Transperth’s Service Change Proposal for Beaufort St corridor, Morley and Embleton

Transperth is planning to introduce two new bus routes, the 950 and 348, to replace the 21, 22 78 and 79, and is inviting public comment. There is consultation at Morley Galleria, today and on Saturday.

Route 950 is to operate between Morley Bus Stn and QEII Medical Centre, via Beaufort St, Esplanade Busport, and the University of Western Australia (UWA).

It is to be the most frequent single bus route in Perth, with headways proposed to be every 3 to 4 minutes during weekday peak hour, 7-8 minutes during weekday off-peak/midday, and every 10 minutes during the day on weekends, with evening headways to vary between 15 and 30 minutes throughout the week. Services are proposed to start operating earlier, and finish later, with frequent services also provided for a longer part of the day. Additional services will operate between Esplanade Busport and UWA during peak hour, with headways to be as small as every 1 to 2 minutes.

Routes 67 and 68 (Perth to Mirrabooka), 23 (Perth to Claremont), 102 (Perth to Cottesloe) and 107 (Perth to Fremantle) will operate alongside the 950. The 950 will be operated primarily using low-floor accessible buses, although older high-floor buses will be used for some peak hour trips.

Since the 950 includes the whole routes of the 22, 78 and 79, these routes will be withdrawn.

The 21 will also be withdrawn, but the section of the route in Embleton will be replaced by the 348. The 348 will run from Morley Bus Stn to Bayswater via Embleton, following the 48. To access the CBD, passengers from Embleton must transfer either to the 950 at Morley (taking the 48, 341, 348 or 955), or a Midland Line train at Bayswater (taking the 48 and 348). A few stops on Lindley St and Priestly St, currently only served by the 21, will not be served by buses anymore, but alternative bus stops are available close by.

The 48 and 348 will be frequency co-ordinated, with buses every 20 minutes during weekday peak hour, half an hour on weekday middays and Saturdays, and every 60-90 minutes on Sundays.

MY THOUGHTS

It is encouraging to see routes like the 950 being introduced in Perth. The phenomenal frequency of this route is testament to the high demand for public transport in parts of Perth, and the appetite for even more service. Services will be simplified, as there will be one bus route available that is very frequent and operates early in the morning and late into the night.

Some passengers will have to transfer or walk further to access public transport that was previously very close, or destinations that previously could be accessed on one bus. Examples include Embleton passengers wishing to access Beaufort St or the CBD, or passengers bound for UWA or QEII Medical Centre arriving at Wellington St Bus Stn (in this case the option of a direct ride between Wellington St and UWA/QEII was taken away a while ago for CBD roadworks, but it appeared as if that ride would be restored after construction finished). However, this is balanced by the one seat ride between Morley/Beaufort St and UWA/QEII now possible thanks to through routing. Removing the 21 reduces the clutter of infrequent routes in Embleton, and in any case it is now easier to access Bayswater Stn. As an aside, I wonder if peak hour Midland Line services will be increased any time soon, as there may not be enough room on already crowded trains to accommodate more Embleton passengers in peak hour.

It is encouraging that the span of services is widening, with earlier and later services proposed for the 950. With Northbridge and Mt Lawley on the route, it 24 hour service might be considerable, although this probably won’t be implemented, since the 4am trains and Nightrider buses were cancelled in June. While the 348 doesn’t appear to be proposed to operate at night, but this is in line with current 21 services, and anyway the whole route of the 348 will get night services on the 48.

In line with routes that start with a 9 and end with a 0 (the 920 and 940), perhaps the 950 should be limited stop. The current 66 route will not be changed, and it is unclear what role the 66 would play, as the 950 would run far more frequently than the 66. Perhaps the 950 could become an all-day version of the 66, providing fast, limited-stop service to Morley.

On the other hand, Beaufort St’s urban fabric is quite fine grained, and a limited stop 950 would not likely serve the Beaufort St corridor adequately. The 67 and 68 would have to run much more frequently  to serve local demand, and short-turns would be necessary since travel demand on Grand Promenade and in Bedford is much lower than demand on Beaufort St.

A peak hour only, or weekday only, limited stop 950 might work, but it could unnecessarily complicate matters, undoing the simplification done by uniting Morley to Perth via Beaufort St services under a single route number. I think that route 66 services should be bolstered to every 5 minutes during peak hour, with 950 frequencies reduced to every 5 minutes during peak hour if funding is scarce.

66s and 950s every 10 minutes on weekday middays are a possibility, although having two services all day could be a complexity (even if a small one). Therefore, extending the special route number 66’s service outside of peak hours, where many riders are commuters and make the same trip daily, and into the interpeak when more spontaneous non-work/education trips are made, may reduce the sheer simplicity that encourages spontaneous use of public transport.

There would arguably also be a lower proportion of people travelling from Morley, or the suburbs beyond, right into the CBD, and more people accessing or moving around the small-scale café, dining and entertainment precinct along Beaufort St, including suburbs such as Mt Lawley, Inglewood and Highgate. Long distances between stops would insufficiently cover the Beaufort St strip.

