Transperth
Transperth | |
---|---|
![]() | |
From top left to bottom right: aB-series trainon theMandurah line,anA-series trainon theMidland line,aVolvo B8RLEinFremantle,MVShelley Taylor-Smith | |
Overview | |
Owner | Public Transport Authority |
Area served | Perthand surrounding areas |
Transit type | Bus, ferry, rail |
Number of lines | 7 (train)[a]1 (ferry) |
Number of stations | 79 (train)[b] 54 (bus)[c] |
Annual ridership | 123,307,689 (year to June 2023) |
Headquarters | Public Transport Centre |
Website | Transperth |
Operation | |
Operator(s) | Captain Cook Cruises Path Transit Swan Transit Transdev WA Transperth Train Operations WAGR(former) MTT(former) |
Number of vehicles | Over 1499 buses 330 railcars 3 ferries |
Technical | |
Track gauge | 1,067 mm(3 ft 6 in) narrow gauge |
Electrification | 25 kV 50 Hz ACfromoverhead catenary |
Transperthis the public transport system forPerthand surrounding areas inWestern Australia.It is managed by thePublic Transport Authority(PTA), a state government organisation, and consists of train, bus and ferry services. Bus operations are contracted out toSwan Transit,Path TransitandTransdev.Ferry operations are contracted out toCaptain Cook Cruises.Train operations are done by the PTA through their Transperth Train Operations division.
The Transperth train system consists of seven lines: theAirport,Armadale,Fremantle,Mandurah,Midland,Thornlie,andYancheplines; and 79 stations. Train services have operated since 1881. The Transperth bus system has over 1,499 buses and 51 bus stations, 38 of which are interchanges at railway stations. Buses have operated under private operators from 1903; these private operators were bought out by theMetropolitan Transport Truststarting in 1958. Contracting out the bus operations began in the mid-1990s. The Transperth ferry system has one route, two stops, and three ferries. The system extends as far north asTwo Rockson the outer north of thePerth metropolitan area,Wundowiein theShire of Northam,andDawesvillein the south ofMandurah.Fares are paid using theSmartRidersystem or using cash. With 123,307,689 boardings in the year to June 2023, Transperth has the fourth highest patronage in Australia, although the train system has Australia's third highest train patronage.
History
[edit]The first railway inPerthwas theEastern RailwayfromFremantletoGuildfordvia Perth, which opened on 1 March 1881.Western Australian Government Railways(WAGR) was formed in 1890 as the operator of railways in Perth andWestern Australia.TheSouth Western Railwayopened on 2 May 1893. On 28 September 1899, the firsttrams in Perthbegin operating.[1]
In 1903, the firstprivate bus operator began,operating routes fromVictoria Parkto the Perth central business district (CBD).Trams in Fremantlebegin operating in 1905 and were abolished in 1952. The first diesel railcars, theWAGR ADG class,enter service on 28 November 1954, replacing steam locomotives. This allowed for shorter stop spacings, leading to the opening of seven new railway stations on that date.[1]
On 15 January 1958, theMetropolitan Transport Trust(MTT) was formed, and begun to acquire the various private bus operators in Perth. The MTT also operated Perth's ferry services. Perth's last tram ran in 1958 as well. By 5 October 1968, suburban rail services were fully operated by diesel railcars. In the late-1960s, theMidland linewas converted from narrow gauge to dual gauge, allowing standard gauge trains to travel from the eastern states toEast Perth railway station.The gauge conversion necessitated the rebuild of several stations and bridges along the Midland line. In 1969, the lasttrolleybuses in Perthran. The management of Perth's public transport was integrated into a single body in 1974 when the MTT took over the management of Perth's suburban rail services from WAGR. The MTT contracted out the operations of the suburban rail services back to WAGR.[1]Throughout the 1970s, bus stations opened across the Perth metropolitan region, starting withMorley bus stationin August 1972 andWellington Street bus stationin March 1973.[2]
TheFremantle linewas closed to passenger services on 1 September 1979, despite a 100,000 signature petition calling for the closure to be cancelled. Following a change in government at the1983 state election,the Fremantle line was reopened. The government then decided to electrify the existing suburban rail lines and build theYanchep line(known at the time as the Joondalup line). On 31 August 1986, the MTT adopted Transperth as itstrading name,marking the first time that the nameTransperthhas been used for Perth's public transport system. Construction for the Joondalup line commenced on 14 November 1989. The electrification of the rail network was completed by September 1991 and theTransperth A-series trainsentered service, replacing the diesel railcars. The Joondalup line partially opened on 21 December 1992 and fully opened in March 1993.[1][2][3]Later that year, the Joondalup line was extended toCurrambine railway station.[4][5]
