Perth just capped its Public Transport fares, including the soon to be open Airport Link to a maximum of $4.90 full fare. It’s been made clear a number of times no surcharge would be introduced for the Airport Central station.
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Sydney’s is an interesting one - the NSW Government decided to cover the access fee at all Airport Link stations bar the two that service the airport, it then transpired that the majority of the access fee charged at both airport stations were paid to the government.
The justification offered by Professor Currie appears to be related to commercial circumstances
“Access to the airport is user pays. SkyBus is commercial.”
The fare cap is good news for people who live in outer suburbs of Perth. It will be interesting to see how long the cap lasts for.
What happens at Western Sydney Airport will be one to watch - I dont think they’ve clarified yet what the access charging regime will be yet. I imagine there will be a push to have some sort of access charge to maintain consistency with KSA
I really don’t understand why they are using the PCEC as a temporary bus station. Surely the you-beaut totally awesome new “Busport” could handle it. The whole shutdown is the definition of overkill in a traditionally quiet period pax wise.
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There’s no indication that it’s temporary, and considering we’re less than a year into WA Labor’s second term I think a future opposition government attempting to repeal it 3+ (and more likely 7+) years down the track is just not going to happen.
If they used the Busport it would needlessly increase CBD congestion as the buses would have to exit the freeway off Market Street and drive via Wellington St to get to Perth Busport, whereas there’s a bus only exit off the Freeway that goes directly to PCEC.
They don’t have a choice with the shutdown, it was either 3 weeks closing EQ - Aubin Grove during the quietest period of the year, or closing the line most nights of the week for 12 months to be able to connect the new rail link to the Mandurah Line.
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There are already a handful of bus routes traversing the busy stretch of William Street which connects Elizabeth Quay and Yagan Square with Perth Busport a short walk through Yagan Square from the central station and Forrest Place. As Squee mentioned, it would increase congestion in the Perth CBD if buses terminates at Perth Busport, especially during AM/PM peak, hence why the train replacement buses for the Armadale Line in 2016 went as far as Claisebrook Station which is a few stations away from the central station.
For this closure, there are variants of non-stop buses to/from Bull Creek, Murdoch, Cockburn Central and Aubin Grove Station operating, which is why Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre is used as a temporary bus station for the duration and to avoid overcrowding and congestion at Elizabeth Quay Bus Station as well.
I’ve always just taken the Sky Bus to the airport, which I find is reasonable value compared to other options. Driving means paying for parking, and taxis are very expensive at that distance, and both usually need to pay a toll depending on where you live.
Subsidising air transport for people isn’t an ideal use of public money, so I think it’s reasonable to be having it be user pays - going to fly is rarely an essential transport, compared to general commuting.
The problem as well is that attempting to make it a fast link would likely mean they won’t be able to slot in some additional stations along the route - at least one stop at Keilor East would help get some benefit out of it for a horribly underserved section of Melbourne. But making a line that basically can only be used to go to and from the airport is quite a poor public transport outcome for the wider public, so I think a levy is justified, as long as it’s not too high to be uncompetitive, especially given the quite indirect route.
All that said, given how much we throw away on excessive roads that get public money yet are tolled, it’s only fair the same happens to trains occasionally.
A second Volvo BZL Electric Bus for Transperth, that was at the launch event in Queensland a few months ago, has been sighted in Perth sitting at Trucks Centre Kewdale.
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I think the access charge to Western Sydney Airport will have to be lower due to the long distance between it and Sydney CBD, to entice travellers to use the airport.
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Rode on one of the new high capacity metro trains today - they really are a mixed bag.
Seating is extremely cramped - reminded me of a bus - with the ridiculously upright seating position and almost no leg room. I had to sit basically perfectly upright to not have my knees hitting the seat in front of me - and I certainly wouldn’t be wanting to sit on a seat with that little padding for any decent length journey.
Other stuff is good, there’s tonnes of things to grab on to - the screens are easy to see and read, with the best part being that there’s an indicator on the screen as to which side of the train the doors will open on. I’ve made that mistake on some trains before not realising which side was the exit one.
Still, I’d hate to have a long journey on one of these - as sitting would be just as uncomfortable as standing for the whole journey.
For me I’d rank them - Siemens, Xtrapolis, Comeng (especially the refurbed ones), HCMT.
Hopefully that’s just some early issues and that public feedback will result in seats that are nicer to sit on, though I doubt they can do much about the leg room problem.
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Victorian Department of Transport said this morning that there might be disruptions to services over “the next few weeks” with a large number of staff isolating, and advised passengers to allow for extra travel time. The number of people using public transport in the state is currently 29% of pre-COVID levels.
Yesterday (Monday), Transport NSW introduced a temporary public transport timetable with reduced frequencies on services except Sydney Harbour ferries, due to COVID-related staff shortages.
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The first Volvo BZL Electric Bus ever built has been wrapped in this new CAT livery.
Photo courtesy of Rita Saffioti, Transport Minister from its Facebook page.
And from today, the Mandurah Line has now resumed normal service as the works have now been completed.
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Eww… 
Yuck! 
Have they changed the horn from “honk” to “raw” to make it even more obvious and on the nose?
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After watching this, I have a unexplainable desire to catch a Sydney Bus
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I find it curious that State Transit, CityRail, etc. used to have their own ads - this is going back to no later than probably the mid '90s.
It wasn’t as an integrated service as it is these days
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Just needs subtitles.
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… one tenderer offering to set up a “micro-factory” to build the buses in the territory.
Unfortunately I suspect that would increase the price and so they’re more likely to be out-bid (because it’s always easier to compare pricing while ignoring less-tangible/other more difficult-to-measure benefits), but it would be great if it happens.
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