More passengers wanted for new train
Transport Minister Dean Nalder was forced to defend declining public transport patronage yesterday as he showed off Perth's newest train, which goes into service this morning.
After nine consecutive years of growth, patronage figures on Perth's public transport system declined for the first time in 2013-14 by about 1.4 per cent.
They are forecast to increase 0.5 per cent in 2014-15 and 0.6 per cent in 2015-16.
The new three-car train, which carries 600 passengers, is the 11th of the 22 new B-series trains bought by the State Government for $244 million to begin operation.
Another 11 trains will be commissioned by the end of next year and $5 million has been included in the 2015-16 Budget for the planning and procurement of the next C-series set of railcars, worth about $1.2 billion and to be delivered from 2019.
Mr Nalder said he expected demand for public transport would grow again after the small downturn, which was being caused by a dip in the number of job opportunities in Perth's CBD and other areas.
He said he believed small increases to public transport fares were not having an effect on patronage.
Acting shadow transport minister Rita Saffioti said not enough was being invested in new routes and infrastructure for growing areas, so people not pleased with the services on offer had started voting with their feet.
