Buses in Perth


Buses in Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, are run under the Transperth brand. The system is owned and managed by the Public Transport Authority and operations are contracted out to private operators: Swan Transit, Path Transit and Transdev.
The Transperth system has 38 bus stations, 30 of which are integrated with train stations. With 82,273,790 boardings in the year to June 2024, it is the fourth busiest bus system in Australia, after Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

History

The first private bus operator began in Perth in 1903. In order to protect the railways, the state government passed the Transport Co-ordination Act in 1934, forcing road transport operators to obtain a licence to transport passengers or goods. The licencing board generally permitted bus operators to continue operating, but with restrictions on when the buses could operate to reduce competition with trains. This act remained in force until 1959. The first commercially successful bus companies were set up by returning soldiers following World War I. Trolleybuses were introduced in 1933 as a supplement to the existing Perth tram network.
Investment in buses fell during and after World War II, leading the buses to become run-down. Car ownership became more common as well, and these factors caused bus patronage to fall following 1950.
In 1957, the Parliament of Western Australia passed the Metropolitan Passenger Transport Trust Act. The act was assented on 10 December that year and on 15 January 1958, the Metropolitan Passenger Transport Trust was formed under the trading name Metropolitan Transport Trust, or MTT for short. The act called for the MTT "to provide, maintain, protect and manage … efficient passenger transport facilities."
The MTT commenced operations on 31 August 1958. The first two private operators the MTT acquired were Metro Buses and Beam Transport. Later in 1958, Carlisle Bus Service, Kalamunda Bus Service and United Buses were acquired. In early 1959, Emu Buses was acquired. No further acquisitions were in the 1959–60 financial year, but negotiations commenced for the acquisition of the WA Government Tramways and Ferries, the Fremantle Municipal Transport Board, the Riverton Bus Service, and the Coogee-Spearwood Bus Company. Concession fares for pensioners and ex-service people were introduced. The following financial year, the MTT acquired the aforementioned agencies and companies. By this point, the MTT owned 26 different engine models which resulted in high maintenance and repair costs, so the MTT adopted a fleet standardisation policy.
The MTT acquired the North Beach Bus Company in October 1961 and in April 1962, it acquired the Scarborough Bus Service. The MTT took over the operation of the Perth to Wanneroo bus service from Metro Tours in June 1964. Bus-ferry transfers were introduced in 1964–65, which allowed transfers between the two modes with no additional cost to the passenger. This resulted in an increase in patronage on the ferry services from the Barrack Street Jetty to the Mends Street Jetty in South Perth. Diesel buses started to take over the trolleybus routes as well that financial year. On 30 August 1969, the last trolleybuses ran, making Perth the last city in Australia where trolleybuses operated.
In 1972–73, the first bus stations opened in Perth. A bus station in Morley opened in August 1972 and Wellington Street bus station opened in March 1973. These bus stations were part of a plan to build a ring of bus stations in suburban locations around Perth near shopping centres, operate feeder buses to the bus stations, where passengers could then transfer to mainline buses to the Perth central business district. Express buses would also operate between suburban bus stations and the Perth CBD during peak periods. More of these bus stations would open over the following years, including Karrinyup in September 1974, Rockingham in November 1974, Kwinana in 1975–76, Booragoon in September 1976, Innaloo in January 1977, and Mirrabooka in September 1979. In June 1980, Kelmscott railway station was redeveloped to incorporate a bus station on the railway platform for convenient transfers. Rockingham bus station was relocated to a new site in May 1981, Warwick bus station opened in March 1982, and Kalamunda bus station opened in September 1982.
In September 1973, the MTT introduced the City Clipper services, which were free bus routes which ran within the Perth CBD and are predecessors to the Perth Central Area Transit routes.
In 1974, the MTT assumed control of Perth's suburban rail services, making all public transport in Perth under the control of one organisation for the first time. A common fare system between the trains and the buses was introduced for the first time that year. The new fare system meant many patrons got cheaper travel, in particular those who travelled long distances, and it reduced operating costs and helped to speed up services. Free return journeys within two hours were also facilitated by the new system. Smoking was banned on all MTT buses in May 1975, making the MTT Australia's first public transport operator to do so.
The MTT adopted Transperth as its trading name on 31 August 1986.
File:Canning Bridge - bus lane from south.jpg|thumb|right|Kwinana Freeway bus on ramp at Canning Bridge railway station. The station was initially a bus station before being converted to a railway station when the Mandurah line was constructed.|alt=Curved concrete bus bridge over and down into a freeway
Construction on the Perth City Busport began in July 1988. As part of the busport, a busway was constructed down the median of the Kwinana Freeway between the busport and Canning Bridge. The busway opened in November 1989. The Perth City Busport officially opened in November 1991. The Kwinana Freeway busway was extended by to Mount Henry Bridge in 1991 as well.
The Northern Suburbs Transit System fully opened in March 1993 as the Joondalup line. Bus routes in the northern suburbs were reorganised so that they fed into the Joondalup line. In June 1994, the new Morley bus station opened.