The 60-90 minute frequency of combined 48 and 348 services through Embleton are interesting. Firstly, the current service headway of the 48 on Sundays is 90 minutes, so logically speaking inserting a 348 to create a 60 minutes gap between a 48 and 348 would produce a 30 minute gap between the 348 and another 48. This range of frequencies from every 30 minutes to every 90 minutes is unnecessarily complicated and could bear simplifying.

I would suggest increasing the frequency of the 48 to every hour, as will that of the 43 and 55, so that Sunday frequency on Guildford Rd is an even 20 minutes. The 43 could be replaced with a 41 and 42, for a consistent 15 minute headway throughout the week, although this is not really necessary. It would be possible to run the 348 every hour on Sundays, leading to consistent 30 minute headway throughout the week, although again you wouldn’t necessarily have to run the 348 on Sundays, as an hourly frequency on the 48 is still simple and par for the course for Sunday services away from major PT corridors.

2nd June Service Changes

Today some time and route changes occurred to Transperth bus routes.
The 32, 33, 38, 39, 70, 72, 75, 201, 202, 203, 281, 282, 283 and 284 have time changes.

The Circleroute, 510 and 511 will use Barry Marshall Parade to access Murdoch University, joining the 206, 207, 850, and 851, which already use that bus-only road. This should increase the speed and punctuality of services.

The 72 will receive extra evening services. The 10 minute frequency service from Perth will continue until 6:50pm, and there will be buses every 15 minutes leaving the Busport to Curtin University until 9:05pm.

It is good to see the speed, reliability and frequency of buses increased in Today's changes

Abbott and Rail

[apologies for any bias in this]

Perth's PT narrative has taken an interesting twist.

Tony Abbott won't fund...

Rewind to just before the last state election. The Liberal and Labor parties have been outbidding each other on public transport promises for the election. Labour's Metronet plan, promising up to six new railway lines, including the centrepiece North and South Circle and Ellenbrook Lines, was countered by the Liberal party plan to build MAX light rail to Mirrabooka along Alexander Dr, and an underground railway to the Airport, and beyond to Forrestfield. The Liberals won that election, so their transport plans should go ahead.

... MAX light rail.

Colin Barnett's plan did rely on federal funding, requiring 50% of MAX, and 80% of the Airport line costs in Commonwealth funding. Mark McGowan's labour planned to fund Metronet entirely from the state budget, but to be fair, where could we find the money? The Commonwealth should be willing enough to fund public transport; after all, its patronage is rising, and it is useful for saving the environment, growing the economy and transporting all.

The thing is... Colin's federal Liberal counterpart, Tony Abbott, announced recently that if he was elected he would not fund urban rail, only roads. Abbott, when questioned in Melbourne about funding their 9km Metro tunnel, said:

“The commonwealth government has a long history of funding roads.

“We have no history of funding urban rail and I think it is important that we stick to our knitting and the commonwealth’s knitting when it comes to funding infrastructure is roads."

Abbott may not have even had WA in mind, but this has enormous implications for Western Australia. If federal Liberal wins the upcoming election, one of state Liberal's cornerstones will be jeopardised.

Julia Gillard, being a member of the opposite party, was not unwilling to chastise Barnett:

Last week on her visit to Perth, Prime Minister Julia Gillard poured cold water on Mr Barnett’s hopes, saying the Premier was not in a position to make promises about Federal funding.


“Premier Barnett would have to go through proper assessment processes.

“Now, I can’t tell you what the outcome of those proper, rigorous assessment processes would be. He needs to put forward his proposals.”

However, she is the Prime Ministerial candidate more favourable to Colin Barnett and state Liberal's transport policies. The possibility of federal funding is better than nothing.

In fact, Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Anthony Albanese was proud of funding the Perth City Link project, and his party was not afraid to place a large article as an election ad in the West Australian. The ads contents are found here, I believe.

Colin Barnett responded to Abbott, saying that it was true the Federal government traditionally has only funded roads...

“However, given the current Federal (Labor) Government’s support of $236 million for rail infrastructure at the Perth City Link and $3 million towards planning of the MAX light rail project, we expect that future Federal governments, whether Liberal or Labor, would consider the benefits of funding such important transport initiatives based on merit,” Mr Barnett said.

“We will continue efforts with the Federal Government to deliver this important project for the people of WA.”

The prospect of Barnett failing to deliver on transport promises is especially troubling, considering that the Liberal party has traditionally been averse to public transport. The Ellenbrook Line promise was abandoned, and State Liberal opponents would jump on another undelivered transport project, criticising Barnett as untrustworthy.  Ben Wyatt already started with this:

“Mr Abbott has, well before the September Federal election, confirmed that any Federal Government he leads will not contribute to urban rail.

“The Liberal Party spent millions of dollars during the election campaign telling Western Australians that both MAX light rail and the airport line were ‘fully funded’ and ‘fully costed’.

“The WA election was less than a month ago and already Colin Barnett has walked away from his promised timeline to deliver his key election promises and Tony Abbott has confirmed that not one cent will come from any Federal Government he leads.”

