There will be no change to arrangements for community events like Skyshow and the Christmas Pageant under the Public Transport Authority’s stance on the provision of services for special events.

PTA CEO Reece Waldock said today that people travelling to the city to attend these events will still pay their normal fare while the bulk of the cost of the big number of extra buses and trains – given that public transport is about 70-75 per cent subsidised – will continue to be met by the taxpayer (through the PTA).

Nor will there be any change to arrangements for joint-ticketed events (where travel is included in the ticket cost) like the football or the Britney Spears concert, or WACA cricket and the Johnny Walker Golf Classic, which pay a fee to have extra pay-as-you-use services.

“Most promoters and venues – including the AFL, soccer, rugby, Burswood and Members Equity – already have joint-ticketing or flat-fee deals,” Mr Waldock said.

“It need not even alter the price of a ticket and when it does, it’s negligible … we’re talking about $1-$1.50 on tickets which cost up to $150 each.

“We are simply trying to make it fair – fair for the concert-goers, some of whom pay their train fares while others don’t; fair for the promoters, most of whom already contribute to the cost of public transport while a few refuse; and fair for WA taxpayers, whose money is better spent on more and better timetabled services.

“If the number of people going to and from an event on public transport is reasonably modest, our normal services are sufficient – depending on the day and time – but in recent years, events coming to Perth have increased in size (as well as number), requiring extra, event-specific services, for which we are not funded.

“What we are talking about is providing enough of those extra services to meet the extra demand.”

Mr Waldock said that, after being forced to fund extra public transport from the same finite operating budget that provides normal timetabled services, the PTA began to seek a contribution from promoters about 10 years ago.

Most now contributed to the cost of extra public transport, even including charity events such as the City to Surf and the Freeway Bike Hike.

“Responsible event organisers and venues recognise the value of public transport and treat is as a standard running cost along with electricity, security services, booking services, toilets etc,” he said.

“Responsible event organisers enter into service-provision agreements with us to make it easier – and safer – for their patrons, many of whom may be under driving age, to get to and from the event.

“Unfortunately, a few entrepreneurs seem determined to maximise their returns at the expense of passenger safety and still refuse to enter into any agreement with us – they believe it is the responsibility of the State’s taxpayers to support their commercial event.

“We have an obligation to ensure that the taxpayers of WA get reasonable value for their substantial investment in public transport, so we are getting tougher.

“No longer will we be held to ransom by event organisers who put profit before passenger safety – and we are looking for the support of local government.

“To this end, we recently contacted 24 councils, seeking to establish MoUs (memorandums of understanding) under which council can require promoters to have an approved transport plan – just as they must have emergency evacuation plans, and an appropriate number of toilets and so on.

“Hopefully, this will help settle the matter.”

PTA media contact 
Telephone: (08) 9326 2526 
Mobile: 0438 919 548
Email: media@pta.wa.gov.au

Transperth’s commitment to passenger safety and security continues to pay off with survey figures showing that virtually all bus and train passengers say they feel safe on the system during the day.

Despite extensive media coverage of a number of violent incidents – especially on the bus system – earlier this year, 98 per cent of both bus and train patrons said they felt safe on board and 97 per cent said they felt safe at the stop or station during the day, figures which are at or near the highest levels they have been at any time in the 19 years that survey records have been kept.

The night-time figures are not as high – 82 per cent of bus passengers and 76 per cent of train passengers reported that they felt safe on board at night, while 68 per cent (bus) and 66 per cent (train) felt safe at the station or interchange.

The night safety perceptions are down slightly from 2008 on the rail system, but significantly higher on the bus system.  By comparison, all the figures are higher than the percentage of bus passengers (56 per cent) and train passengers (63 per cent) who said they felt safe walking the streets of Perth at night.

The figures were collated earlier this year in Transperth’s annual Passenger Satisfaction Monitor (PSM), a survey of more than 4000 public transport users, by an independent researcher.

At a time when Transperth’s annual total boardings reached a record 128 million, the PSM also shows that overall passenger satisfaction with Perth’s bus, train and ferry services continued at or near record highs.

“Of our train passengers, 89 per cent are satisfied with the system, compared with 84 per cent on the buses and an outstanding 96 per cent on the ferries,” said Public Transport Authority CEO Reece Waldock.

