50 |
| Between 5:00pm and 5:00am | $19 |
You pay when exiting, with a credit card, debit card or smart device. Cash is not available. Tram services between the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and the city are free. The page does not give a separate eligibility rule for the AEC rate, so check the signs and the Adelaide Metro page before you rely on it.
Adelaide Metro warns that Park ‘n’ Ride may be closed or restricted during events at the Entertainment Centre. Changes are listed on the Adelaide Entertainment Centre website, so check it before you drive on an event day. The car park is at the corner of Port Road and Adam Street, Hindmarsh, as the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s transport page gives the address, and the hospital encourages motorists to park there and tram into the city. Our Royal Adelaide Hospital parking guide covers that route.
Where is the tram free from the Entertainment Centre?
Adelaide Metro’s free services page describes the free city tram zone as the area between the South Terrace stop, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Festival Plaza and the Botanic Gardens. If you stay on the tram past the South Terrace stop towards Glenelg, you need to pay a fare. Our free buses and trams guide explains the zone in full.
Are Crafers and Golden Grove free?
Yes, on the Adelaide Metro page. The details it gives:
- Crafers: free across two locations, with the expansion that opened in June 2024. There are more than 120 car parks, including accessible bays and motorcycle parks. The expansion is on the south east of the existing car park, next to the off-ramp, and you reach it via the South Eastern Freeway. It has new lighting, CCTV cameras and public toilets.
- Golden Grove: currently free and open 24/7, with 443 car parks, 10 accessible parks, 6 motorbike parks and capacity for 16 push bikes. Enter from the north or south entrance points via the access road off The Golden Way. Secure bike cages work with your metroCARD on the ground floor, recharge machines are near the lift on the ground floor, and there is a bike repair station. Live real-time bus totems help you plan your journey.
Adelaide Metro words Golden Grove as “currently FREE”, so check the page before relying on that in future.
Which buses run from these car parks?
Adelaide Metro describes the O-Bahn as a guided busway serving the north-eastern suburbs for faster travel to and from the CBD, and says the Tea Tree Plaza Park ‘n’ Ride is reached via the O-Bahn access road. At Crafers, Adelaide Metro’s October 2026 timetable update shortens the 894 so that it starts and finishes at Crafers Park ‘n’ Ride, and says customers can continue to Mt Barker or the city by transferring to a T800, T801 or 801 service in Crafers. The details are in our bus timetable changes guide.
Can I leave a bike at a Park ‘n’ Ride?
Adelaide Metro says secure bike cages, bike lockers and disability parking bays are available at many locations, and the interactive map can show where to store your bike, buy or recharge a metroCARD and get information. Bike cages are free for public transport users and run through a registered metroCARD or Seniors Card; our bikes, prams and luggage guide explains the cage and locker rules.
Quick plan
- For a free car park, look at the Park ‘n’ Ride map first: most locations are free and open 24 hours.
- For Tea Tree Plaza, travel on a metroCARD, Seniors Card or Tap and Pay ticket and tap the same card or device when you exit for $2.
- For the Entertainment Centre, expect $5.50 if you enter before 5:00pm and $19 if you enter between 5:00pm and 5:00am, and check event closures first.
- Do not bring cash: both paid car parks are cashless.
- Do not rely on a Buy & Go ticket for the Tea Tree Plaza discount.
Sources
- Adelaide Metro — Park ‘n’ Ride (checked 23 October 2026)
- Adelaide Metro — Buy & Go
- Adelaide Metro — Free and special services
- Royal Adelaide Hospital — Parking (Entertainment Centre address)
- Adelaide Metro — How to catch a bus, train or tram (O-Bahn doors and validating)
- Adelaide Metro — Bus timetable updates are coming this October (route 894 at Crafers)
- Adelaide Metro — Taking items on board (bike cages)
Featured image: Tram at the Entertainment Centre tram stop (photo: RegionVisitor90 / CC0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Adelaide Metro or the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Fees and conditions can change; check the Adelaide Metro page and the signs at the car park.