950 a run-away success

The introduction of the new route 950 or Superbus has been a runaway success, with more than 17,000 people using the route on an average business day.

Transperth spokesman David Hynes said the 950 runs between Morley and Perth and then on to QEII and UWA.

“We introduced this route in January after a period of extensive consultation with the community. It is now the most frequent bus route in Perth,” he said.

“When we launched the bus we expected about 15,000 people to use it each day. Our data shows the route is being used by 17,000 people a day – a staggering 2000 more than we expected.

“The route has been so popular we have already started to add more buses to keep up with demand.”

The 950, also known as the Superbus replaced routes 21 and 22 from Morley to Perth and the 78 and 79 from Perth to Nedlands.

“Overall boardings on the 950 are up 24 per cent on the number of passengers using the same four routes this time last year, Mr Hynes said.

Sunday boardings are up 49 per cent.

Mr Hynes said providing a reliable bus service wasn’t just about putting more buses on the road, but also about developing bus priority infrastructure.

“We are still working toward a number of bus priority modifications including road treatments and traffic signal changes so that we can hopefully make our services even more reliable,” he said.

He said the introduction of the 950 was part of the PTA’s strategic vision for public transport in the north-eastern corridor.

“The corridor from Morley Bus Station to Shenton Park Station is identified as a key bus rapid transit corridor in the Public Transport Plan 2031. The 950 covers a large portion of that route.”