- Transperth saw multiple patronage records broken in January across bus, train and ferry services
- Highest January patronage overall in more than a decade
- Several cost of living initiatives encouraging people onto public transport
Patronage records have tumbled at Transperth as public transport continues to emerge as a more attractive way to travel.
During the month of January, there were almost 10.51 million total boardings recorded on Transperth trains, buses and ferries – the second highest figure ever recorded for the month behind only January 2013 at 10.59 million boardings.
January was the best month on record for bus and ferry services, with 5.9 million boardings on Transperth buses and 108,605 on ferries eclipsing the previous ferry boarding record set the month before in December 2023 with 105,067.
Perth’s train network didn’t miss out either, recording 4.503 million boardings – the best January figures since pre-COVID, including:
- Mandurah line 1.706 million boardings, best January on record
- Joondalup line 1.228 million boardings, best January total since pre-COVID
- Midland line 357,457 boardings, best January total since pre-COVID
- Fremantle line 475,511 boardings, best January total since pre-COVID.
Boardings on the Airport Line were also well up on last January’s 332,952 total with 411,560.
These record-breaking patronage numbers come off the back of several Cook Government initiatives that have been introduced in the past two years to bring some cost-of-living relief and make public transport more affordable for Perth families.
This includes:
- capping all fares at the cost of two zones in January 2022
- recent Free Summer of Public Transport, which made travel free for SmartRider users for five weeks
- free transport for SmartRider users every Sunday
- free travel to and from school for anyone with a student SmartRider.
As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
“Our Government is committed to addressing cost of living issues that we know are affecting many families across Perth. We know that travel is often a regular expense that can be hard to cut back on, especially when there is a need to get to work or the kids to school.
“That’s why our Government has introduced several cost-saving measures on our public transport system, making it a more enticing – and importantly a more affordable – option to help get people from A to B.
“What these record-breaking statistics show is that these measures are appreciated by Perth families and as such, we are seeing our public transport system in which we continue to invest heavily become increasingly well utilised”.