“The high safety rating is particularly pleasing and reflects the impact of our transit officers, revenue protection officers, monitored CCTV surveillance system, high-quality lighting, and emergency call buttons and secure parking at stations and interchanges,” he said.

“SmartRider – still the only fully operational electronic ticketing system in Australia – has also enhanced our safety and security, which is an area in which we have made a significant investment.”

Mr Waldock said several other important findings came out of the survey.

“Though the most important characteristics differ among bus, train and ferry travellers, the cost of the fare is the highest-ranked common denominator,” he said.

“Among bus passengers, 65 per cent rated punctuality as the most important characteristic – and we scored an 83 per cent satisfaction rating.

“Second was the number of buses – 64 per cent, with 69 per cent satisfaction – then cost of fare (61/66 per cent). Safety on board and at the interchange came in at sixth and seventh most important consideration.

“On rail, safety on board was cited as the most important factor by 72 per cent of respondents.  Cost was next (68/66 per cent), then safety at the station (67 per cent).  Punctuality (fourth) and availability of seats (seventh) were further down the list.

“On the ferry, cost of fare is the main consideration (77 per cent, with 84 per cent satisfaction), followed by cleanliness of the vessel (76/100 per cent) and shelter at the jetty (65/79 per cent).”

The State Government is assisting in the redevelopment of the Geraldton foreshore by making available almost a hectare of prime waterfront land near the town’s CBD.

Transport Minister Simon O’Brien said today that the 8,575sqm site overlooked Champion Bay and was in a prime location between the foreshore and the city centre.

“The block was part of a total 1.45ha parcel of railway land which is now surplus to the Public Transport Authority (PTA)’s requirements,” Mr O’Brien said.

“It is bounded by Marine Terrace and Foreshore Drive, and extra public open space has already been allocated at each end - fronting Durlacher Street to the south and Forrest Street to the north.

“The project is the outcome of extensive collaboration between the PTA - which has invested more than $1million in a development process which has run over several years - the City of Geraldton-Greenough and the Mid-West Development Commission.”

Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney said the land’s marina zoning permitted intense development and allowed a mix of commercial, retail and residential.

“We are looking for a high-quality mixed-use development which will play an important role in shaping the future city centre,” Mr Blayney said.

The land is being offered for sale by tender.  Tenders close at 2pm on Wednesday, December 2 at the Perth office of Colliers International.  The successful tenderer will be required to demonstrate its financial capacity and development experience and profile.

“Development of the site must begin within three years or the city will be given the option of buying the land,” Mr Blayney said.

“The city will also have control over the style and quality of the proposed development through the City Centre Design Guidelines and Durlacher Precinct Design Guide.

“The rest of the land - the two ‘bookend’ blocks known as Weibbe Hayes Park (Lot 600, on Durlacher Street) and Edith Cowan Square (Lot 602, Forrest Street) - is being vested in the Crown as public open space and will be developed and managed by the city.

“The PTA facilitated the landscaping design and a Crime Prevention through Environmental Design appraisal.”

Further information about the land and tender arrangements is available from Colliers’ Ian Mickle on 9261 6628  or ian.mickle@colliers.com.

The Liberal-National Government is delivering on its $49.5million State Budget commitment to add another 3,000 parking spaces at train stations on the Mandurah and Joondalup lines, with work to increase the number of parking spaces at Greenwood and Whitfords stations starting this week.

Transport Minister Simon O’Brien said that common sense infrastructure projects such as additional parking at train stations had tremendous flow on effects.

“They give a greater number of people access to the public transport network, many of who might otherwise have driven all the way to work, adding to traffic congestion,” Mr O’Brien said.

The Minister said that construction would be undertaken at both stations at the same time.

“The new bays - approximately 170 at Greenwood and 200 at Whitfords - will be completed in the first half of next year,” he said.

“At both sites, the extra bays will be built in new areas, minimising the disruption to existing patrons.

“The designs include an underpass link to the existing car park, lighting and 24-hour CCTV.”

Plans for the Whitfords Stage 3 expansion, west of Mitchell Freeway, have been withdrawn following environmental assessments and community consultation.

Kingsley MLA Andrea Mitchell said she was pleased that the concerns of local residents had been heard as part of the community consultation process.

“The community consultation process was put in place to ensure that a balance was met between the needs of the local residents and the wider community surrounding the stations,” Ms Mitchell said.