Tom Wilson - Public transport: yesterday, today, and tomorrow

Planning Beyond Tomorrow
Town planner and public transport expert Tom Wilson presents 'Public transport: yesterday, today, and tomorrow'. His ideas for the long-term development of Adelaide’s rail and tram network, as this will be important in terms of guiding future higher density urban development.
In October 2021, at a time of deep disenchantment with our planning system, the National Trust of South Australia gathered experts in planning, architecture, transport, environmental science and history to tell us what they think can be done to raise our horizons and recapture the vision that once inspired us.
Could a 50-year plan preserve the best of what we have, meet the challenges of a changing climate and make future Adelaide the envy of the world?
Tom Wilson
During the 1960’s and 1970’s Tom worked and provided consulting services in transport and town planning. He held middle management positions primarily in the planning of bus, tram and train services. In 1974 he was chairman of a cross-agency Bus Service Planning Group, set up to integrate the pre-
1974 private bus and MTT bus networks, and both of them with the Adelaide rail system. This included involvement in the development of train service patterns. In 1977 he was sent overseas by the STA to study public transport systems in many countries.
In mid career he was Operations Manager for the Northeast Busway (now O-Bahn) Project, including bus route planning, timetabling, determining fleet requirements, and conceptual bus interchange layout. Because of his O-Bahn experience he hosted many international professional and political visitors to the Adelaide O-Bahn.
In more recent times, as well as being continuously involved with bus, tram and train service reviews and in trying to influence public transport-friendly urban planning decisions, he was a strong proponent, within Government, of the upgrading of the Glenelg Tramline, purchase of new trams, and extension within
the City and to the Port Adelaide area. This included, in his last few years, developing proposals for tram service patterns and concept layout of the new City tram stops.