Who are we?
The Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA), which was formed on 1 July 2003, is responsible for the operation of all bus, train and ferry public transport services in the greater metropolitan area under the Transperth brand. View image It also operates public transport services in regional centres, operates road coach and rail passenger services to regional areas under the Transwa brand, View image and administers and manages school bus services.
In addition to these transport services, the PTA is responsible for designing, building and maintaining public transport infrastructure, and for protecting the long-term viability of Western Australia’s freight rail corridor and infrastructure.
The PTA delivers public transport services seven days a week and in some cases up to 24 hours a day.
As at 30 June 2008, the PTA had 1351 employees spread across the metropolitan area, from Nowergup in the north to Mandurah in the south and Midland in the east, as well as in major regional centres such as Albany, Bunbury, Esperance, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie.
The PTA’s purpose
To increase the use of public transport through the provision of customer-focussed, safe and cost-effective passenger transport services.
The PTA’s aim
To make public transport an attractive and sustainable choice for connecting people and places.
The PTA’s values
The people of the PTA:
- Value and respect customers, suppliers and each other.
- Are committed to safety.
- Encourage each other to reach their full potential.
- Are honest and exhibit high levels of integrity, openness and ethical behaviour.
- Recognise and reward achievement, initiative and innovation.
- Strive for continuous improvement in everything they do.
- Are environmentally responsible.
Fulfilling the Government’s vision for Western Australia
The PTA is required to demonstrate in its annual report that it contributes to the State Government’s vision for Western Australia: “The best opportunities for current and future generations.” The vision is set out in the September 2006 document Better Planning: Better Futures, which establishes strategic outcome goals under the five headings:
- Better Services
- Jobs and Economic Development
- Lifestyle and the Environment
- Regional Development
- Governance and Public Sector Improvement
In this report, the PTA fulfils this reporting obligation by identifying the relevant strategic outcomes and the contribution the PTA has made to them in 2007/08 through:
- Operational reports which show the effectiveness and efficiency of the PTA’s transport services.
- Compliance reports.
- Audited key performance indicators report.
- Audited financial report.
Measuring effectiveness and efficiency
To make its contribution to the Government’s vision for Western Australia, the PTA has targeted two outcomes:
- An accessible, reliable and safe public transport system.
- Protection of the long-term functionality of the railway corridor and railway infrastructure.
The PTA’s indicators of success in achieving the first of these outcomes are based on patronage and service provision, accessibility, reliability, customer satisfaction, safety and cost-efficiency. Its indicators of success in achieving the second of these outcomes are based on quality management of the railway corridor and residual issues of the rail freight network. Note that the rail freight network was leased to private sector operators in 2000.
Customer Service Charter
The PTA is a customer-service oriented organisation, responsible for the delivery of efficient and sustainable passenger transport services to the public. It operates under the following Customer Service Charter:
- The PTA is committed to providing a quality passenger transport service to the public.
- Our bus, train and ferry staff and contractors are focussed on delivering safe and reliable services.
- Our staff and contractors will treat customers in a respectful and professional manner.
- Our buses, trains, ferries and facilities will be clean and well presented.
- Current information about all PTA services will be available from customer service staff, brochures, timetables, our call centres and our website.
- The PTA will plan and review passenger transport services in consultation with the community to get the best results.
- The PTA will plan and provide transport systems that respect the environment and improve sustainability.
- To help us improve our services we value your feedback on our PTA CommentLine, 13 16 08, or via our websites, www.pta.wa.gov.au or www.transperth.wa.gov.au for specific Transperth business.
PTA achievements
The PTA’s major achievements in 2007/08 were:
- Public transport boardings on the urban system (Transperth) continued to record excellent growth – total boardings increased by 7.8 per cent to 108.794 million, while fare-paying boardings increased by 10.1 per cent to 68.231 million.
- Transwa services to regional areas were maintained despite major track works being undertaken, which affected patronage and passenger place kilometres. However 88 per cent of passengers were either satisfied or very satisfied with the service they received.
- The completion of the New MetroRail (NMR) project, with the official opening of the Mandurah Line on 23 December 2007. View image
- The introduction of a comprehensive bus feeder network across Perth’s southern suburbs (to coincide with the opening of the Mandurah Line), with 62 new services including some into previously unserviced areas of the southern corridor.
- The $16.3 million Rockingham City Centre Transit System (RCCTS) View image was opened on 24 December 2007, providing a dedicated bus transit way between Rockingham Station and the Rockingham City Centre.
- The completion of the SmartRider View image ticketing project, covering all Transperth services, at an overall cost of $33.3 million.
- The opening of the two new underground stations in the CBD – Perth Underground View image and Esplanade View image – following the successful completion of the major shutdown on 15 October 2007.
- Nil non-compliances and 12 observations (compared with three non-compliances and 27 observations in 2006/07) from the annual rail safety compliance audit by the Office of Rail Safety (ORS) in November 2007, with all observations closed out by 28 March 2008.
- The installation and successful operation of level-crossing infringement cameras at two crossings on the Armadale Line (Welshpool Road, Welshpool and Kelvin Road, Maddington), a project which is an important initiative in reducing the risk of collisions at level crossings.