State Transport Authority (South Australia)
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| Government Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 18 April 1974 |
| Preceding Government Agency |
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| Dissolved | 30 June 1994 |
| Superseding agency |
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| Jurisdiction | South Australia |
| Headquarters | Adelaide |
| Key document | |
The State Transport Authority (STA) was the government agency which controlled public transport in South Australia between 1974 and 1994.
The State Transport Authority was established by the State Transport Authority Act 1974, which aimed to provide an integrated and co-ordinated system of public transport within South Australia. This was to be achieved by assuming direct control of state-operated services (particularly in the Adelaide metropolitan area) and by exercising regulatory control of privately operated services.
The STA was dissolved (and the 1974 Act repealed) as a consequence of the Passenger Transport Act 1994. These reforms split the STA into the Passenger Transport Board, which coordinated and funded the public transport system, and TransAdelaide, which actually operated metropolitan buses, trains and trams. The formation of TransAdelaide was a prelude to competitive tendering and the introduction of private operators into the Adelaide public transport network.
In the period following its establishment on 18 April 1974, the State Transport Authority took over the functions of three government agencies. These were initially structured as three independent divisions of the STA:
In 1975, the Whitlam Federal Government proposed a nationalisation program for Australia’s railways. It was recognised at the time that Australia’s system of separate state-controlled railways led to unnecessary duplication of facilities and administration, inefficient operating practices, high costs and the lack of a uniform national approach to railway policy. Whitlam’s proposal aimed to address these issues.
South Australia and Tasmania were the only states which agreed to the nationalisation plan and in South Australia’s case the transfer agreement only extended to railways outside the Adelaide suburban area.
On 1 July 1975, the Federal Government took over financial responsibility for the non-metropolitan railways in South Australia and reimbursed the South Australian government for operating deficits incurred after this time. After formation of the Rail Division on 8 December 1975, the STA continued to administer and operate all the ex South Australian Railways (SAR) on behalf of the Federal government. This interim arrangement lasted for over two years while the precise details of the sale of South Australia’s railways were devised, disputed and re-negotiated, and the operating and management structures of the new Federal-controlled railway were put into place.
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