9 | How Trade & People will Move Without transformational change in South Australia’s transport sector, rising populations would lead to untenable congestion on the roads, and would drive demand for residential land through booms in the housing sector, as people struggle to find homes. Increased population would also inevitably result in increased trade demand, putting further pressure on the transport system and the ports.
Whilst in some ways these pressures start to mirror those of the bigger eastern cities, it is important to remember that even if the higher projections emerged, Adelaide would still be smaller than Melbourne is today in some 50 years. This gives some colour around the notion that Adelaide will be a more attractive place to live for many people. Even if the low population long-term projections for Adelaide prove true, the city will face significant increased congestion on roads and to a lesser extent, on rail. Currently, Adelaide has relatively little congestion issues compared to the likes of Melbourne and Sydney. However, the infrastructure is poor at many points across the transport network, and whilst working currently, as the population increases, it is possible that the transport network would buckle under the pressure by 2070 without introduction of major transformational projects. The future requires a rethink on how the entire network will work. The transport of freight will need to be carried out more by rail than it currently is, which will require a significant improvement in distribution centres and the rail lines to
and from the ports. This is in contrast to the current governmental stance which seems to be to allow rail to decline whilst investing in road freight transport. There will also need to be a radical change in how road trucking operates. This is likely to come in the shape of automated trucking and rail systems to reduce inefficiencies and introduce a greater spread of operating hours throughout the day. In terms of road congestion, self-driven cars could be banned from Adelaide’s’ city centre streets in the future. Instead, autonomous cars and a much-improved public transport system could replace these. Automated ride-share cars and buses could roam the streets and will be hailed by a sensor. Goods vehicles in the city might also be automated, eliminating sporadic stopping and parking. South Australian passenger rail might be retrofitted entirely for autonomous trains. Shipping servicing the ports are also likely be automated in the long term, whilst the ports themselves are transformed into tighter operational arenas and be highly technologically advanced.