Other Premiers are not pleased with Tony Abbott either. Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine, whom Abbott's comments referred to directly, said:

''We will actively and strongly pursue Infrastructure Australia and federal government funding for all three of these important projects whether it's Julia Gillard as prime minister or Tony Abbott as prime minister.''

This is especially prescient, as Tony Abbott pledged $1.5 billion to another tunnel across inner Melbourne, but one containing a road: The East-West Link. It has a Cost-Benefit ratio of only 0.7, meaning that the cost of building it is more than the calculated benefits from it.

The Queensland Liberal-National party was not happy with Tony Abbott either. They listed the underground Cross River Rail line, similar to Melbourne's tunnel, as one of their top three priorities. Queensland Transport Minister Scott Emerson said:

"Without Federal funding these projects cannot proceed.

"We are lobbying both the federal Coalition and federal Labor ahead of the next election to get the best deal possible for Queenslanders."

Abbott's refusal to fund urban rail runs counter to a previous commitment to $750 million towards the Moreton Bay Link.

As far as I know, NSW Liberal is going it alone with its North West Rail Link, as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), making it immune to Abbott's announcement. As we will see later, this is an example Barnett could follow.

It may not be a bad idea for Tony Abbott to suggest that urban rail should remain a state responsibility, but he should remain consistent with roads. His pledge of $1.5 billion for the East-West Link, as well as $1.5 billion for the WestConnex in Sydney, is not consistent. He will fund urban roads, but not rail. This makes no sense, as in urban environments, rail offers more capacity than roads, resulting in greater economic benefits, and very little environmental impact. Urban rail is a wiser investment than urban roads.

Adam Bandt, Melbourne Greens MP, had something to say:

''If Tony Abbott is elected, it will be a disaster for inner-city Melbourne. 
''The suburbs that we love and that make Melbourne consistently one of the world's most liveable cities will be turned into a rat's nest of on and off ramps.
''To suggest the federal government doesn't have a role in building public transport in major cities like Melbourne is 19th century thinking.''

The state and federal branches of the Liberal party are at odds with each other when it comes to transport. This is a very important issue, in Perth and in other cities. Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese took Abbott's comments as an opportunity to speak, claiming Abbott had "turned his back on long-suffering commuters":

“After much ducking and weaving, Mr Abbott has again confirmed his and the Coalition’s historical opposition to Federal engagement in urban public transport.

“Such an unbalanced approach would lead to more gridlock, worsening congestion and a poorer quality of life in our cities.

“While today’s announcement is extraordinary, it is not a surprising one. The attitude towards public transport is the great divide in Australian politics between Labor and the Coalition.”

It is not completely accurate to say that the Coalition has a problem with public transport. Many state Liberal branches have attempted to shake their public transport legacy, appearing perfectly happy with public transport. WA and NSW in particular are big advocates of PT. It is the Federal part of the Liberals that dislikes public transport. It has failed to transform into a political option in touch with today and the future, and is still stuck in the past, with a 'more roads' attitude. There is a fracture between State and Federal Liberal evident.

So what options are available for Colin Barnett, and any other state Premier's feeling shafted by Tony Abbott?

Well there is the opportunity for Tony Abbott to leverage his ability to change his mind (what he says is 'not always gospel truth'), and backflip on urban rail, to save a few fellow Liberals.

In the absence of that, there are still other avenues. States can build rail without Federal help, to follow NSW's example. If the states cannot fund rail from their own pockets, they can enter into a PPP, or otherwise employ the large land value gains around train stations.

As a train station is built, land near it becomes much more desirable, due to the benefits of convenient public transport. There is a natural tendency to build TODs near train stations. Governments can tap into this with land value capture, though various taxes allowing the government to get a cut of any land value gains, since they paid for the rail infrastructure causing the gain.

Professor Peter Newman of Curtin University is a proponent of land value capture. He believes that the whole cost of rail projects could potentially be funded through a land tax around stations.

"I don't think [Mr Barnett] has any alternative. Having Federal involvement will make it happen quicker, but no Federal involvement will propel us into doing more with value capture - using land around the train line to help fund it."

Funding options Professor Newman proposes in his Three Mode Plan include taxes (10% rate) on the increased value of residential and commercial properties, fees for commercial ($5 per working day) and retail ($5 day), and a 1% tax on the value of land sales around train stations.

In short, transport politics is getting interesting.

