Transperth
Transperth is the brand name of the public transport system serving the city and suburban areas of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. It is operated by the Public Transport Authority.
History
In August 1958, the Metropolitan Transport Trust commenced operations with the takeover of Beam Transport and Metro Buses by the Government of Western Australia. Subsequently all private bus operators in Perth were acquired.In August 1986, the Metropolitan Transport Trust was rebranded as Transperth. In February 1995 the provision of ferry services was contracted to Captain Cook Cruises."Competitive Tendering" Australian Bus Panorama issue 10/6 February 1995 page 20. In September 1993, the Government announced Transperth would be corporatised and opened up to competition. In February 1995 in preparation for privatisation, Transperth was restructured with the operation of services transferred to MetroBus, with ownership of the buses retained by Transperth.
In September 1994, expressions of interest were sought from organisations for the operation of Transperth bus services in the Armadale South and Joondalup North areas. MetroBus successfully bid to retain these services.
The remaining services were tendered in 1995/96 to Connex, Path Transit, Southern Coast Transit and Swan Transit. Connex sold its operation to Swan Transit in September 2002, before re-entering the market by purchasing Southern Coast Transit.
Transperth retained ownership of the buses leasing them to the operators. MetroBus did not win any further tenders and operated its last bus on 8 November 1998.
Livery
The Metropolitan Transport Trust adopted an olive green and cream livery. Following the 1986 rebranding as Transperth a green and white livery was introduced, this being replaced in 1999 by a grey/silver and green livery. This livery was inversed in 2010 as part of a refurbishment.In mid-2019, newer or existing Transperth buses being refurbished have the logo next to the "Transperth" on the exterior sides.
Services
Transperth offers bus, ferry and train services which currently serve the Perth Metropolitan Area from the Perth CBD, east to Wundowie, west to Fremantle, south to Mandurah-Pinjarra and north to Two Rocks. These suburbs are divided into nine fare-zones according to distance from the city centre.Buses
Most Transperth buses have air-con. Bus services in Perth are operated by three private companies with services divided into 11 zones that are re-tendered every 10 years. Since January 2020, the contracts were held by:- Path Transit: Kalamunda & Morley
- Swan Transit: Canning, Claremont, Marmion, Midland, Southern River & Joondalup
- Transdev WA: Fremantle, Rockingham & Perth CAT
The Perth Central Area Transit bus is a free bus service that serves central areas in Perth city, Fremantle and Joondalup. In the centre of Perth, there are four routes; the blue cat between Perth and Northbridge areas, the red cat between West Perth and East Perth areas, the yellow cat running between East Perth and West Perth along Wellington Street, and the green cat between Leederville station and Elizabeth Quay bus station. In Fremantle there are two routes, the red cat and blue cat serving tourist destinations. In Joondalup three routes, the red, yellow and blue CAT routes, which operate around the Joondalup CBD and Edith Cowan University. The CAT system is also responsible for the operation of the Midland Gate Shuttle, and Rockingham City Centre Transit System. The main CAT systems are operated by Transdev WA.
As of 2019, the fleet consists of approximately 1,625 buses, primarily Volgren bodied Mercedes-Benz and Volvos. Transperth previously operated large numbers of AEC Regal VIs, Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmasters, Leyland Leopards, Leyland Panthers, Leyland Tiger Cubs, Hino RC520Ps, Mercedes-Benz Citaros, Mercedes-Benz O305s, Mercedes-Benz O405s and Mercedes-Benz 0405NH CNGs, Renault PR100.2s, Renault PR180.2s and a Renault PR100.3.
Current fleet
2015 Bus fires
As of September 2015, there have been a number of catastrophic fires aboard the fleet's natural gas powered Mercedes-Benz OC 500 LEs. It was discovered that there were possible faults in the on-board fire suppression system installed in the engine compartment at the rear of the bus. A bus fire at the Elizabeth Quay bus station in July was said to have been caused by a leaking coolant cell. A series of one-off fires have occurred in two of the fleet's Mercedes-Benz O405NH diesel buses, both of which were sparked by frayed fan belts. Nobody was injured in any bus fires as the drivers were quick to respond and evacuate any passengers before the fires became lethal.Special services
Central Area Transit: Transperth operates CAT bus services around the Perth, Fremantle and Joondalup CBDs. Services run every 5 – 15 minutes on weekdays and every 10 – 15 minutes on weekends.Perth
- Red CAT: Southern East Perth to West Perth
- Yellow CAT: Northern East Perth to West Perth
- Blue CAT: North to south
- Green CAT: Leederville station to Elizabeth Quay bus station
Fremantle
- Red CAT: Northern Fremantle CBD loop.
