Regional Town Bus Services
The PTA manages bus services in 14 regional towns in country WA. Seven of the towns have an intra-town bus service, while all 14 have a town school bus service. In addition, the PTA provides five inter-town regional services, four servicing the Pilbara area and one in the Goldfields.
Objectives and Outcomes
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OBJECTIVE |
OUTCOME |
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Conduct field visits and audit all contractors’ performance and passenger boardings. |
A standardised reporting format was introduced to maintain passenger and occupational safety records. Service audits of contractors were carried out in Bunbury, Busselton, Esperance, Karratha and Port Hedland. |
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Continue with a programmed approach to reviewing regional bus services. |
Service levels were improved in regional towns where new suburbs have resulted in an increase in residents. Service reviews were undertaken in Albany, greater Bunbury, Busselton, Esperance, Geraldton and Karratha. |
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Develop solutions for regional transport problems in consultation with local communities. |
The PTA purchased the Geraldton bus depot from the operator and refurbished it to a high standard. Following the purchase of the depot, 18 ex-Transperth buses were moved on-site. New bus stops were installed, complete with GPS co-ordinates to allow for the introduction of the SmartRider ticketing system in December 2008. |
The year’s developments
The regional bus replacement program began in 2007/08 and, under the four-year program, 41 newer buses will progressively be transferred from the Transperth fleet to regional town operators. This will include sufficient low-floor (accessible) and air conditioned buses to operate the timetabled town bus services. This program will ensure that the regional bus fleet meets Federal disability access standards, will reduce the average age of the regional fleet to around 12 years, and improve the standard and comfort of the regional bus services. Currently there are 22 ex-Transperth low-floor accessible buses operating in regional areas.
Service review highlights during the year included:
- Albany: Due to an increase in the number of students, a review of the public school bus service was conducted, and resulted in the re-design of some routes, revised trip timings and an additional bus to better meet community needs.
- Bunbury: The service review carried out in 2007/08 focussed on linking new subdivisions in the greater Bunbury area into the town and school integrated transport system. A follow-up review was conducted and minor adjustments were made in 2008/09.
- Geraldton: A review of the town bus services to ensure equity in relation to the payment of fares, and to examine patronage performance, resulted in one route being cancelled and a new route being created to cater to a greater demand area.
- Port Hedland: A review of school services revealed that some service changes were required to cater for 45 students who were not offered transport to and from school.
During the year, a number of service audits were carried out on the PTA’s regional town bus service contractors in Bunbury, Busselton, Esperance, Karratha and Port Hedland. The audits involved checking route effectiveness, operational record-keeping, patronage statistics and occupational safety records.
Responsibility for the Kalgoorlie public bus service was transferred from the (defunct) Eastern Goldfields Transport Board to the PTA on 29 July 2008.
Cost of the service
The cost of operating regional bus services in 2008/09 was $14.3 million, an increase of 9.2 per cent from $13.1 million in 2007/08. For intra-town services, the cost rose by 8.8 per cent from $12.5 million to $13.6 million, while the cost of inter-town services increased by 16.4 per cent from $0.603 million to $0.702 million.
Patronage
Total boardings on regional bus services increased 3.6 per cent from 2.281 million in 2007/08 to 2.363 million, while fare-paying boardings increased 4.2 per cent to 2.090 million from 2.005 million.
On intra-town services, total boardings showed an increase of 3.5 per cent to 2.355 million, while fare-paying boardings rose 4.1 per cent to 2.082 million. Both of these figures represent seven-year highs. On inter-town services, both total and fare-paying boardings increased by 40.1 per cent, due mainly to the additional patronage generated by the expansion of the Karratha, Dampier, Roebourne, Wickham and Point Sampson service from two to four days a week on a trial basis.
Passenger consultation
Customer surveys were carried out in several regional towns to identify whether service changes were required. The use of such a survey was instrumental in identifying the need for an extended service in the Karratha, Dampier, Wickham, Roebourne, Point Samson, Port Hedland, Albany and Esperance areas.
Planned major initiatives for 2009/10
- Reviewing the operational efficiency of major service enhancements introduced during 2008/09
- Installation of the SmartRider ticketing system in Busselton
- Installation of all GPS bus stops in Albany, Busselton, the greater Bunbury area and Kalgoorlie for the accurate recording of data into the Transperth Route Information System (TRIS)
- Continuation of the scheduled bus replacement program, with buses transferred to regional centres to improve the standard and comfort of regional services
Major service reviews scheduled for 2009/10 include:
- Kalgoorlie: Reviewing all the town and school services to assess and improve operational efficiency, and installing GPS references of all bus stops and shelters for the accurate recording of data into TRIS.
- Geraldton: Evaluating the transport needs of new sub divisions.
- Karratha: Reviewing the operational efficiency of existing student services and examining the transport requirements of new sub divisions in the town.