The South Australian government has no plans to follow the other states in offering free public transport despite more than 70 service stations running out of at least one fuel type.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said fuel shipments continued to arrive to the Port of Adelaide “on time and on schedule” but it was too early to implement free fares.

“In fact when it comes to unleaded petrol, we’ve got more fuel in the country today than what we did when the Iran conflict started,” the premier said. 

“We want to make sure we’re responding in the event we actually have a shortage.”

Mr Malinauskas said while a majority of SA retailers had fuel available, there was “every chance that the Iran war may become protracted”.

He says currently in SA, 604 out of 649 outlets have unleaded 91 while 364 of 398 stores are stocked with diesel.

He made the comments in a press conference announcing the RAA app would now show which service stations were out of fuel in real-time.

Earlier on Monday, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis told 891 ABC Adelaide it was not responsible budget-wise to offer free public transport, even if it would be popular.

“Yes, it would be lovely to give everyone free public transport and free car parking and a puppy,” he said.

The SA Liberal Party, the Greens, the South Australian Business Chamber and the Rail, Tram and Bus Union have all called for free public transport amid high fuel prices. 

A man stands in an office with buildings outside of the window

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis says public transport is already heavily subsidised. (ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)

The Victorian government announced it would offer free public transport across the state in April, while the Tasmanian government is waiving fares until July, but NSW has ruled it out ahead of today’s national cabinet meeting on the fuel crisis.

On Sunday, SA Transport Minister Joe Szakacs said the government had no plans to lower public transport fares, with validations already up 3 per cent on the same time last year.

The Liberal Party promised 50-cent public transport fares ahead of the state election but has only won five of the 47 seats in parliament in counting so far.

Deputy Liberal SA leader Josh Teague said fares should be waived for the next three months.

“The time for action is now,” Mr Teague said.

Mr Koutsantonis said about 90 per cent of the cost of public transport was already subsidised in Adelaide and the state government did not want budget issues like Victoria.

“The fares are already heavily subsidised,” Mr Koutsantonis said.

“And the way petrol’s going, we want to have some tools up our sleeve if there does become a supply problem and I think it’s a bit premature to be doing this now.”

Mr Malinauskas backed his treasurer’s call, saying his government needs to “act prudently” in the event the Middle East conflict persists.

“We’re not doing it at the moment. I’m not going to go into specifics because I don’t want to increase expectations and I don’t want to get into the business of, you know, not contemplating things that might be required in the future.”

A train at a station named Port Dock

More people have been catching trains into the Adelaide CBD. (ABC Radio Adelaide: Malcolm Sutton)

Greens leader Robert Simms disagreed, saying the government’s reasoning was a “cop-out” and it should “step up and show leadership”.

“What more do we need to see unfold for this government to get with the program when it comes to public transport?” Mr Simms said.

“If we make public transport more attractive in metro Adelaide, and if we encourage alternatives to car travel, then that of course will free up fuel supply in the regions for people who don’t have that alternative.”

Mr Simms also called for more frequent services, investment in pop-up bikeways, and for the government to make it easier for people to work from home.

Businesses suffering 

Adelaide city councillor Henry Davis said businesses were already struggling because fewer people were coming into the CBD, which free public transport could help.

“It’s going to make sure that people keep coming to the city, but it’s also going to relieve congestion, stress and then reduce the consumption of fuel across the state,” he said.

South Australian Business Chamber Andrew Kay said businesses were seeing rising absenteeism and people asking to work from home, which they attributed to high fuel costs.

“We certainly want to see workers coming to the workplace; we don’t want to see work-from-home measures implemented,” he said.

“This is an important part of that, by keeping costs down for workers.” 

Two fuel nozzles with signs saying :( SORRY HOSE NOT IN USE

Some service stations have run out of fuel. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)

Mr Kay said he had heard of some cancellations related to the AFL Gather Round, which is on from April 9 -12. 

“It’s very skinny margins in the hospitality and tourism sector and if they miss out what’s a peak period, it’s not great for their sustainability pretty much for the rest of the year,” he said.

On Monday afternoon, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the federal government would halve the fuel excise for a three-month period. It means the cost of petrol and diesel will be reduced by 26.3 cents per litre for a three-month period.

After the national cabinet meeting, the SA premier welcomed the decision and said he supported a consistent approach across the nation.

“That is to say if demand management measures are required, we shouldn’t have a situation in this country where we’ve got one rule being applied in South Australia and a different one in Queensland and so forth,” Mr Malinauskas said.

“This is very different to managing a disease or a virus. This is about making sure we have equitable access to fuel across the country in the event that the current circumstances change.”

Mr Malinaukas said fuel rationing would be in the later stages of the four phases of the fuel security plan the PM announced today.

Ashton Hurn frowns at a service station where a ute is filling up

Ashton Hurn says the fuel excise cut should have been announced sooner. (ABC News)

Opposition Leader Ashton Hurn welcomed the halving of fuel excise after she had reiterated her call from ahead of the state election for the excise to be cut by 26 cents.

“We’re really thankful that the government has come to their senses although we question why it’s taken so long for them to recognise that this is a crisis that must be dealt with,” she said.

“Not only is this two weeks of cost of living pain that could have been avoided had the government acted sooner, it also could have given families confidence to act with a sense of certainty around their Easter plans, around coming to South Australia for Gather Round.”