Things to see in Perth's transport for an interstate visitor

[tonyp]

Glen, make sure you ride the CATs and watch all-door entry at work. The new buses also have all double-leaf doors. Riding the train system is a must - very impressive, although I would have expected those single-deckers to have a little faster acceleration, but I guess they're not metro trains.

[simonl]

Glen, make sure you ride the CATs and watch all-door entry at work. The new buses also have all double-leaf doors. Riding the train system is a must - very impressive, although I would have expected those single-deckers to have a little faster acceleration, but I guess they're not metro trains.

They're the same trains used in Qld and they do have a fair bit faster acceleration. Partly because of the 25kV AC electrification, partly the lighter weight.

Mostly though, they're better because they do things more properly.

[boronia]

Most of trains have metro style perimeter seating. Not good for sight-seeing tourists.

Some of the latest cars do have transverse seats, maybe fixed though?

[Merc & Renault Bus_1]

Most of trains have metro style perimeter seating. Not good for sight-seeing tourists.

Some of the latest cars do have transverse seats, maybe fixed though?

The standard seats are fixed, A SETs 01-48 are all perimeter seats, B SETs 49-60 are perimeter seats in the middle carriage, SET 61-94 are all standard seats, SET 95 onwards (the latest batch) are all perimeter seats throughout.

[Glen]

Thanks so much Everyone for all of your great suggestions. I had a great time wandering around Perth. In summary some of my observations below:

• The trains are very fast off the mark and in running, and put Sydney’s to shame. The perimeter seating in most sets is a bit of a drawback I feel, being I presume designed to maximise standing capacity (like Sydney's new Metro will be).

• The extension of the Joondalup line (which as many of you know runs up the freeway median) to Butler seems to have resulted in the unusual situation where the train line got there before the freeway (much road construction evident) and before the shopping centre has been built (lots of for lease signs).

• Information at train stations is top class, full line timetables and explanations of stopping patterns, as well as the usual bus departure times.

• Bus / rail interchanges in Perth have long featured real time train arrival indicators at each bus stand so that bus drivers know when their train is due and how it is running (why we cannot do this in Sydney I don’t understand, still in ‘silos’ perhaps?)

• Paper timetables are widely available, in racks at all major stations for trains, buses and the ferry, even when offices are closed.

• The driverless bus trial in South Perth was unfortunately off the road for software updating and an air-conditioning upgrade but I did spend time talking to the staff at the small office they have. The bus runs along a riverside road and is easily accessed from the ferry. You have to register and pre-book, but apparently if you can't get a booking and someone fails to show, you can slip on board only if you have already registered.

• The Perth CAT (Central Area Transport) buses are brilliant, 4 free routes that circulate the city, three of which run on weekends. All door boarding works well, as it should, after all the centre door is only 6 metres behind the front door.

• There are also free CAT buses in Joondalup and Fremantle, running on published 15 minute timetables (because 15 minutes is not “turn up and go”) whereas the Perth City services are true turn-up-and-go and almost “always a car in sight” (an old Brisbane tram term there).

• The new City Busport with dynamic stand allocation is interesting. Kind of takes Sydney’s Bondi Junction to the next level. It reminds me of catching a high speed train in Paris, you first get directed to an area, in this case 4 stands, and then you watch the indicator for your precise stand closer to the time the bus is actually due.

• Both the City Busport and Elizabeth Quay Bus Station (renamed from Esplanade Busport) do seem rather over-engineered to me. Elizabeth Quay in particular seems a long walk involving lifts and escalators just to catch a bus.

• I bought a SmartRider ticket just for fun, it costs $10 for the card itself and the Info guy very kindly pointed out that I really needed to do about $90 travel to justify the cost but I paid it anyway just to take one home.

• Transperth run convenient buses to and from the Airport but you have to remember that Airport Terminals T1 & T2 are quite some distance from T3 & T4 so check your airline and terminal as you need a different bus route depending where you land or take off from (Routes 40, 935 & 380).

[Merc1107]

Elizabeth Quay in particular seems a long walk involving lifts and escalators just to catch a bus.

I guess this just helps keep pax in a nice quiet, air-conditioned environment. For a "gunzel" such as myself, if you see something you like, you have to make an assumption about where it will end up. That keeps things... Interesting, to say the least!

Its been open about 20 years now, from what I understand.

[Mr OC Benz]

• The trains are very fast off the mark and in running, and put Sydney’s to shame. The perimeter seating in most sets is a bit of a drawback I feel, being I presume designed to maximise standing capacity (like Sydney's new Metro will be).

Thanks for posting up your observations of the network. An outsider's view is always interesting and important. Yes the trains are all about maximising efficiency to get the most out of the existing infrastructure. This includes maximising capacity. Future trains will also have four doors per side per carriage to decrease dwell times at stations. Signalling upgrades in the future will also enable trains to operate closer together.

[Glen]

Thanks for posting up your observations of the network. An outsider's view is always interesting and important.
......
Future trains will also have four doors per side per carriage to decrease dwell times at stations. Signalling upgrades in the future will also enable trains to operate closer together.

Ah, I notice that the current scheduled peak frequency is 5 minutes, whereas in Sydney it is 3 minutes. Do you know how close together trains can run in practice in Perth?

[Mr OC Benz]

About 3 minutes I think. After that, reliability becomes an issue. Longer term the expectation will be for 27-30 trains per hour per individual track and indeed the Armadale / Thornlie Line will likely have 27tph scheduled in the future.

[Shoudy Chen]

Buses with dedicated luggage racks and a white airport livery are used for City-Airport Services. The cost from going to the city from the airport is a 2-zone fare. This bus route runs every 30 mins by Route 380.

[Glen]

That's to T1 and T2.

I think Route 40 & 935 to T3 & T4 are run by standard buses.

[busdriver12]

Ah, I notice that the current scheduled peak frequency is 5 minutes, whereas in Sydney it is 3 minutes. Do you know how close together trains can run in practice in Perth?

If you have the time, have a look at the BBC and ITV series called The Tube (made in 2002 and 2003). It gives you an idea of how large volumes of people are moved. In one episode I watched, you had a train move into a station the moment the one in front cleared the station. I think we are a long way off that here in Perth

[Glen]

When I commuted to the City in the 1980's, Sydney's Underground used to operate like that, using intermediate train stops. I'm not sure if they are too conservative to do that now.

[simonl]

Still happens but what doesn't happen is the following train entering the platform area before the previous train has fully cleared it.