This has been a milestone
year for the Public Transport
Authority, with Transperth
achieving 100 million boardings
across its bus, train and ferry
services for the first time.
The overall metropolitan
passenger growth rate slowed
to 2.4% compared with
3.7% last year, largely due to
disruptions to bus services in
the central and southern areas
of Perth for most of the year
through work on the Southern
Suburbs Railway. This point is demonstrated by the
disparity between the growth of 4.8% for trains
and only 1.1% for buses.
Nonetheless, most of our
customers have chosen to ride out this difficult
period and we look forward to their contribution
to robust growth across all services in the future,
in particular supporting our new Southern Suburbs
Railway which will provide a truly competitive
option to car travel.
The growth of our business is being underpinned by four key factors:
- strong government investment in public transport infrastructure
- continuing high petrol prices
- accelerated housing and commercial development in public transport corridors fuelled partially by the economic boom
- a growing acceptance that climate change is man-made and that there is a clear need to reduce our impact on the environment
In these circumstances, people are realising that public transport is not just for those who have no choice, but is a critical part of our future as a society.
The economic boom has sparked rapid development in the central city area, where construction has not kept up with demand for office and retail space. Over the next five to six years, the number of people working in the central city is expected to increase by a further 20,000 to 30,000, placing enormous pressure on the road system and parking facilities. Without doubt, bus and train services will be the major means by which these pressures are overcome. I am confident the PTA can rise to the challenge and stay ahead of demand for transport services.
This year, we took a big step towards meeting
this growing demand by ordering another 15
three-car train sets,
to be delivered over two
and a half years from late 2008. This order is in
addition to the new rollingstock purchased for
the Southern Suburbs Railway. The new B-Series
trains are quieter, offer improved acceleration
and comfort, have a practical see-through design
and feature regenerative breaking for improved
energy efficiency. We are also expecting delivery
of another 306 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG)
buses,
with Euro 4 environmental rating, over
the next four years. Specialised CNG “fast fill”
refuelling facilities are being set up at the PTA’s
Transperth bus depots across the metropolitan
area to support the expanded bus fleet.
There seems to have been a general acceptance over the past 12 months, not least by the Federal Government, that climate change is man-made. This follows the release of many high-level studies on the issue. During the same period, support in Perth for the Southern Suburbs Railway has skyrocketed to 92%. It is notable that this figure reflects responses from people across the city, not just in those areas where there will be a direct transport benefit from the railway. People want rail and public transport in general to help safeguard the future. I believe climate change, combined with ever-increasing petrol prices, is playing a major role in encouraging people to question the viability of their cars for commuting to work and changing the way they think about public transport.
The development of Perth around major public transport corridors is another factor driving increasing passenger numbers. Development in the southern corridor in particular has accelerated dramatically since work on the railway commenced. The PTA is participating in this process by planning for transit oriented developments around key railway stations such as Murdoch, Cockburn and Wellard. These higher density mixed-use developments will ensure the stations become destination stations, not just origin stations. People will travel to them for employment, shopping and other activities.
I’m sure people are frustrated by delays in completion of the Southern Suburbs Railway. At this time, all the major construction work is already finished, including the 1.3km long tunnel under the central city area, but there have been some unavoidable hold-ups with control systems and signalling. This is the biggest, most complex civil construction project ever undertaken in Western Australia. There is always a risk of delays in a project of this magnitude, particularly during a boom when the construction industry is under enormous pressure and demands for skilled labour are extremely strong. However, the project remains under tight budgetary control. When it is finished during the 2007/08 financial year, Perth will have 180km of dual track electrified rail with a fully integrated feeder bus service that will contribute to sustainable development and meet the requirements of growth in the southern suburbs. With support for the railway growing, we are confident it will be an unqualified success and will increase our daily Transperth train patronage to about 160,000 boardings.
In planning to operate the Mandurah Line, the PTA has recruited more than 200 people during the year, increasing our workforce by 17% to 1,236 full-time equivalent staff. Many of the new employees are railcar drivers or transit officers. This successful recruitment drive has positioned us for a smooth transition to include the new Perth to Mandurah service into the Transperth system.
Transperth passengers have been very quick to
embrace our exciting new SmartRider
smartcard-based
ticketing system since its full implementation
across the public transport network in March
2007. After just three months, SmartRider already
accounted for 55% of Transperth’s boardings.
This compares with only a 50% share for the old
MultiRider discounted travel system after it had
been in operation for many years. I am hopeful
the SmartRider system will reach 75% coverage
of train, bus and ferry journeys over the next few
years.
The PTA and the West Australian Football Commission (WAFC) took a big step towards easing traffic and parking problems on Australian Football League match days at Subiaco, by introducing a joint ticketing arrangement for the 2007 season and beyond.
The WAFC makes a contribution towards covering the cost of the many extra public transport services provided for the football and, in return, football patrons travel to and from matches with public transport provided for in their membership cost. Joint ticketing has been operating for some time for Western Force rugby matches at Subiaco and special events at Burswood. Keen support from patrons ensures this practical arrangement is here to stay.
I am pleased to report that our customer satisfaction level remains high at 83% across all Transperth services, a slight improvement on last year. This is particularly pleasing because the increase was from a high level and there was considerable disruption to bus services because of works on the Southern Suburbs Railway during the year.
A strong organisation such as the PTA is only ever as good as its people. Once again our staff have excelled in a year of solid achievement for the organisation. We continue to value the views of our people, as shown in a raft of initiatives developed in response to last year’s organisation-wide opinion poll. The initiatives cover issues such as improved selection procedures, teamwork, training, involvement in decision-making and balance between work and life commitments. Together, we can look forward to another fruitful year in 2007/08, in which major events will include:
- commencement of services on the Southern Suburbs Railway
- roll-out of the Southern Corridor Bus Network to complement the new rail service
- introduction of the Rockingham City Centre Transit System
- delivery of 65 new compressed natural gas buses
- a new customer information system on train stations
- new train stations at Victoria Park and Kelmscott
The management and future planning of public transport in Western Australia is a critical function to our State’s sustainable future. As more questions and challenges emerge on future world energy sources, climate change and the detrimental health and economic affects of traffic congestion, public transport is placed to play a greater role in connecting our community.
Reece Waldock
Chief Executive Officer