Savings up to $560 a year for families thanks to free public transport measure: WA government

Free bus and train services on Sundays and for children making their way to and from school will become permanent after a trial saw a ‘significant jump’ in the number of people using public transport, the state government says.

The measure, set to cost $70 million in the state budget, was announced by Premier Roger Cook on Sunday.

“Our incredibly popular free Sunday transport program will continue for another year,” he said.

“Since we announced free travel on a Sunday, more than eight million Western Australians have taken the opportunity to get on our world-class public transport system.”

Cook said the free travel program for students to and from school would also become a permanent measure ahead of term two, starting this week.

“This means an annual saving for a family with two school-aged children will be locked in at around about $560 a year.”

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the demand for the service was clear, with public transport boardings last month reaching 15.7 million - more than 14 per cent than same time last year.

“We’ve [also] seen a significant jump in the number of people using our bus and trains services to get to school. We can see more than ever people are jumping on public transport,” she said.

Cook batted away questions about the cost of the measure, and said the state government could afford to underwrite travel for West Australians due to the “responsible financial management” of his cabinet.

The move is part of a broader plan by the state government to move West Australians off major roads, in a bid to both conserve petrol and ease congestion.

The state government has already previously introduced measures to encourage public transport use, including building it in to event tickets held in the city, and lowering the Smartrider maximum fare to $2.80 across all zones. Machines also now allow travellers to tap on with their smartphone.

The announcement also came at the same time the Premier again reflected on the uncertain situation in the Middle East and its impact on fuel prices worldwide.

“It’s a fast-moving situation. We’re buoyed by the prospect that the Strait of Hormuz was open yesterday - [but] today, they say they’re closed. Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow?,” Cook said.

He said while establishing a small stockpile of fuel at Wyndham port in the state’s north went a way to reducing the impact of any future stocks, the government was also having other conversations to shore up its fuel supply in the future.

“We are having conversations with third-party suppliers and third-party reserves … and we’re certainly looking to see what we can get towards the south of the state, so that we can get that fuel into the southern Wheatbelt.”