MAN SG280H STA green-yellow

The first of the MAN SG280H articulated buses entered service in 1988.   There were 40 buses built and were funded in part by the Australian Bicentenary Road Development Fund. They are 17.3 metres long and seat 67 passengers.

The State Transport Authority (STA) was the government agency which controlled public transport within the State of South Australia between 1974 and 1994. The STA was established by the State Transport Authority Act 1974, which aimed to provide an integrated and coordinated system of public transport within South Australia. This was to be achieved by assuming direct control of state-operated services (particularly in the Adelaide metropolitan area) and by exercising regulatory control of privately operated services.

The STA was dissolved (and the 1974 Act repealed) as a consequence of the Passenger Transport Act 1994. These reforms split the STA into the Passenger Transport Board, which coordinated and funded the public transport system, and TransAdelaide, which actually operated metropolitan buses, trains and trams. The formation of TransAdelaide was a prelude to competitive tendering and the introduction of private operators into the Adelaide public transport network.