Adelaide is a fairly small city, and by the Spiderman test, not a city at all, since Spiderman would be left walking or taking the bus. But that's alright, as the bus system is fairly wonderful down here. Once upon a time Adelaide was tiny. And then it got bigger and sprawled out into the suburbs. People began to realize that travel to Rundle Mall to meet friends at the famous Mall's Balls was getting more difficult. And so a plan was hatched in 1986 to create an easy way to get into the city with little hassle.

The O-Bahn is, put simply, a train track for buses. The "tracks" are made of cement. Along the edge there is a high rim for the special wheels to push against. The rim guides the bus just like a train track and so the bus driver has to do next to no steering. With this, buses rarely come off the track and you can get up to speeds of 100 km/h. (I believe the limit used to be 110 km/h but then the state speed limit was lowered.) The track is elevated to account for the river-surrounding area it covers. The name "O-Bahn" comes from the German heritage both South Australia and the track has. It was designed by the German company, Daimler-Benz.

The 12 kilometer route, being the longest busway in the world, starts at Tea Tree Plaza Interchange. Westfield Tea Tree Plaza is a main shopping center in the north-east, and is an easy place to get to either by bus or car. The track passes through two other interchanges, Paradise and Klemzig. It winds through the north-eastern suburbs. It crosses the Torrens River several times and from the windows of the bus you there is fairly decent scenery of the river and trees. The track finishes at Hackney Road in the city, and depending on which number bus you have caught depends on where in the city you will be taken. The track doesn't extend into other suburbs, and so only people in the north-east have the privilege to ride it.

This is a brilliant system as it means a long journey into the CBD is cut down to about 15 minutes. It is also relaxing, since all you must do is stare out the window.

Buses travel throughout the city and suburbia, and timetables are available on the internet, newsagents or from Adelaide Metro offices around the place. There are hundreds of bus stops all around Adelaide, and they can be found through the use of Google maps. This makes them being an excellent way to get around should you have no car, and also they are fairly cheap. You can buy tickets on the bus, or at petrol stations and some newsagents. When buying them on the bus you buy them from the driver, whom you must pass when you board. You then validate your ticket with the box on your right as you walk further into the bus. Don't put the ticket near you phone as they are magnetically marked and the mobile phone will ruin your ticket.

The buses are comfortable, have lighting, heating, air-conditioner. Only the older ones have windows that may be opened, but they have no air-conditioner. The buses are Mercedes, and were specially designed for the track. This caused problems of expense when the new buses were needed, as there was no local manufactures. There is wheelchair access on the new buses, a no-smoking rule on all of them, and the only animals allowed aboard are guide dogs.

We are Adelaideans, and we get our excitement where we can. Come to Adelaide. Ride the O-Bahn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-Bahn_Busway and http://www.adelaidemetro.com.au/guides/obahn.html were helpful in making this node