Sources -
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2013/04/07/whats-your-problem-with-public-transport-mister-abbott/
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/abbott-comment-throws-doubt-on-rail-road-funding-20130405-2hcen.html
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/16550551/state-rail-projects-in-danger-of-unravelling/
http://www.news.com.au/national-news/queensland/opposition-leader-tony-abbott-backtracks-on-2010-election-promise-taking-brisbane-cross-river-rail-off-list/story-fndo4ckr-1226612810700
http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/barnett-should-look-to-private-sector-to-fund-rail-20130405-2hbdd.html

Liberal Party transport plans

Having already done the Labor transport plan (Metronet), I'm going to present the Liberals public transport plan.
They plan to -

MAX Light Rail map

- Build the MAX light rail project, with lines going to Balga Polytechnic via Alexander Dr and Mirrabooka (the first line to be built), Victoria Park via Hay St, and QEII Medical Centre, for $1.8 billion
- Build an Airport Rail Link with stations at the Domestic and International Terminals, and Forrestfield, for $1.9 billion
- Provide free off-peak public transport to carers at a cost of $1.2million (an extension of the free seniors public transport)
- Build a 560-bay multi-storey carpark at Edgewater Train station, for $47 million

Airport Rail Link

OPINION
GOOD
LIGHT RAIL
I also think the light rail is a good idea. The Alexander Dr corridor is far from heavy rail lines, and Mirrabooka is a major regional centre. The route to Victoria Park currently is the busiest bus corridor in Perth (albeit via St Georges Tce), and QEII is also an important centre.
Light rail is much cheaper than heavy rail in those corridor (since there is no reserved right-of-way, heavy rail would almost certainly be in tunnel, as elevated rail would be very unpopular), and can be a good selling point. It can bring people to Perth, and like Metronet, improve property values in areas such as Mirrabooka.
AIRPORT RAIL LINK
Most big cities have airport rail. Airport rail will help bring Perth into the big-city league, and make transport easier for residents of Perth taking a plane, tourists, business travellers and residents of Forrestfield and the general Foothills area. It will increase Perth's profile.
CARPARK
A multi-storey parking garage at Edgewater will help relieve parking pressures, while not taking up too much space. Edgewater is a good spot as it lacks feeder buses, increasing the need for parking.
BAD
LIGHT RAIL
Since the Victoria Park route is busiest, it should go ahead before Mirrabooka.
AIRPORT RAIL LINK
On the other hand, airport rail links are expensive, and some people believe they should not take funding from other, more useful public transport, just to join an abstract 'big-city league'.
CARPARK
As I've said before, excessive station parking is a problem. It is expensive to provide (especially in multi-storey form), takes up space (although to a lesser degree in multi-storey form), and makes walking to stations difficult and undesirable. If the problem is that Edgewater has no feeder buses, they can be provided for less than extra parking.
COSTING
The total cost of these promises will be about $3.75 billion. Let's see what costing we will come up with ourselves.

Light rail - 22km
Surface heavy rail - 4 km
Underground heavy rail 4km

Using figures explained in the previous, Metronet, post, as well as $20 million per km for  light rail, this will come to -
$20 (22) + $25 (3) + $250 (5) + $47 +1.2   million
$440 + $75 + 1250 + 47 +1.2
= $1814.2 million or $1.8 billion

This is less than half the official costing! You could nearly build both this and Metronet for the $4.4 billion or so Treasury said just Metronet would cost. While contingencies are necessary, this needs to be within reason, and I think that the total cost of Liberal public transport should not exceed $2 billion.

Beaufort St and Guildford Rd Bus Changes - November 11

On November 11th there will be some changes to the Beaufort St and Guildford Rd bus services.
Beaufort St will have some good service increases to an already well served corridor. Buses will operate every 6-7 minutes during the middle of the day, and every 10 minutes on weekends. This would have to be the best PT frequency in Perth (or at least along a corridor of reasonable length). But this is deserved at Beaufort St is a VERY busy transport corridor and commercial strip.
There will be some replacement of 21s with 22s, in fact at least half the service is provided by 22s. But the Embleton section of the 21 is mostly duplicated by the 48 or 955, and the only unique section is about 700 m on Lindley and Priestly Sts, which is ridiculously close to both the 955 and the 48. So I would question the very existence of the 21.
On Sundays the 67 will finally get a decent frequency on Sundays, every 30 minutes instead of the current service every 1.5 hours. Intersestingly, this is better than the frequency on Saturdays, as some of the half-hourly Mirrabooka runs are 68s. I'm not sure why there is a difference between Saturdays and Sundays here when the total frequency is equivalent.
Beaufort St still lacks decent night service, especially on Sundays. It is a strip busy at night, especially in Mt Lawley, yet the half-hourly night frequency is but a small fraction of daytime service. And Sunday service completely stops at 9:45, when most businesses open late on Sunday just like on any other night.
These issues will be addressed in a future post detailing a complete rethink of Beaufort St services.

On to Guildford Rd. There won't be any frequency increases on the Guildford Rd, but the few 43 (41 and 42 combined route)services on weekdays and Saturday (only in the early morning and late-night) will be replaced by 41 or 42 services, which is good as dedicated routes are more direct than combined routes.

Quite the opposite of frequency increases, the 44 will be removed in order to fund extra 22 services. This is understandable, as the 44 sits between the super frequent Beaufort St corridor, and the frequent, high capacity and long-service-span Midland Line, so the 44 isn't much use. In addition, Beaufort ST gets consistently high bus loadings, so could use more service.

