Adelaide’s public transport has one feature that visitors from Sydney, Melbourne or London tend not to believe at first: a single fare covers any distance. Forty-five minutes on the train to Seaford costs exactly the same as three stops on a bus, there are no zones to work out, and you do not tap off at the end. Once you know the handful of rules that do matter, mainly the difference between peak and off-peak, the two-hour window and which ticket suits your trip, getting around on an Adelaide metroCARD, a contactless bank card or a phone is about as simple as public transport gets.
This guide explains how fares work across Adelaide Metro’s buses, trains and trams, what each ticket costs, the passes that are worth buying and the ones that are not, concessions and free travel for seniors and children, the free city services, and where to buy and top up. Fares are the ones published by Adelaide Metro, checked in October 2026. They usually rise each July, so treat them as the right order of magnitude if you are reading this later.
Adelaide Metro fares at a glance
| What | The short answer |
|---|---|
| A regular fare | A$4.75 peak, A$2.70 off-peak, on metroCARD, Tap and Pay or the Buy & Go app |
| What a fare buys | Two hours of travel on any bus, train or tram, any distance, transfers included |
| Peak | Before 9am and from 3pm on weekdays, and all day Saturday |
| Off-peak | 9:01am to 2:59pm on weekdays, Sundays and public holidays |
| Zones | None. One flat fare for the whole metropolitan network |
| Tap off? | No. You only validate when you board |
| Daytrip | A$12.90 for unlimited travel until 4am the next morning |
| 3-Day Visitor Pass | A$29.90 for three days in a row of unlimited travel |
| Free | City trams, the Jetty Road tram in Glenelg, the City Connector buses, children under 5, and SA Seniors Card holders |
| Cash | Not accepted on buses. Buy a card or ticket before you board |
How Adelaide fares work
Three rules cover almost everything. Fares are the same on buses, trains and trams. Each fare gives you two hours of travel from the moment you validate, for any distance. And the price depends on when you start: peak or off-peak.
Peak and off-peak times
| Day | Peak (A$4.75 regular) | Off-peak (A$2.70 regular) |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Friday | Before 9:00am, and from 3:00pm | 9:01am to 2:59pm |
| Saturday | All day, including services until 4:00am on Sunday | – |
| Sunday | – | 4:00am to midnight |
| Public holidays | – | All day |
Two things catch visitors out. The first is Saturday, which is charged at peak rates all day, so the cheap fares people expect at the weekend only apply on Sunday. The second is the evening. Peak runs from 3pm on weekdays until the last service, so a trip to dinner or a show at 7pm costs the peak fare, not the off-peak one. In practice, off-peak is the middle of a weekday, Sundays and public holidays.
The two-hour window
When you validate, you get two hours of travel on anything in the network: bus to train, train to tram, out and back again if you are quick. There is no limit on transfers inside that window. A quick trip to Glenelg for a swim and an ice-cream, with the tram back within two hours of the first tap, costs a single fare. Stay for lunch and the return trip starts a new fare.
Passes work differently. A Daytrip runs until 4am the day after you buy it, the Visitor Pass for three days, and the 14-day and 28-day passes for exactly that many days in a row.
No zones, and no tapping off
Adelaide does not have fare zones. A fare from the city to Gawler, Seaford or Belair costs the same as a fare across the CBD. You also never tap off: validate once as you board, and that is it, even when you change vehicles within your two hours (each new vehicle needs a tap, but no new fare is charged). The only time you tap again without boarding is at the barrier gates at some train stations, including Adelaide Railway Station.