Privatisation

In 1993, planning and coordination of public transport was transferred from the MTT to the Department of Transport, whilst the operation of the system remained with the MTT. In September 1993, Transport Minister Eric Charlton announced plans to privatise the operation of Transperth bus services, following a recommendation given by a report written by the Commission to Review Public Sector Finances. The MTT would be corporatized and compete with the private sector to win contracts for the operation of Transperth services. This was planned to reduce the cost of operating the system whilst retaining the existing level of service. The system would remain an integrated system under the Transperth brand and the government would retain control of route planning, timetabling and fares as well as own all buses and infrastructure for the time being. The bus system was divided into 15 contract areas, with nine of these being put to tender in 1995 and 1996.
The MTT was renamed MetroBus in February 1995 as part of its corporatization, and in July 1995, MetroBus was named the preferred tenderer for the operation of buses in the Joondalup North and Armadale South contract areas. The contract for those areas was signed in November 1995, with a length of five years. Swan Transit became the first private operator, being awarded a seven-year contract to operate buses in the Midland contract area in January 1996. Further contracts were awarded in September 1996, with Southern Coast Transit becoming the operator for the Rockingham contract area, Swan Transit becoming the operator for the Southern River and Canning contract areas, and Path Transit becoming the operator for the Marmion and Wanneroo contract areas.
OperatorContract areaDateTerm
MetroBusArmadale South5 years
MetroBusJoondalup North5 years
Swan TransitMidland7 years
MetroBusCAT3 years
Southern Coast TransitRockingham7 years
Swan TransitSouthern River6 years
Swan TransitCanning6 years
Path TransitMarmion7 years
Path TransitWanneroo7 years

The transport minister announced in October 1997 plans to tender out the operation of the remaining contract areas by July 1998. The Joondalup North, Armadale South and Kalamunda contract areas had a restricted tender process where they were offered only to the three existing Transperth private sector operators. The Joondalup North contract area was awarded to Path Transit and the Armadale South and Kalamunda contract areas were awarded to Swan Transit by December 1997. The remaining contract areas had a public tender process and all contracts areas were planned to be privately operated by July 1998. Southern Coast Transit was awarded the contracts for Fremantle, Cockburn and the CAT system; Connex WA was awarded the contracts for the Belmont and Claremont contract areas, and Path Transit was awarded the contract for the Morley contract area. These contracts commenced in July 1998, and so MetroBus no longer operated buses as of that month.
The bus contracting model used in Perth has since been used in Singapore.
Curtin University bus station opened on 17 November 1999, built at a cost of $1.5 million and jointly funded by Curtin University and the state government.

21st century

Connex WA was purchased by Swan Transit in 2002, leaving the Transperth bus system with three operators.
The Public Transport Authority was formed on 1 July 2003, taking over from the Department of Transport as the owner and manager of the Transperth system.
File:Transperth Volvo B7RLE TP2459 @ Murdoch Station.jpg|thumb|right|Bus interchange at Murdoch railway station on the Mandurah line|alt=Bus road on bridge over freeway
The Mandurah line opened on 23 December 2007, which resulting in a radical redrawing of bus routes in the southern suburbs so that they feed into the Mandurah line stations, which all had bus interchanges.
As part of the Perth City Link project, Wellington Street bus station was closed on 27 January 2014 and replaced by the temporary Roe Street bus station so that the underground Perth Busport could be constructed in the Wellington Street bus station's place. Perth Busport began operations on 17 July 2016, replacing Roe Street bus station. The busport cost $217 million and features dynamic stand allocation to increase capacity.
Perth Stadium bus station opened at the start of 2018. It was built to serve Perth Stadium and services only operate during stadium events. Curtin Central bus station, at Curtin University, opened on 17 February 2019 to supplement Curtin University bus station and service a new transit-oriented development. On 3 November 2019, Henley Brook bus station opened and Ellenbrook transfer station closed. On the 9th of December 2024, the Henley Brook Bus Station was closed, and any bus routes that went to the Henley Brook Bus Station were relocated to either Whiteman Park or Ellenbrook, which are both train stations on the new Ellenbrook Line. More minor bus route changes also occurred on the 9th.