- Blue CAT: Southern Fremantle CBD and South Beach
Joondalup
- Red CAT: CBD loop
- Blue CAT: CBD loop
- Yellow CAT: Edith Cowan University shuttle
Airport services
Ferries
Transperth operates a ferry service across the Swan River between Elizabeth Quay and the South Perth foreshore. Services depart twice an hour during winter and every 15 minutes during summer. The ferry is popular with commuters and tourists who use it to get to the Perth Zoo. There are currently two Transperth ferries, the MV Shelley Taylor-Smith and the MV Phillip Pendal. The ferry service has been operated under contract by Captain Cook Cruises since February 1995. In the year ended June 2015 there were 400,000 passenger boardings on Perth ferry services. On 15 November 2019, Transperth announced the third ferry to be named MV Tricia, after Tricia the elephant who is currently in Perth Zoo. MV Tricia was built locally in Dongara, Western Australia. Its maiden voyage was on Friday, 20 December 2019, with a special trip down the Swan River passing the Swan Bells, Matagarup Bridge and Optus Stadium.Trains
operates Perth's urban rail services. The network consists of 70 railway stations on six narrow-gauge lines to Midland, Armadale, Fremantle, Butler and Mandurah. Trains to Thornlie run via a spur off the Armadale line.Services operate from 05:00 until 00:00 with a minimum frequency of 3–15 minutes until 19:30 and 30 minutes until midnight, 15 minutes weekday and weekend. Post midnight services on Saturday and Sunday mornings operate on one-hour frequency until 02:15. In the year ended June 2015, 64.2 million passenger journeys were made on the network, up from 31.1 million in 2003-04.
The network has been served exclusively by electric multiple unit railcars since it was electrified in the 1990s. Before that diesel locomotive-hauled trains and ADK/ADB and ADL/ADC diesel multiple units were used.
Light rail
In September 2012, the government announced that construction would begin in 2016 on a new Perth light rail network, to be known as Metro Area Express. The first stage of the MAX network was to run from the Polytechnic West campus in Balga, in Perth's northern suburbs, to the Perth CBD, with spur lines from the CBD to the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre in Nedlands and The Causeway in East Perth. Construction of the first stage was scheduled to be completed by the end of 2018. In December 2013 the government deferred a decision on whether to build the line, with it cancelled in 2016.Passenger information
TravelEasy
TravelEasy sends customers an email notification when there are disruptions and changes to their nominated services. The service was introduced in 2003. TravelEasy also provides a SmartRider link facility, allowing customers to check card balances and add value.The TravelEasy service will only e-mail subscribers for major significant disruptions, which are planned ahead. General day-to-day disruptions which may cause delays of up to two hours will not be notified to travellers.
Google transit
Perth became the first city in Australia to use Google transit, whereby all bus stops, railway stations and ferry wharfs have a clickable symbol on Google Maps which reveals the next departures from that stop. Also, public transport is available as an option for Google Maps' directions feature.Live train times
As of 10 December 2009, the TravelEasy users can view the live train times to see whether the train services is on time or not as well as live departure times. This service has now been made available to all commuters, and a cut-down version has been placed on 136213.mobi.136213.MOBI
The 136213.MOBI service was launched on 10 June 2008. The service allows for public transport information, such as upcoming departures, service changes and SmartRider balances, to be obtained on a WAP-compatible mobile phone.Ticketing
The methods and types of tickets used on the network continue to change with the progression of time and technology. Today, passengers on the network can either purchase a cash ticket from any ticket vending machine at a train stations, from a ferry wharf, or bus driver or use a re-loadable stored-value card known as SmartRider.Fares are calculated on a zone-based system starting from 2-sections to 9 zones and charged at either standard or concession rates. Concession rates are available to children under the age of 15 years, persons over the age of 60 possessing a Senior's Card, students of primary, secondary, and tertiary schools possessing a SmartRider with valid concession status, and those in receipt of various state and commonwealth pensions with acceptable proof of that status. DayRider and FamilyRider tickets are also available. Passengers to some special events such as football matches can travel free with a valid ticket to the event.
Some additional fare classes exist within the system and include:
| Fare type | Details |
| DayRider | Valid for all zones, all day |
| FamilyRider | Unlimited travel for 7 passengers. Available all day on weekends and public holidays, after 09:00 on school holidays, after 18:00 Monday to Thursday and after 15:00 Friday |
| Seniors SmartRider | Available for seniors, valid for free travel on all days between 09:00 and 15:30, as well as weekends / public holidays and Senior's week. ' |
| Student SmartRider | Available for primary and secondary school students as well as full-time tertiary students. ' |
Previous methods
In the early 1990s, the network changed over from the use of train conductors with old rotary paper ticketing units and installed self-service ticket vending machines supplied by Ascom. The same rotary units in place on buses were replaced with technology supplied by Wayfarer Transit Systems.Also at the same time, an upgraded version of the pre-encoded multi-trip ticket system MultiRider was introduced, also relying on technology from Wayfarer.
