Flexity Classic - Adelaide

Adelaide

In 2006, TransAdelaide now Public Transport Services (PTS) as part of DTEI began to replace the H class cars operating on their Glenelg tramway with a fleet of eleven Flexity Classic trams. The first of the new Flexitys was delivered to the Glengowrie depot in November 2005 and entered public service on 9 January 2006. Delivery continued in small batches through 2006, with new trams operating the Glenelg line side-by-side with the H-class in the interim.

The Flexitys are painted in a standard Adelaide Metro colour scheme of white, with yellow, blue and red ends, very similar to Adelaide’s metropolitan bus fleet, although many now run corporate advertising top-to-bottom on the sides and only have the "safety yellow" ends. They have a low floor layout throughout, except over the bogies, and are accessible to pushchairs and wheelchairs through each of the three sets of doors. The new cars have many features common in modern public transit vehicles which are absent on the H-class – for example, airconditioning, heating, recorded video surveillance and automated audio and visual announcements of the next stop. TransAdelaide continues to operate the Flexitys with roving conductors, although these are not now needed for safe operation of the cars.

Unlike the H-class, Flexitys cannot be coupled into two-car sets at busy times and always run as a single vehicle. The internal layout is designed to accommodate wheelchairs and large numbers of standing passengers. The relative lack of seating (compared to the H-class), together with other minor teething problems, resulted in some adverse comments from commuters and local media when the Flexitys first entered service.

The original unit 103 was destroyed during shipping. It is now held in storage at Transadelaide's Glengowrie depot storage for spare parts. Bombardier subsequently delivered a replacement 103, and this was the final tram currently to be delivered. 4 more units 112 to 115 are on order and will eventually enter service in a few years.