Ways to pay
There are four ways to pay a fare, and for a visitor the choice matters less than it does in most cities, because three of them charge exactly the same regular fare.
| Option | Regular fare | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tap and Pay (Visa, Mastercard, Amex or phone) | A$4.75 / A$2.70 | Short visits, occasional trips | Regular fares only; one ticket per card |
| metroCARD | A$4.75 / A$2.70 | Longer stays, concessions, passes | A$5 card fee plus at least A$5 credit |
| Buy & Go app | A$4.75 / A$2.70 | Families and groups, passes on your phone | Visa or Mastercard only; tickets non-refundable |
| Singletrip ticket | A$6.80 / A$4.50 | Almost nobody | The most expensive way to travel |
Tap and Pay
Adelaide Metro Tap and Pay lets you pay with a Visa, Mastercard or American Express credit or debit card, or a phone or smartwatch set up for contactless payments, on every bus, train and tram. Hold the card or device on the lower part of a validator until it beeps and shows a confirmation. You are charged a regular fare, valid for two hours.
The rules worth knowing:
- Use the same card or device every time within your two hours. A different card, even one linked to the same bank account, is treated as a new ticket and charged again.
- Take the card out of your wallet. If you tap a whole wallet, the validator picks one card, and it may not be the one you meant. The same goes for leaning on a validator with a phone in your pocket.
- One ticket per card. You cannot pay for a companion by tapping twice. Each traveller needs their own card or device, or use the Buy & Go app.
- It is regular fares only. If you are entitled to a concession or student fare, Tap and Pay will overcharge you.
- Adelaide Metro does not advertise a daily cap on Tap and Pay, so on a day when you will take several separate trips, a Daytrip is the safer buy.
The metroCARD
The metroCARD is Adelaide Metro’s rechargeable plastic card. A regular card costs A$5, and concession and student cards A$3.50, and each needs at least A$5 of credit loaded before its first trip. You recharge in blocks of A$5 or A$10, up to A$200. Tap it on the validator each time you board and the screen shows your remaining balance.
Cards are sold at the Adelaide Metro InfoCentre in Adelaide Railway Station on North Terrace, at metroCARD retailers around the city, from vending machines (including one at the airport bus stop), and online, posted to you. Register your card online if you will be in Adelaide for more than a few days: only registered cards can be cancelled and their balance transferred if they are lost, stolen or damaged. You can also set up auto recharge with a Visa, Mastercard or Amex card, which tops up when the balance falls below A$5.
For a short visit, the card fee rarely pays for itself, because the metroCARD regular fare is identical to Tap and Pay. It earns its keep if you need a concession or student fare, are staying long enough for a 14-day or 28-day pass, or simply prefer not to tap a bank card.
The Buy & Go app
Adelaide Metro’s free Buy & Go app sells regular, concession and student Singletrips and Daytrips, 14-day and 28-day passes, and the 3-Day Visitor Pass, all at metroCARD prices, as QR-code tickets on your phone. It can hold up to five tickets at once, which makes it the easiest option for a family or a group travelling together, and the only way for a visiting child to get a student fare without buying a card. You need a Visa or Mastercard to buy tickets in the app. Tickets are non-refundable and expire if unused after 12 months, and passes cannot be paused once activated.
Singletrip tickets
A paper or card Singletrip costs A$6.80 peak and A$4.50 off-peak, roughly 40 to 70 per cent more than the same trip on Tap and Pay. If you do not have a metroCARD, a card fee may also apply. There is no good reason for a visitor to buy one, and you cannot buy one on a bus anyway: Adelaide Metro buses are cashless.
Regular fares in full
| Fare type | Peak | Off-peak |
|---|---|---|
| metroCARD, Tap and Pay, Buy & Go Singletrip | A$4.75 | A$2.70 |
| Singletrip ticket | A$6.80 | A$4.50 |
| Daytrip (metroCARD or Buy & Go) | A$12.90 | |
| 3-Day Visitor Pass | A$29.90 | |
| 14-Day Pass | A$74.20 | |
| 28-Day Pass | A$123.00 | |
Passes: which ones are worth it
The 3-Day Visitor Pass
The Visitor metroCARD costs A$29.90 and gives three days in a row of unlimited travel, at any time, on all buses, trains and trams across metropolitan Adelaide. You can buy the physical card at the Adelaide Metro InfoCentre in Adelaide Railway Station or order it online, or buy the same pass at the same price in the Buy & Go app. When the three days are up, the card works as a normal metroCARD you can top up.