The operation of Transperth services underwent a reorganisation in the mid-1990s, with bus and ferry operations contracted out to private operators. Responsibility for managing the system was transferred to the Department of Transport. The Transperth brand was also transferred to the Department of Transport, with the brand to be used by all the companies which were to operate services under contract. The MTT adopted the trading nameMetroBuson 14 February 1995. The operation of the ferries was transferred toCaptain Cook Cruisesin February 1995. It was initially planned that MetroBus would compete with the private sector for contracts, and it was successful in bidding for the Joondalup North, Armadale South andPerth CATscontracts in 1995 and 1996 whilst several other contracts were awarded to the private sector. The government later announced that it would withdraw MetroBus from operating and it would tender out the remaining contract areas. MetroBus ceased operating bus services on 4 July 1998.[2][3]
In December 1999, enabling legislation for theMandurah linewas passed, paving the way for the construction of the line. It was initially planned to branch off theArmadale line,but was later rerouted to go via a direct route south of Perth in the median of theKwinana Freeway,necessitating tunnelling under the Perth CBD. This led to the development of theThornlie lineas a branch off the Armadale line instead. On 1 July 2003, thePublic Transport Authoritywas formed, taking over from the Department of Transport of the ownership and management of Transperth services. An extension of the Joondalup line toClarkson stationopened on 4 October 2004. The firstTransperth B-series trainsenter service in 2004 as well andNowergup railcar depotopens.Thornlie stationopened on 7 August 2005, and on 23 December 2007, the Mandurah line opened.[1][3]
On 21 September 2014, an extension of the Joondalup line toButler stationopened. In July 2016, thePerth Busportopened, replacing Wellington Street bus station. The busport is underground and has a dynamic bus stand allocation system to increase capacity for the same number of bus stands. On 3 November 2016, construction begins on theForrestfield–Airport Link,later to become known as theAirport line.In 2018 and 2019, the government passed legislation to construct an extension of the Joondalup line toYanchep,theMorley–Ellenbrook lineas a spur off the Midland line, and an extension of the Thornlie line toCockburn Central stationalong the Mandurah line, completing the original plans for the Mandurah line to spur off the Armadale line. These projects are all part of theMetronetproject to improve Perth's public transport system, which involves several station rebuilds and improvements as well. The Airport line opened on 9 October 2022 and the Yanchep extension opened on 14 July 2024, coinciding with the renaming of the Joondalup line to the Yanchep line. In January 2023, testing for theTransperth C-series traincommenced.[1]These trains entered service on 8 April 2024.[6][7]
Services
[edit]Transperth services run as far asTwo Rockson the outer north of thePerth metropolitan area,Wundowiein theShire of Northam,andDawesvillein the south ofMandurah.[8]
Train
[edit]![Map of the Transperth rail network](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/TransperthRailwayMap.svg/220px-TransperthRailwayMap.svg.png)
The Transperth train system consists of seven lines: the Airport, Armadale, Fremantle, Mandurah, Midland, Thornlie, and Yanchep lines. These lines all meet atPerth stationin the city's CBD, radiating out from there. TheMorley–Ellenbrook lineis under construction and is planned to open in 2024. There are several other extensions and upgrades under construction as well under the Metronet project. The system has 76 stations along these six lines,[b][9]planned to increase to 85 when Metronet is completed. Transperth is Australia's third busiest passenger rail system, behindSydneyandMelbournebut ahead ofBrisbaneandAdelaide.[10]There are two trains used: theTransperth A-series trainand theTransperth B-series train,with theTransperth C-series trainentering service on 8 April 2024.[6][7]
Bus
[edit]The Transperth bus system consists of 37 bus-train interchanges and 14 bus-only stations.[9]The bus system is contracted out to private operators:Swan Transit,Path TransitandTransdev.[11]The bus system is the fourth-busiest in Australia, behindSydney,MelbourneandBrisbane.[10]
Ferry
[edit]The Transperth ferry system consists of one route and three ferries. The line across theSwan RiverfromElizabeth Quay Jettyin the Perth CBD toMends Street JettyinSouth Perth.The ferries are theMVShelley Taylor-Smith,theMVPhillip Pendaland theMVTricia.
