Transperth

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. 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 4 July 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 (which, incidentally, was introduced on the then new O4O5 NH).

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

Bus services in Perth are operated by three private companies with services divided into 11 zones that are re-tendered every 10 years. As at June 2015 the contracts were held by:

Transperth oversees and regulates a bus service throughout the Perth metropolitan area and some fringe rural areas. Routes follow two basic formats: feeder services between residential suburbs and bus stations or bus/train interchanges, and routes directly to the CBD. There are also some cross-suburban services, most notably the CircleRoute. Additional services are provided for schools and special events. Transperth's most frequent bus routes run from 05:00 until 24:00 with services generally every 4–15 minutes on weekdays and every 15–30 minutes on evenings and weekends. Most other local routes run about every 10 minutes in peak periods reducing to every 30 minutes during the day in inner Perth with outer feeder services running every 15–20 minutes in peak periods and every 60 minutes during the day, with reduced service on evenings and weekends. Services to and from railway stations are normally co-ordinated to connect with every, every second or every fourth train.

The Perth Central Area Transit bus (also known at Perth CAT) 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 ECU. 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 at June 2015, the fleet consisted of roughly 1,475 Mercedes-Benz, Renault and Volvo buses. Transperth previously operated large numbers of AEC Regal VIs, Leyland Royal Tiger Worldmasters, Leyland Leopards, Leyland Panthers, Leyland Tiger Cubs, Hino RC520Ps, Mercedes-Benz O305s and O405s, as well as Renault PR 100.2 and 100.3.

Fleet Transperth operates an extensive fleet that consists of:

In the year ended June 2015 there were 84.1 million passenger boardings on Perth bus services.

"Gas Bus" Controversy

As of September 2015, there have been a number of catastrophic fires aboard the fleet's natural gas powered buses, known as "Gas Buses" (Mercedes-Benz OC 500 LE). 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 (previously known as Esplanade Busport) 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 O405 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

CircleRoute: The CircleRoute is a cross suburban route that links numerous railway stations, shopping centres, universities, schools and the port city of Fremantle. Services run 5–15 minutes weekdays and 15–30 minutes weekends and public holidays.

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

Fremantle

Joondalup

Joondalup CATs run Monday to Friday only.

Airport services

Transperth operates route 380 from Elizabeth Quay bus station to Terminals 1 and 2 of Perth Airport via Belmont Forum. Terminals 3 and 4 are serviced by route 935 from Kings Park via Belmont Forum; and route 40 from Elizabeth Quay bus station via the Great Eastern Highway.

Ferries

Transperth operates a ferry service across the Swan River between Elizabeth Quay (Perth CBD) and the South Perth foreshore. Services depart twice an hour and every 15 minutes during peak. 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.

Trains

Transperth 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 24:00 (until 02:00 on Saturday and Sunday mornings) with a minimum frequency of 3–15 minutes until 19:30 and 30 minutes until midnight, 15 minutes weekday and weekend (including public holidays). 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 (MAX). The first stage of the MAX network will be a line running 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 until 2017.

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 (technical difficulties, overheating engines etc.) 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:

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.

Bus Driver Scrutiny

As of March 2016, several Transperth bus drivers have been under fire for "appalling" behaviour towards bus passengers. In August 2014, a bus driver was fired for "screaming" at one of his passengers, a teenage boy, who allegedly pressed the "stop button" too early. 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. In February 2016, a Byford grandmother was "dragged" behind an Armadale bus after her arm became trapped when the driver closed the doors too early, rendering the elderly lady unable to free herself from the doors. The bus then moved off, dragging the grandmother with it. The bus stopped after 80 metres after passengers told the driver about her mistake. The driver gave no apology and offered no help to the injured pensioner. A day later, the driver was fired and was "very apologetic" after the incident.

Changes

In March 2007, the Public Transport Authority commenced a trial of upgraded ticket vending machines installing two new units on the Eastern concourse at Perth railway station and all Mandurah railway line stations.

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 TVMs. They are 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. Though it can be used to pay for parking at stations, parking payments expire at midnight on the day of payment and there is no way to pay for the following day's parking before returning to the station. Therefore, night shift workers are not able to park at stations. This serious oversight is yet to be addressed by Transperth.

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 includes 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.

Directions 2031 (Plan)

The State Government is currently drawing up plans for an expansion of the rail network, construction of a light rail network, and creation of rapid transit bus services. The plan includes:

Other long term plans include extending the Armadale line to Byford and connecting the Thornlie line to the Mandurah line at Cockburn Central station.