Adelaide Metro says it could save you 20 to 50 per cent. That is true for some visitors and not others, and the maths is simple. The pass pays for itself at seven peak fares, or about twelve off-peak fares, over the three days.
| Your three days | Pay as you go | Visitor Pass | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staying in the CBD, walking and using the free trams, plus one trip to Glenelg and back | About A$5.40–9.50 | A$29.90 | Skip the pass |
| Two fares a day, mostly at peak times (evenings, Saturday) | About A$28.50 | A$29.90 | Roughly even; Tap and Pay is simpler |
| Three or more separate trips a day: airport, Glenelg, Port Adelaide, Hills trains, evenings out | A$38–43 at peak | A$29.90 | Buy the pass |
The honest verdict: if you are staying in the city centre, the pass usually does not pay. The free trams and City Connector buses cover most of the CBD and North Adelaide, and a couple of paid trips a day come in under A$29.90. It is good value if you are staying out in the suburbs or at the beach and travelling in and out several times a day, or if you plan to cover a lot of ground, such as Glenelg one day, Port Adelaide and Semaphore the next, and the Belair line for a Hills walk on the third. Note there is no concession or child version.
The Daytrip
A Daytrip costs A$12.90 and gives unlimited travel until 4am the next morning. It pays for itself on the third peak fare (A$14.25) or the fifth off-peak fare (A$13.50). On a Saturday, when everything is peak, any day with three separate trips should be a Daytrip: a morning train to Port Adelaide, an afternoon at Glenelg and the tram home would cost A$14.25 on Tap and Pay. You can load a Daytrip onto a metroCARD or buy one in the Buy & Go app; concession and student Daytrips cost A$6.50.
The cruise ship metroCARD
If you are arriving by ship at Outer Harbor, Adelaide Metro sells a cruise ship metroCARD for A$10 (A$5 for eligible Australian concession card holders), giving one full day of unlimited travel on buses, trains and trams across the metropolitan area. It is sold at Outer Harbor station, near where ships dock, and the train from there runs straight into Adelaide Railway Station. For A$10 it is the best deal on the network.
14-day and 28-day passes
For longer stays, a 14-Day Pass (A$74.20) or 28-Day Pass (A$123.00) gives unlimited travel for that many days in a row. They start counting the first time you validate, run continuously whether you travel or not, and cannot be paused. The 28-day pass works out at about A$4.40 a day, so it suits anyone using public transport most days, such as working holidaymakers or students waiting on a concession card.
Concessions, students, children and seniors
| Fare type | Concession | Student |
|---|---|---|
| metroCARD or Buy & Go Singletrip, peak | A$2.35 | A$1.65 |
| metroCARD or Buy & Go Singletrip, off-peak | A$1.35 | A$1.35 |
| Singletrip ticket, peak / off-peak | A$3.40 / A$1.60 | A$3.40 / A$1.60 |
| Daytrip | A$6.50 | A$6.50 |
| 14-Day Pass | A$37.00 | – |
| 28-Day Pass | A$61.60 | A$10.30 |
Who gets a concession
Concession fares are available to holders of a Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card, a DVA Gold Card or Pensioner Concession Card, a DHS Transport Concession Card, a South Australian Health Care Card, and full-time, on-site students at approved South Australian tertiary institutions. Anyone 15 or over pays a regular fare unless they carry a valid concession card and can show it to an inspector. Companion Card holders pay a concession fare and their carer travels free.
Children and school students
Children under five travel free at all times with an adult. Primary and secondary school students travel on student fares, which are remarkably cheap: A$1.65 at peak and A$1.35 off-peak on a Student metroCARD or as a student ticket in the Buy & Go app. A visiting family of two adults and two school-age children taking the tram to Glenelg on a Sunday and staying long enough to need a second fare home would pay A$16.20 in total.