Ticketing
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/Challis_Station%2C_Kelmscott%2C_Western_Australia%2C_August_2022_25.jpg/220px-Challis_Station%2C_Kelmscott%2C_Western_Australia%2C_August_2022_25.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Transperth_SmartRider_Processor_Perth_Train_Station.jpg/170px-Transperth_SmartRider_Processor_Perth_Train_Station.jpg)
The fare structure and ticketing system is the same for the bus, train and ferry network. The system is split into nine concentric zones, radiating out from the centre of Perth.[12]: 26 [9]Zone one extends 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the centre of Perth, zones two and three consist of bands 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) wide, and the remaining zones consist of bands 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) wide. Travelling within one zone costs a one-zone fare. Travelling within multiple zones costs a two-zone fare. Multiple trips, including transfers between modes and services, are possible under the same fare as long as this is done within two hours for journeys four zones or less or three hours for journeys of five zones or more.[12]: 26 [13]Prior to January 2022, higher fares were applied to travellers using more than two zones, up to a nine zone fare for travelling though all nine zones. The two-zone fare cap was instituted by the McGowan government as an election promise prior to the2021 state election.[14][15]Since June 2023, travel on the first Sunday of each month has been free.[16][17]
There are other ticket types. The "two-section" fare is less than a one-zone fare and is for one-way trips below 3.2 kilometres (2 mi). Primary and secondary school students with a Student SmartRider can travel for free on weekdays during the school year, and with a concession fare other days.[18]The DayRider ticket allows unlimited travel for one day. The FamilyRider ticket allows unlimited travel for up to seven people for one day under certain conditions and at certain times.[19]
79% of all fares were paid for using aSmartRidercard,[12]: 27 a contactlessstored-value cardintroduced in 2007. Paying for paper tickets using cash is also possible. Tickets can be issued on all buses and ferries and fromticket machinesat train stations and ferry jetties.[12]: 26 SmartRiders can only be purchased at certain retail stores and Transperth InfoCentres, and are not generally purchasable at stations or on buses. Methods for adding money to the SmartRider card include using "add-value machines" at certain stations,BPAY,on buses and ferries, at certain retail stores and Transperth InfoCentres, and by setting up "Autoload", where direct debits are made automatically from a bank account to a SmartRider. Fares for using a SmartRider cost 10% less than paper tickets, and 20% less if "Autoload" is used.[12]: 27 To use a SmartRider card, users must "tag on" at the start of a journey and "tag off" at the end of their journey, and the lowest possible fare is automatically applied. The daily spend on a SmartRider is capped at the DayRider cash fare.
People travelling to and from events at Perth Stadium do not have to use a SmartRider or pay for a ticket as Transperth fares are included in the cost of every Perth Stadium ticket.[20]
From the 1990s to 2007,MultiRiderswere used as multi-trip tickets. They used magnetic-stripe technology.[21]
Free Transit Zone
[edit]Perth has a Free Transit Zone (FTZ) with zero-fare travel on buses and trains in its central business district.
