Traveling Around Adelaide When You Don't Have a Car.

Getting around a country as big as Australia is difficult. South Australia alone is 1,000 kilometres across, which is why driving is the number 1 choice. Being a kid, I obviously can't drive (although I'm learning now), so I'm going to bring up a few ways to get around and explore. This is going to be talking about South Australia, but some points could work for other places... if you notice any big differences between what I describe and what it's like in your country please let me know! I'd love to find out what it's like elsewhere.

At the end I include my method, which I feel is the best way to explore

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Public Transport

Trains

Using public transport is only really possible if you're in the metropolitan. Adelaide Metro has 4 main train lines, with 2 smaller lines coming off. The trains are much faster than buses and trams, and they span about 30km out from the city north and south. Unfortunately, they don't cover much of the eastern suburbs... there is the autobahn for them.
For anyone living in SA... underneath one of the seat sets by the doors there's a powerpoint. I used this for my long trips when going to and from gymnastics (I charge my laptop and devices... don't want it to go flat right as the movie gets interesting). If the trains are empty, have a look under any seats facing towards the centre of the train. From my experience there's always been at least one in each carriage.

Buses

There are many, many bus routes in the metro area. There's an express autobahn running where the trains don't go and buses here tend to be extremely reliable. I haven't used that many buses though, so aren't quite sure how far they reach.

Trams

Inside the Adelaide city there's a free tram service running down the middle, then paid service out to Glenelg beach. Trams tend to be quite slow and there's only one line. I only ever use the trams to go to Glenelg.

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Walking

The time it takes to walk somewhere always seems to surprise me. I have a train station about 3km from my house, and generally I take the bus home from it. Sometimes though, bus timetables end up in such a way that waiting for and taking the bus home would take longer than walking. Another thing to consider with walking is shortcuts. Walking also gives you the flexibility to get help. If I have my bike with me that means that buses are ruled out, as well as Ubers and other people offering me a lift.

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Uber

The Uber app is a little tricky for younger people. If you're under 18 you have to have a companion 18 or older with you... although I will admit they don't seem to regulate this rule at all. Uber has gotten me out of a lot of sticky situations, and my experience with it so far has been amazing. The cost is roughly a dollar a minute, so a 30 minute drive will usually cost me $35 to $37. Definitely not my first choice (the cost) but still a great option in a pinch.

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Cycling

My friend does bike racing, and she's the reason I first decided to give cycling a go. I read a lot of things online about cycling, but I found a lot of them didn't take into account my situation. I don't know if I just have a weird situation, but I'm going to give you a rundown of my thoughts about cycling.
If I'm going to cycle somewhere, it's because I don't have buckets of money to spend, or because I want to save/spend my money on something else. A lot of people give you lists of gear you need to start cycling, but I ended up spending $50 to get started. I spent $40 on a second hand bike off Gumtree, and $10 on a helmet from Kmart. I was told repeatedly "you need a better bike if you want to ride more than 20km" but I was a kid, moneyless and really wanted to get to my gymnastics. Long story short I discovered that your bike does not matter at all. Sure a $1000 bike might be smoother and faster but it's definitely not necessary. I'm hoping to post about my first long ride and talk about the plethora of mistakes I made.
The main positive to cycling is the ability to go as far as you want. It just takes a hecking long time and you've got to have good stamina!

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My Method

My method is a combination of trains and a bike. Here in Adelaide you can take your bike on the train for free on weekends, between 9am and 3pm, and from 6pm to the last service. I've made the most of this in many ways, such as cycling alongside the train line during peak and only hopping on a train when the clock hits 6. I've gotten very used to all the train stops and even the train timetable, so I find it super easy to get around.

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I share a lot of my adventures on Instagram. The account is public so you don't need to sign up to see my posts :) I start fresh each year, so if you're interested in seeing South Australia and all the beautiful things here then feel free to have a look as I explore throughout the year.