Seniors
South Australian Seniors Card members travel free on all Adelaide Metro buses, trains and trams, all day, every day.
Visiting seniors from other states get a generous deal too. Anyone with a valid Seniors Card from another Australian state or territory can collect a free 14-Day Seniors Pass on a concession metroCARD, which gives free travel on weekdays from midnight to 7am, 9:01am to 3pm and 7:01pm to midnight, and all day on weekends and public holidays. Between 7am and 9am and from 3pm to 7pm on weekdays you pay a concession fare from the card’s balance. Pick the pass up by showing your Seniors Card at the Adelaide Metro InfoCentre at Adelaide Railway Station, the Adelaide Airport Welcome Desk, the Adelaide Visitor Information Centre on Pirie Street, or the visitor centres in Glenelg, Port Adelaide and Gawler, or order it online at least 10 business days before you travel. The National Seniors Card, Seniors Business Discount Card and New Zealand SuperGold Card do not qualify, and international seniors are not eligible for concessions.
Free travel in the city
A good share of what visitors want to see in central Adelaide costs nothing to reach.
- City trams. Trams are free within the city, between the South Terrace stop, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Festival Plaza and the Botanic Gardens, which takes in King William Street and North Terrace. You only need a ticket on the stretch between South Terrace and Brighton Road on the way to Glenelg. Our guide to Adelaide’s free tram has the stops and what is near them.
- Jetty Road tram, Glenelg. The tram is also free between the Brighton Road and Moseley Square stops, so you can ride the length of Jetty Road to the beach without a ticket.
- City Connector buses. Two free loops, each running clockwise and anticlockwise. The 98A and 98C cover the city and North Adelaide every day; the 99A and 99C run a smaller inner-city loop on weekdays. Both run about every 15 minutes on weekdays, from just before 7am until 7:15pm (9:15pm on Fridays), and stop near the Botanic Gardens, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Zoo, the Art Gallery, the Central Market, Rundle Mall, O’Connell Street, Melbourne Street and Hutt Street.
If you are staying in the CBD or North Adelaide, the free services plus walking will cover most of your sightseeing, and you will only need to pay for trips out to the beach, the port or the Hills.
What common trips cost
| Trip | When | Cost (regular) |
|---|---|---|
| Airport to the city on the J1 or J2 bus | Weekday evening (peak) | A$4.75 |
| City to Glenelg by tram, back within two hours | Sunday | A$2.70 |
| City to Glenelg by tram and back after lunch | Sunday | A$5.40 |
| Port Adelaide, Glenelg and back to the city, three separate trips | Saturday | A$12.90 with a Daytrip (A$14.25 on Tap and Pay) |
| Rundle Mall to the Botanic Garden or the Art Gallery | Any time | Free on the tram or City Connector |
| Outer Harbor cruise terminal to the city and back | Cruise day | A$10 cruise ship metroCARD for the whole day |
For airport transfers in detail, including taxis and rideshare, see our Adelaide Airport to city guide. The airport bus stop is Stop 10, at the front of the terminal, and its vending machine sells metroCARDs for coins, notes or eftpos.
Where to buy and top up
- Adelaide Metro InfoCentre, Adelaide Railway Station, North Terrace: every card and pass, including the Visitor metroCARD, plus balance transfers and help with lost cards.
- metroCARD retailers across the city and suburbs; Adelaide Metro’s website has a map of them.
- Vending machines at the airport bus stop, at interchanges, and on board trains and trams for top-ups and passes.
- Online, through your metroCARD account, or by phoning the InfoLine on 1300 311 108 (7am to 8pm daily). Recharge before 7pm if you need the money on the card the same day; later top-ups may not show until the next day.
- The Buy & Go app, for tickets and passes on your phone, any time.
Mistakes visitors make
- Expecting weekend rates on Saturday. Saturday is peak all day. Save the long day trips for Sunday if the fare matters.