On the rail network, however, free travel within the zone is only available to passengers who have aSmartRidercard, and tag on and off. This was not always the case, but is now required due to changes in station structures brought about by the implementation of the SmartRider ticketing system.[22]For train passengers, the zone is bounded byCity West,Elizabeth Quay,andClaisebrookstations.[23]
The FTZ is funded by an annual levy (Perth Parking Levy) on non-residential parking bays in Perth, East Perth, West Perth and Northbridge.[24]The levy was introduced under the Perth Parking Management Act 1999, and allows levy funds to be used for transport-related investments aimed at reducing private car travel into and out of Perth CBD, including the FTZ and CAT bus services.[25]
Since its introduction, the levy has been criticised by the City of Perth council, business groups and the media.[26][27][28]
Ticket Type | Standard | Concession |
---|---|---|
2 Section | $2.30 | $1.00 |
1 Zone | $3.40 | $1.50 |
2 Zone | $5.10 | $2.30 |
DayRider | $10.30 | $4.60 |
FamilyRider | $10.30 | N/A |
Parking fees
[edit]Paid car parking at railway stations was introduced on 1 July 2014. The cost is $2 per weekday, free on weekends. SmartRiders or cash can be used to pay for parking.[30][31]
Patronage
[edit]
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source:Bureau of Infrastructure & Transport Research Economics[32]PTA[33] |
Mode | Patronage | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2006–07 | 2011–12 | 2016–17 | 2021–22 | |||||
Bus | 64,622,615 | 64.0% | 80,626,481 | 55.9% | 80,016,728 | 56.8% | 58,890,882 | 57.6% |
Train | 35,757,833 | 35.4% | 63,029,878 | 43.7% | 60,092,097 | 42.7% | 42,779,726 | 41.9% |
Ferry | 545,357 | 0.5% | 473,728 | 0.3% | 747,881 | 0.5% | 532,382 | 0.5% |
Total | 100,925,805 | 100% | 144,130,087 | 100% | 140,856,706 | 100% | 102,202,990 | 100% |
Line | Patronage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011–12 | 2016–17 | 2021–22 | ||||
Mandurah | 20,293,223 | 32.2% | 20,343,828 | 33.9% | 14,357,888 | 33.6% |
Yanchep[d] | 16,700,234 | 26.5% | 16,658,559 | 27.7% | 11,752,572 | 27.5% |
ArmadaleandThornlie | 9,227,813 | 14.6% | 7,385,888 | 12.3% | 5,629,910 | 13.2% |
Fremantle | 8,679,139 | 13.8% | 7,940,853 | 13.2% | 5,217,162 | 12.2% |
Midland | 6,626,464 | 10.5% | 6,143,986 | 10.2% | 4,243,760 | 9.9% |
Replacement buses | 1,503,005 | 2.4% | 1,618,983 | 2.7% | 1,578,434 | 3.7% |
Total | 63,029,878 | 100% | 60,092,097 | 100% | 42,779,726 | 100% |
See also
[edit]- Transwa,for regional public transport in Western Australia
Notes
[edit]- ^The Thornlie line is sometimes counted as part of the Armadale line, which would make the number of lines six.
- ^ab78 stations ifPerth stationandPerth Underground stationare counted as the same station.
- ^40 of these bus stations are located at railway stations.
- ^Known as Joondalup line prior 14 July 2024.
References
[edit]- ^abcdef"Our history".Public Transport Authority.Archivedfrom the original on 16 October 2021.Retrieved2 July2023.
- ^abcMetroBus (1998),MetroBus Annual Report 1997–1998,pp. 41–68
- ^abcNewman, Peter(2012)."The Perth Rail Transformation: Some political lessons learned"(PDF).Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute.Archived(PDF)from the original on 28 October 2020.Retrieved2 July2023.
- ^"Opening of Currambine railway station next month".Media Statements.17 July 1993.Archivedfrom the original on 16 February 2016.Retrieved31 July2022.
- ^"New warning devices for Fastrak trains".Media Statements.8 August 1993.Archivedfrom the original on 1 April 2022.Retrieved31 July2022.
- ^abZimmerman, Josh (19 March 2024)."C-series Metronet train due to enter service next month".The West Australian.Retrieved19 March2024.