The service changes could be summed up as Beaufort St increases and Guildford Rd increases. However, this ignores the fact that Guildford Rd still has a strength over Beaufort St - night. It gets buses every 20 minutes on weeknights and Saturday nights, better than Beaufort St's half-hourly. Neither route has Sunday services running late into the night (Guildford Rd is wrap at 8:30, while Beaufort St continues till 9:45, but not near some southern services such as the 106, 507, 920 and 940 which run until midnight or so on Sundays).

Red Cat changes 28th October 2012

On Sunday 28th October there will be some small changes to the Red CAT bus service. This does not concern frequency, but stop location. The Freeway stop (currently 20), will be removed, and instead of stop 1 being at Murray St (corner Pier St), it will be renumbered, and 1 will be at the WACA.
What do I have to say about this? Well, the Freeway stop is relatively quiet due to proximity to the freeway (lack of patronage generators, deterrence to walking across it) and the QV1 stop. But then again, the CATs are designed for fine-grained city circulation, and I don't think that this stop removal would free much time in the schedule (not that the Red CAT even has a timetable). Renumbering to start in East Perth may be logical, as the residential population make sit a good starting point. But these changes are relatively inconsequential.

If I ran Transperth ... Suggested minimum frequency standards

I've previously advocated for feeder buses to run every half-hour during the off-peak. I'll flesh out that idea in this post.

IDEAL MINIMUM FREQUENCY STANDARDS
Definitions -
Peak - 6am to 10 am and 3pm to 7pm
Daytime - 5am to 9pm (7 days a week, excluding peak)
Evening - 10pm to 12 am (2am on Friday and Saturday nights/Saturday and Sunday mornings)
Early Morning - 4am to 5am
Night - 12am to 4am (2am to 4am on Friday and Saturday nights/Saturday and Sunday mornings)
FEEDERS
Every 15 minutes during peak, 30 minutes during (the rest of the) daytime and  60 minutes during evenings and early mornings.
TRUNK
Every 7.5 minutes during peak, 15 minutes during (the rest of the) daytime, 30 minutes during evenings and early mornings, and 60 minutes at night.

 As a result, all areas will get TUAG (every 15 minutes or more)service during the peak, and trunk routes (most main roads) will receive TUAG from 5am to 9pm, and some kind of service 24/7. This trunk service could be depended on, and would make it possible to live comfortably in many parts of Perth without a car.

More important corridors should get more frequent service, but preferably in the above ratio.

For example -

PRIMARY TRUNK
Every 3.75 minutes during peak, 7.5 minutes during (the rest of the) daytime, 15 minutes during evenings and early mornings, and 30 minutes at night.

Sunday 30th September Changes

 On Sunday, there will be several changes to Transperth bus services.

424 - Before

424 - After

414- After

414 - Before

Changes to the routing of Stirling feeder buses have been planned for a while, and will be carried out. The 414 will serve the western part of Balcatta that the 424 use to serve. The 424 will now travel along Karrinyup Rd and North Beach Rd, following the 427 (except for the deviation to Osborne Park Hospital, following the 423). Since the 427 follows the 423, the 423 will now travel west of Stirling station, taking Cedric St, Odin Rd, Barnes Rd and Huntriss Rd, serving the commercial area at the corner of Barnes Rd and Morris Rd.

423 - Before

423 - After

Frequencies have been co-ordinated so that buses run every 15 minutes on  weekdays and 30 minutes on Sundays along Odin and Barnes Rd (combination of 423 and 425, as well as half-hourly 423 on Saturdays). Corridors such as this create public transport that is dependable, as on weekdays you can turn up and go (TUAG) instead of looking at timetable. In addition there are more early morning trips on the 423 and 425 from Hillarys Boat Harbour and the intersection of Milverton Av and Karrinyup Rd respectively, with trips leaving Hillarys as early as 4:50am to connect with the first train. This again broadens the usability of public transport.
However, there was an opportunity to create a corridor much like that on Odin and Barnes Rds along Cedric St. Shifting 415 trips on Sundays 15 minutes forwards would result in bus service every 30 minutes along Cedric St until Amelia St, in addition to the 15 minute service on weekdays and the 30 minute service on Saturdays provided by the 415 on its own. Changing the 415 schedule would also create a similar corridor from Mirrabooka along Ravenswood Dr and Amelia St until Marloo Rd, if the trip times were reduced by 2 minutes eastbound and 3 minutes westbound. There is plenty of fat in the 415 schedule, as evidenced by waits at the intersections of Amelia and Cedric Sts westbound and Amelia St and Wanneroo Rd eastbound. This waiting is also present on weekdays, but is the worst on Saturdays, where a westbound trip may be scheduled to take 25 minutes but in reality only take 18 min. Passengers may wait 10 minutes for a train as a result, where the timetable shows 5 minute connections.
There will also be timing changes on routes 15, 365, 372, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 391, 401, 402, 407, 421, 426, 427 and 467, and stand changes at Stirling

Stand	Routes
Stand 1	402, 428
Stand 2	415
Stand 5	410, 412
Stand 6	421, 423
Stand 8	413, 424, 427

The case for metros and tiering

Train systems in Australia often come as one product to serve a whole metropolitan area, which I think is best described as a suburban railway. This means that governments only have to maintain one rail-based product, saving resources, but this can cause problems as cities grow and public transport use grows faster than population.
To make trains attractive to suburban passengers, railway lines often skimp on stop spacing in inner areas to get passengers from the suburbs to the CBD quicker. This does not serve inner city areas adequately, even of there is already a railway line in the area. For example, the Mandurah line does not make any stops between the city and Canning Bridge, despite passing through dense or significant areas like South Perth or Como.