Controversies
- August 2014: A bus driver was fired for "screaming" at a teenage boy after he accidentally pressed the "stop button" too early by accident. The bus driver was said to have suddenly stopped the bus and forced the boy off the bus on an isolated stretch of road in Perth's southeastern suburbs.
- February 2016: A bus driver refused to give an underage girl a ride from Whitfords after she was unable to use her SmartRider as she ran out of credit, instead forced to pay the 80 cent fare. Despite efforts from fellow passengers to pay the fare, the bus driver forced her to walk to Whitfords train station and drove off.
- February 2016: A bus driver was fired after a Byford grandmother was "dragged" behind an Armadale bus service. When the doors closed, her arm became trapped. Afterward, the bus driver moved off, but only stopped when passengers intervened. The bus driver did not apologise to the woman, nor offer assistance.
Changes
These trial units are based on touch-screen technology, and provide an expanded number of options including being able to purchase multiple quantities of tickets at the same time, as well as optionally being able to pay using either notes or electronic funds transfer from a cheque or savings account using a debit card, dependent on these components being installed in the unit. These are now installed in all railway stations in place of the older ticketing vending machines. They were made by and contracted out to Xerox who won the bid to change out the fare system.
In 2007 the MultiRider ticketing system was replaced with the SmartRider ticketing system which uses contactless electronic ticketing system using smartcard technology for the process of charging patrons for public transport.
The SmartRider is a smartcard incorporating a microchip and internal aerial, allowing the smartcard to communicate with processors located on Transperth buses and ferries and at railway stations. The microchip enables value to be loaded onto the card, as well as allowing the journey details to be recorded and the appropriate fare deducted from the stored value on the card. The card is able to pay for bus, ferry or train travel and can also be used at some Pay 'n' Display railway station car parks to pay for parking. In a system which Transperth calls "SmartParker", the user can register their car's registration plate and pay for parking by swiping the card at a payment machine on the way from the car park to the station: such payment is now valid for 24 hours.
It is also used to authenticate access to the Lock 'n' Ride secure bicycle storage areas at some stations.
Free Transit Zone
Perth has a Free Transit Zone with travel free on buses in the central business district.On the rail network, however, free travel within the zone is only available to passengers who have purchased a SmartRider card. 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.
Proposals
A new 20-year rail expansion plan was released before the 2008 Western Australia state election by Premier Alan Carpenter. The plan included a link to Ellenbrook via the Midland line, the extension of the Armadale line to Byford, the extension of the Joondalup line to Yanchep, new stations on the Mandurah line, a spur rail to Perth Airport, and new south west links, connecting other retail centres, hospitals, airports, universities and communities. The rough system map was to be released after the state election.The Joondalup line was extended 7.5 kilometres from Clarkson to Butler opening on 21 September 2014.
Future expansions under Metronet
Prior to the 2017 Western Australian state election, the then-opposition Labor Party promised a large expansion to Perth's rail network under the title Metronet. After the comprehensive victory by Labor, the Mark McGowan government established Metronet as an agency of the Public Transport Authority to oversee a number of projects to expand and improve the network. Projects in stage one include:Forrestfield–Airport Link
In August 2014, the government announced the 8.5 km Forrestfield–Airport Link would be constructed providing a service to Perth Airport and Forrestfield. Construction commenced officially in November 2016, with the line due to open in 2020.Morley–Ellenbrook Line
A link to Ellenbrook had been originally promised by then-Premier Alan Carpenter and Opposition Leader Colin Barnett prior to the 2008 elections, however this proposal was not realised. Mark McGowan revived the project in 2017. A business case is currently being prepared for a new 21 km Ellenbrook spur line with stations at Morley,North Morley, Noranda, Malaga, Bennett Springs, Whiteman and Ellenbrook. Construction work is expected to start in 2019 and be completed in 2022.Thornlie–Cockburn Link
Perth's first East-West rail link is planned to run between Thornlie and Cockburn Central stations, connecting the Mandurah and Armadale lines. This proposal involves 14.5 km of new railway, relocating 11 km of freight line and building two new stations, with construction set to start in 2019.Joondalup rail extension to Yanchep
The Yanchep Rail Extension is a 14.5 km project to extend the Joondalup line North for 14.5 km with stations at Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep. The extension is set to start construction in 2019. The Yanchep Rail Extension and the Thornlie-Cockburn Link are slated to have a combined cost of $1.1 billion.Other Metronet projects
- Extending Armadale line services to Byford
- Extending Midland line services to Bellevue and relocating Midland station
- Building Karnup station on the Mandurah line
- Removing several level crossings on the Armadale and Midland lines
- Designing and manufacturing 17 new six-car C-series trains
Publications