- ^ab"All aboard! First METRONET C-series train ready for passengers".Media Statements.19 March 2024.Retrieved19 March2024.
- ^"Network Maps".Transperth.Archivedfrom the original on 15 November 2022.Retrieved15 November2022.
- ^abc"Transperth Zone Map"(PDF).Transperth.Archived(PDF)from the original on 21 September 2021.Retrieved12 January2023.
- ^abLong-term trends in urban public transport(PDF).Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. 2 September 2014. p. 14.ISBN978-1-922205-97-1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 27 November 2022.Retrieved15 November2022.
- ^"About Transperth".Transperth.Archivedfrom the original on 8 October 2021.Retrieved2 July2023.
- ^abcde"Annual Report 2021–2022"(PDF).Public Transport Authority.2022.Archived(PDF)from the original on 18 December 2022.Retrieved11 January2023.
- ^"Transperth Fares".Transperth.Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2022.Retrieved12 January2023.
- ^Zimmerman, Josh (17 January 2021)."WA Premier Mark McGowan promises to cap Perth train fares at $4.90 if re-elected".The West Australian.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2023.Retrieved11 January2023.
- ^"Significant McGowan Government public transport commitment delivered".Media Statements.30 December 2021.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2023.Retrieved11 January2023.
- ^Balchand, Jason (30 June 2023)."Fare Free Sunday Session Starts This Weekend".So Perth.Archivedfrom the original on 30 June 2023.Retrieved2 July2023.
- ^"Free public transport on first Sunday each month".Media Statements.23 April 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 20 June 2023.Retrieved2 July2023.
- ^"Student SmartRider".transperth.wa.gov.au.Retrieved15 March2024.
- ^"Special types of tickets and fares".Transperth.Archivedfrom the original on 1 January 2022.Retrieved12 January2023.
- ^"Optus Stadium".Transperth.Retrieved19 August2023.
- ^"All aboard SmartRider and farewell MultiRider".Public Transport Authority.17 February 2007.Archivedfrom the original on 1 July 2023.Retrieved1 July2023.
- ^Free Transit ZoneArchived14 October 2007 at theWayback MachineTransperth website, accessed 2007-10-03.
- ^"Transperth Free Travel".transperth.wa.gov.au.Archivedfrom the original on 11 June 2023.Retrieved11 June2023.
- ^"Perth parking".transport.wa.gov.au.Department of Transport.Archivedfrom the original on 7 April 2021.Retrieved4 April2021.
- ^"Administration of the Perth Parking Levy".Office of the Auditor General.16 February 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 7 March 2023.Retrieved7 July2023.
- ^Babb, Courtney; Brown, George (May 2022)."The Perth Parking Policy: Towards 25 Years"(PDF).Australasian Transport Research Forum.Archived(PDF)from the original on 27 February 2023.Retrieved7 July2023.
- ^Hastie, Hamish (14 February 2023)."Zempilas tees off over government's Perth parking tax changes".WAtoday.Archivedfrom the original on 20 March 2023.Retrieved7 July2023.
- ^Bourke, Keane (16 February 2023)."Perth parking levy balloons to almost $200m with no spending plan, auditor general finds".ABC News.Archivedfrom the original on 24 March 2023.Retrieved7 July2023.
- ^"Transperth fares".transperth.wa.gov.au.Retrieved15 March2024.
- ^Dollery, Rebecca (1 July 2014)."Paid parking introduced at Perth train stations".ABC News.Archivedfrom the original on 14 March 2018.Retrieved1 July2023.
- ^"Paid parking is just around the corner".Public Transport Authority.12 June 2014.Archivedfrom the original on 11 March 2023.Retrieved1 July2023.
- ^"Long-term trends in urban public transport"(PDF).Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics. 2 September 2014. p. 18.ISBN978-1-922205-97-1.Archived(PDF)from the original on 27 November 2022.Retrieved15 November2022.
- ^abc"Transport performance".Public Transport Authority.Retrieved1 October2023.