To deal with overcrowding capacity can be increased by measures that make use of existing rolling stock such as replacing seating with space for standees, such as longitudinal seating (along the sides rather than in pairs). However, this is unpopular with long distance commuters from suburban areas to the CBD who may be forced to stand for long periods of time. This seating is already common on A series trains, which do not serve far destinations except for the Armadale Line, but this modification is present at the ends of B-series trains, and is being rolled out on other parts of those sets, which are used on the 70 km Mandurah Line as well as the 30 km Joondalup Line, which is constantly extended to follow suburbia.
The solution here is to split the suburban railway into two rail modes; the metro for inner areas, and the commuter railway for outer areas. Metros will have close stop spacing to serve inner suburbs thoroughly. Their use will be higher and service will be more frequent (TUAG) because inner areas are more conducive to public transport use, being built when cars were not available or not widely used. The trains may be driverless, or operated automatically by computer, to provide this service cheaply, and will feature full longitudinal seating, because average trip length will be shorter.
On the other hand, commuter rail will have much wider stop spacing, for quick journeys from the outer suburbs to the city centre. Their frequency will be dictated by levels of use, which likely aren't as high as further in. But, of course, users of commuter rail will usually get a comfy seat.
Perth is part-way there, with the two tiers operating on the Armadale corridor (commuter to Armadale, metro to Thornlie) Monday to Saturday 6am to 12am, and supplemented on Sundays by an all stops service to Armadale. However, the rollingstock is still the same on both lines, the metro section (at least) should be grade separated, and of course the tiering should be full time, with the Thornlie line a bit more frequent.
The Midland and Fremantle lines are probably short enough to be metros, despite the express running in the peak, but again, grade separation is needed, and frequency could be better.
The Clarkson and Mandurah lines have inner tiers to Whitfords and Cockburn Central operating on the peak shoulder (formerly off-peak and the height of the peak before service cuts and fleet expansion respectively). This is completely grade separated but the stations are in freeway medians, and so are widely spaced and pedestrian/bike-unfriendly, the tier is part-time only and frequency needs a boost.

Second thoughts on Park n' Rides

Previously I said that Park n' Rides, or car parks at stations were a bad idea, but the reality is we need them now and in the near future. People use them. My family uses them. Most of them are at freeway stations that are hard to walk to and offer little redevelopment opportunity anyway. But they can be improved.
For one, the concept of partly free parking and partly paid parking is a good one. However the paid bays are at the back, so those who paid are further inconvenienced by walking further, while those who got free parking also get parking close to the station, so the only way to get convenient parking is, well, to arrive early. Or at least this is the set up at Stirling train station; I haven't seen the other stations but I suspect the situation is the same. It would be better to have paid parking at the front and free parking at the back, so people can pay for the convenience of parking near the station.

If I ran Transperth ... I'd lengthen off-peak services.

While most peak hour services are now six-car trains, trains at other times are still only 3 cars. I took the train today on the Joondalup Line, and the three car trains had some standing passengers on the journey in at about 1:30pm, and nearly full on the trip back at 5:15pm. Standing isn't necessarily a problem, while it can be inconvenient, it is a reality of public transport, and most cities with great public transport have lots of standing, because standing means the service is popular. However, during off-peak times like this plenty of spare sets are available to make six car services, and add more services if the six car sets are full. In fact, I think off-peak services should have been six-car before peak services, because we wouldn't need to add more train sets to our fleet.

More thoughts on northern suburbs service changes

Major service changes came into effect yesterday in the northern suburbs, and while I have done a three-part analysis of the changes already, I did not have access to timetables. With services to and from Mirrabooka, I have found some further improvements but also a few gripes

On Saturdays the 888 is coordinated with the 354 and 370 to provide TUAG services every 15 min from Mirrabooka to Wellington St bus station, and provides 371 connections. On Sundays however, while services run every half hour, there are still no services past 8pm, despite the second last bus being half an hour before the last bus at 7:50pm.

In terms of feeders, there is still a gap in afternoon inbound service on the 376, so school students at Mercy College or John Septimus Roe who miss the bus still need to wait for an hour, despite a service 30 min before and 30 min after that gap.

Talking about long gaps, I apologise for my sparse posting, because as the name of this blog suggests, school has kept me busy. (Disclosure: My school is served by the 376, so the latter paragraph effects me and so there is reason to think there is bias, but the problem is still real).