- Tapping a whole wallet or a different card mid-journey and paying twice.
- Trying to pay cash on the bus. Drivers do not sell tickets. Sort it out before you board.
- Buying a Visitor Pass for a CBD stay and then walking everywhere and riding the free tram.
- Using Tap and Pay with a concession entitlement. Tap and Pay always charges a regular fare.
- Forgetting the concession card itself. Inspectors can ask to see it, and without it you are not entitled to the concession fare.
- Paying for the free stretches. There is no need to tap on a tram that stays inside the city or on Jetty Road.
Which ticket should you get?
- A weekend or a short city stay: Tap and Pay with your own card or phone, and the free trams and buses for the rest.
- Three busy days with lots of trips: the 3-Day Visitor Pass, in the app or as a Visitor metroCARD.
- Families: the Buy & Go app, with student tickets for school-age children; under-fives ride free.
- Interstate seniors: pick up the free 14-Day Seniors Pass on arrival, at the airport Welcome Desk if you are flying in.
- Cruise passengers: the A$10 cruise ship metroCARD at Outer Harbor station.
- Staying a month or more: a registered metroCARD with a 28-Day Pass.
For how the network fits together, with the train lines, the Glenelg tram and the main bus corridors, see our Adelaide public transport guide, and for every other way of getting about, from bikes to rideshare, our guide to getting around Adelaide.
Adelaide metroCARD FAQ
How much is a metroCARD in Adelaide?
A regular metroCARD costs A$5, and concession and student cards A$3.50. Each needs at least A$5 of credit before its first trip.
How much is a bus, train or tram fare in Adelaide?
A regular fare is A$4.75 at peak times and A$2.70 off-peak on a metroCARD, Tap and Pay or the Buy & Go app, and it covers two hours of travel on any combination of services.
Can I use my credit card on Adelaide public transport?
Yes. Adelaide Metro Tap and Pay accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express cards, and phones or watches set up for contactless payment, on all buses, trains and trams, at the regular fare.
Do I need to tap off in Adelaide?
No. You validate once when you board each vehicle. There is no tap-off and no extra charge for not doing it.
Does Adelaide have fare zones?
No. Adelaide Metro charges one flat fare for any distance across the metropolitan network, whether you are going two stops or to the end of the line.
Is the 3-Day Visitor Pass worth it?
Only if you will make about seven or more paid trips at peak times, or around twelve off-peak, in three days. Visitors staying in the city centre who use the free trams and buses usually spend less paying as they go.
Is public transport free for seniors in Adelaide?
South Australian Seniors Card members travel free at all times. Interstate Seniors Card holders can collect a free 14-Day Seniors Pass, which is free outside the weekday peaks of 7 to 9am and 3 to 7pm, when a concession fare applies.
Can I pay cash on Adelaide buses?
No. Buses are cashless. You can pay cash for a metroCARD at a retailer, the InfoCentre or a vending machine, then use the card.
Related Adelaide Guides
- Adelaide Public Transport Guide — the train lines, trams and buses explained.
- Adelaide’s Free Tram — the free city zone stop by stop.
- Getting Around Adelaide — every option, from bikes to rideshare.
- Adelaide Airport to City — buses, taxis and rideshare compared.
- Glenelg — the beach at the end of the tram line.
- Port Adelaide — museums, street art and the waterfront, by train.
- Adelaide on a Budget — more ways to keep costs down.
- Arriving in Adelaide — your first few hours in the city.
Photo Credits
An Adelaide Metro validator, 2026: “Adelaide Metro Validator.jpg” by Superegz, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
An Adelaide Metro hybrid bus: “Adelaide Metro Volgren Optimius, Scania K320HB.jpg” by Tomoyn, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.
Marino Rocks station: “Marino Rocks station.jpg” by Andy Welsh, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
An A-City train at Seaford (featured image): “Adelaide Metro 4000 Class at Seaford.jpg” by Thebusofdoom, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
