TRANSPERTH

'Transperth' is the brand name of the public transport system in Perth, Western Australia. It is operated by the Public Transport Authority.

Contents

History

Train service

Bus service

Ferry service

Service areas

Free Transit Zone

Ticketing

Previous methods

Improvements

TravelEasy

Operators

Bus

Train

Ferry

Call Centre

See also

External links

History

The Transperth brand was launched in 1986 as part of a series of reforms integrating Perth's public bus, ferry and rail services.[1] Initially Transperth services were coordinated by the Metropolitan Transport Trust (MTT), with MTT operating bus and ferry services itself and coordinating rail services operated by West Australian Government Railways (WAGR). In 1993 control of Transperth was transferred to the Department of Transport.[2]
Between 1994 and 1998 Transperth began contracting out its bus, ferry and customer service operations. Buses and ferries are now publicly owned but privately operated. On 1 July 2003 Transperth was again transferred, along with WAGR's passenger transport operations, to the newly formed Public Transport Authority.[3]

Train service

Transperth Trains operates Perth's suburban rail services. The system consists of 59 stations on four narrow-gauge lines, running to Midland, Armadale, Fremantle and Clarkson. Trains to Thornlie run via a spur off the Armadale Line. A fifth line to Mandurah is expected to open before Christmas 2007.
Services operate from 5:30 am until midnight (until 2:00 am Saturday and Sunday mornings), with a minimum 15-minute frequency until 7:30 pm and 30-minute until midnight. Post midnight services on Saturday and Sunday mornings operate on one-hour frequency. [4] The network accommodates 32.652 million passenger boardings per year. [5]
The network has been served exclusively by electric multiple unit railcars since is was electrified in the 1990s. Before that time diesel locomotive-hauled trains and diesel multiple units were used. [6]

Bus service

Transperth oversees and regulates a bus service throughout the Perth metropolitan area and some fringe rural areas. Transperth buses are privately operated, but publicly owned.[7] Routes follow two basic formats: feeder services between residential suburbs and railway stations, and routes directly to the CBD. There are also some cross-suburban services, most notably the CircleRoute, which links numerous railway stations, shopping centres and universities. Additional services are provided for schools and special events.
Transperth's most frequent bus routes run from 6am to midnight with services generally every 15 minutes on weekdays and every 30 minutes on evenings and weekends. Most other local routes run either every 30 or 60 minutes, 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.
Transperth is currently purchasing Mercedes-Benz OC500LE compressed natural gas-fueled buses. They comply with the Euro 4 emission standard and operate on locally produced Western Australian natural gas.[8]
Other features of the bus acquisition program:

★ Bus bodies are made locally in Perth by Volgren on the Mercedes bus chassis

★ CNG buses use one of the cleanest commercially available heavy duty engines

★ Each bus saves over 9 tonnes of green house gas emissions per year compared to some existing buses

★ Currently Transperth has 196 CNG buses: 141 Euro 4, 24 Euro 2 and 31 older buses

★ Transperth has an additional 400 buses to be progressively delivered and these will all be powered by CNG

Ferry service

Transperth operates a ferry service across the Swan River between Barrack Street (Perth CBD) and the South Perth foreshore. Services departs twice an hour, with an additional leg to Coode St Jetty during peak periods. The ferry is popular with commuters and tourists who use it to get to the Perth Zoo.

Service areas

Transperth currently serves the Perth metropolitan area from the Perth City, east to Chidlow, west to Fremantle, south to Mandurah and north to Two Rocks. These suburbs are divided into nine fare-zones according to distance from the city centre.

Free Transit Zone

A feature of the network is an area in the central business district known as the Free Transit Zone (FTZ). Travel on all modes of public transport (bus, CAT bus, and trains) within in zone is free for all passengers.
The notable exception to this however is the rail network, where free travel within the zone is only available to passengers using a SmartRider card. This was not always the case however, but has been required due to changes in station structures brought about by the implementation of the SmartRider ticketing system.

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 the station, or use a re-loadable stored-value card known as SmartRider.
Fares are calculated on a zone-based system starting from 2-sections to 8 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 65 possessing a Senior's Card, students of Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary schools possessing a SmartRider with valid concession status or valid Student ID with Student Pass sticker, and those in the receipt of various state and commonwealth pensions with acceptable proof of that status.
Some additional fare classes exist within the system and include:

Fare type	Details
Dayrider	valid for all zones, all day (Only for purchase and use after 9am)
Seniors SmartRider	Available for seniors, valid for free travel on Sundays / Public Holidays or at Senior's week. ''(replaced by Senior SmartRider)''
Student Multirider	Available for primary and secondary school students only. ''(replaced by Student SmartRider)''

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 the Switzerland-based company Ascom. The same rotary units in place on buses were replaced with technology supplied by the UK-based company 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.

Improvements

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 Station.
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 being able to pay using either notes or Electronic funds transfer from a cheque or savings account using a Debit card.

TravelEasy

TravelEasy sends customers an email notification when there are disuptions 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.

Operators

Bus

★ Path Transit

★ Swan Transit

★ Southern Coast Transit

Train

★ Transperth Trains

Ferry

★ Captain Cook Cruises

Call Centre

★ Serco Australia

See also

★ List of Perth railway stations

★ List of Perth bus stations

★ List of Perth bus routes

★ Transwa - also run by the Public Transport Authority, controls public transport in Western Australia, outside Perth.

★ New MetroRail - in charge of doubling Transperth's rail network.

★ TransGoldfields

★ Western Australian Government Railways

External links

★ The Public Transport Authority's website

★ Transperth website

★ Transwa website

★ New MetroRail