Analysis of Northern Suburbs Service Changes (Part 3)

This is the third part of a two-part series, here Parts 1 and 2 are available

In this third and final part of my analysis on the service changes that Transperth will be implementing from 6^th of November, I will look at the changes in place for Mirrabooka’s buses. Previous parts 1 and 2 have looked at changes on Wanneroo Rd, feeder buses from Stirling, Warwick and Whitfords train stations, Alexander Dr, and two buses from Morley, one going through Alexander Heights and Ballajura. The Transperth page for these changes is here, and a map is here.

Services from Mirrabooka Bus Station will be given huge improvements, with increases in weekday off-peak and Sunday frequency, a simpler network with after-hours combined service reduced in favour of more service on regular routes, and simplified bus times for one route. The 354’s weekday off-peak frequency will be increased to every 15 minutes, extra peak services will operate, there will be an addition Saturday trip from Mirrabooka to Perth, and it will be serviced exclusively by low-floor accessible buses. The 870 will also receive extra peak services and TUAG (quarter-hourly) off-peak services on fully accessible buses, and there will be an earlier bus from Mirrabooka and later buses from Perth. Route 370 will have some small timing adjustments on Saturdays, will operate on Sundays co-ordinated with route 354 for half-hourly service between Mirrabooka and Perth, will be served only on disability accessible buses, and will have stand changes at Mirrabooka to Stand 1 and at Wellington St station to Stand 5.

On to feeder buses, Route 365 will have major timing changes with off-peak buses every half-hour, Sunday and extra weeknight service to replace the 363, and will become a fully accessible route, the 372 will have major timetabling changes done, with off-peak frequency upgraded to every 30 minutes on accessible buses only and Route 375 will also have major timetabling amendments with services every 2 hours, again only on accessible buses. 376 buses will receive major time changes, additional weekday off-peak and Saturday daytime services every half hour, and buses on Sundays, Route 377 will have major timing changes, with off-peak frequency upgraded to every half hour, the 378 will again have major time changes and an extra trip in each direction replacing, along with the 376 some withdrawn services on route 379, the after-hours service.

The increased frequency is clearly a plus for serving this busy area, and promoting further gains in PT use, where previously few feeder buses across the metropolitan area operated every half-hour. Frequency still won’t be up to the standards on Wanneroo Rd and Alexander Dr, but this is because every 15 minutes two buses will leave, the all stops 354 and limited stop 870, and although this isn’t felt at Mirrabooka, further down the route where the 870 has made a reasonable gain on the 354, waiting times will be shorter, in some cases better than on Wanneroo Rd and Alexander Dr.

In conclusion, all the changes such as frequency increases, more service on regular routes instead of combined after-hour routes and moves to more low-floor disability accessibility buses will drive increases in PT patronage in the northern suburbs, on a frequent, simpler, fairer and more attractive bus network.

Analysis of Northern Suburbs Service Changes (Part 2)

This is the second part of a three-part series, see here for parts 1 and 3

From 6 November Transperth will be implementing service changes on buses across the middle northern suburbs (Wanneroo Rd, Alexander Dr, Stirling , Warwick , Whitfords , Mirrabooka , Morley , Ballajura and Alexander Heights). The network will be made simpler, with some new routes and trips added, increasing frequencies, and after-hour routes cut back or removed, replaced with more services on regular routes (The Transperth page for these changes is here, and a map is here). This second part of the analysis on northern suburbs bus improvements covers changes on Alexander Dr, Alexander Heights, Ballajura, Mirrabooka and Morley service changes.

The service changes to Alexander Dr buses aim to provide frequencies south of Yirrigan Dr up to every three minutes during peak hour on the 886, 887, 888 and 889, every 15 minutes until 8:30pm and on Saturdays using the 887, 888 and 889, as well as services up to midnight and every half hour on Sundays up to Beach Rd with the 887 and 889. This is in addition to the 10 minute frequency on weekdays off-peak already achieved.

To achieve this the 885 will have some minor time changes with an extra trip, 886 will have some small timing changes with a few extra peak trips, the 887 and 889 will have some minor timetabling adjustments and additional peak, night and Sunday trips, to operate every hour until midnight and on Sundays, slightly earlier and later too and route 888 will have some minor timing changes with extra early morning and weekend trips, and Saturday service every half an hour.

The frequency and service span increases are obviously a very big plus to current passengers and to increase patronage, adding Alexander Dr along with Wanneroo Rd into the group of corridors with buses every 10 minutes on weekdays and 15 min on Saturdays, or TUAG standard. The time changes will hopefully correct the current situation where an extra ten minutes of travel time is just lumped in at each end rather than evenly spread out (Perth to Mt Lawley ECU takes only 9 minutes but Mt Lawley to Perth is 19 minutes, and Beach Rd to the terminus takes 20 minutes, but from the terminus to Beach Rd takes 10 minutes (midday), although timetables aren’t available yet.

The 344 from Morley to Warwick via Alexander Heights and Ballajura will have extra services for services every 10-20 minutes in the peak, half hourly during off-peak (up from hourly) and hourly on weekends, with some short services now travelling the whole route, and buses from Warwick running earlier and later. The 345 from Morley to Bennett Springs will become a fully accessible route. A higher frequency and more full length services for the 344  are certainly a plus, making the route simpler and more convenient, and accessible buses are better obviously for disabled passengers but are also preferred by most able-bodied customers.

I have previously said that this will be a two-part series, however I have found that I will need three parts for this analysis, and the next part will analyse Mirrabooka’s changes.

Analysis of Northern Suburbs Service Changes (Part 1)

From 6 November Transperth will be implementing service changes on buses across the middle northern suburbs (Wanneroo Rd, Alexander Dr, Stirling , Warwick , Whitfords , Mirrabooka , Morley , Ballajura and Alexander Heights). The network will be made simpler, with some new routes and trips added, increasing frequencies, and after-hour routes cut back or removed, replaced with more services on regular routes (The Transperth page for these changes is here, and a map is here). This first post of this three-part series covers changes on services on Wanneroo and from Stirling to Warwick, Warwick to Whitfords and Whitfords to Joondalup.

Wanneroo Rd services will be changed and improved significantly, with two routes deleted, two routes renumbered, two new routes, and 374 staying mostly the same apart from a few small timing changes. 363 will be deleted and replaced with extra service on the 373 and 365, while 347 is also to be withdrawn and replaced with the new route 387, from Warwick via Balcatta and Wanneroo Rd to Perth, running every 15 minutes during peak hour and every hour in off-peak. Route 388 will also be introduced, from Warwick on Beach and Wanneroo Roads to Perth running every 10-15 minutes in the peak, and every half an hour during off-peak and on Saturdays. The 346 will be renumbered to 389 and will services will increase to every hour on Sundays, with small time changes on weekdays, and 373 will become the 386, with Sundays services again increased to every hour, with small time changes on weekdays, and only wheelchair accessible buses will operate on it.

 The aim of these changes is to get a bus along Wanneroo Rd as far as Amelia St every 10 minutes on weekdays, every 15 minutes on evenings until 9:30 pm and on Saturdays, and every half hour on Sundays. This is good because TUAG frequencies (every 15 min or less) are important in attracting riders who have the choice of a car. Wanneroo Rd will be join the now lonely club of corridors that run TUAG buses on Saturdays, although Sunday buses still won’t be up to scratch.

Some buses departing from Stirling Train Station will undergo time changes and a few extra trips, and one route will be added but another removed. Routes 413 will have some time changes, 414, 423 and 427 will have some timetabling changes as well as some additional trips. 425 will have timing changes, some extra trips, including some serving Charles Riley Rd and on Sundays, and a stand change at Warwick to Stand 8. Route 428 will be added, operating along Jones St and in Balcatta to Warwick every 15 minutes in peak time, and every hour during off-peak and on weekends. The after-hours route 435 will be replaced with extra 425 services, with some deviating to Charles Riley Rd. Removing an after-hours route will make the network simpler and easier to remember, and the introduction of a new route will improve coverage and make PT for those near Jones St or going Balcatta better.

Warwick services will also have some changes. Route 381 will change stands at Warwick to stand 7, 441 will have major time changes, and it’s route will be modified slightly, 442, 443, 445, 446 and 447 will have major timing changes and night and weekend service, to replace the after hour routes 452, 455, and 457 that will be discontinued, and 444 will undergo major timetabling changes. 344 chnages will be explained in the next part of this analysis. In addition, two services from Whitfords to Joondalup will only be served with low floor disability accessible buses. The network between Warwick and Whitfords will be made much simpler with the removal of after hour buses, and the accessible buses from Whitfords to Joondalup will not only be better for the disabled, they are newer, and more spacious and attractive to able-bodied passengers.

In the next part of this analysis I will look at the revised Alexander Dr, Ballajura, Alexander Heights, Mirrabooka and Morley services.

The case for good off-peak public transport

Public transport is often used as an alternative to peak-hour traffic, but it should be embraced just as much during off-peak times.

Getting more passengers on off peak and weekend services gets the most out of capital investments already spent, such as railway lines, bus stops and vehicles. A bus has already been purchased so there is no extra cost to run it during off-peak times except for the driver and fuel, but the trip will earn money from fares.

Good off-peak services also gives peace of mind to peak hour commuters that should they need to come to work earlier or later, go home early, stay behind or do an errand that services are available for them at that time.

It also offers an alternative to driving to the city because while traffic isn’t bad, it will become an issue in the future, and parking is still a problem. The city is easy to serve well by public transport.

Trains run every 15 minutes all day everyday and some trips are standing room only, but most buses only run every hour during off-peak and so are unattractive to travellers with cars. Even major bus routes have a long way to go on weekends with only services along Beaufort St and on the Circleroute between Fremantle and Southlands running every 15 min on weekends.

In conclusion, off-peak public transport is a good use of infrastructure and fleets that have already been bought, and although Perth is doing well on this matter with its trains, we could improve, especially on buses.

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my public transport blog A Transport Geek in Middle School. I will be blogging about public transport issues, especially those in my home and current city Perth. I hope you will find this both interesting and informative.