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WA Premier Mark McGowan promises to cap Perth train fares at $4.90 if re-elected

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Josh ZimmermanThe West Australian
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Premier Mark McGowan and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti take the train from Rockingham to Mandurah.
Camera IconPremier Mark McGowan and Transport Minister Rita Saffioti take the train from Rockingham to Mandurah. Credit: Nic Ellis/The West Australian

Train, bus and ferry fares to anywhere in Perth would be capped at a maximum $4.90 in a complete overhaul of the city’s public transport system promised by the McGowan Government.

The election pledge – to be enacted from January 2022 if WA Labor is re-elected – would drastically reduce fares for anyone living in the city’s outer suburbs, including Mandurah.

Under the plan, the maximum cash fare for any trip would be limited to two zones ($4.90) – with that figure reduced even further to $4.40 when using a standard SmartRider card and $3.90 for frequent public transport users with an auto-reload SmartRider.

That compares to the current $13.10 cash fare ($11.79 with SmartRider) to travel from zone 9 locations – such as Dawesville – to the Perth CBD.

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According to Labor Party modelling, a Dawesville resident commuting daily to the CBD using public transport would save more than $3000 per year under the new system.

A Byford resident travelling four zones per day would save $800 annually, while a Ballajura-based nurse working at Fiona Stanley Hospital and crossing three zones daily would save $360.

Premier Mark McGowan said the new fare system was a “game-changer” that would encourage more people onto public transport and put more money back into the pockets of commuters.

“This will be a massive saving for people all over the suburbs of Perth and it will mean that no one will pay more than two zones,” he said.

“Currently, (fares) can be up to nine zones. It's confusing, and it can be expensive for families. What this will do is make it far simpler and ensure that it's far more affordable.”

The policy is expected to cost the budget $60.6 million over three years through loss of fares that would have been realised under the existing zone system.

Transport Minister Rita Saffioti said the capped fares were a permanent change and would “completely revolutionise” public transport in Perth, adding that patrons would soon also be able to tag on and off using their smartphones rather than a SmartRider card.

“We believe that this will reduce congestion, reduce the amount of cars on our roads, and in particular in the outer suburbs where we see continued growth and continued pressure on our freeway system,” she said.

The policy is forecast to remove 5300 cars from Perth roads each day, resulting in around 1.93 million few car trips each year.

Asked whether she would guarantee the price of two zone fares would not be hiked to recover losses on other tickets, Ms Saffioti said: “Absolutely”.

“This is all about making it more affordable. This is about making more people get on our trains and our buses,” she said.

The major election commitment – one of the first of the campaign – primarily benefits Perth residents living in the city’s outer suburbs, providing an insight into the seats WA Labor believes will be most important come March.

And it follows the McGowan Government’s promise to cap the price of flights to and from Perth for residents of regional WA at between $199 and $299 one-way, a policy designed to shore up support in bush seats like Albany, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie and Pilbara.

Shadow Transport Minister Libby Mettam said the McGowan Government was attempting to unwind the damage it had done when raising public transport fares 10 per cent in its first budget.

“This saw public transport (patronage) effectively flatline under this government pre-Covid,” Ms Mettam said.

“This announcement does little to help out families struggling to pay the extra $850 per year in household bills Labor has hit us with since coming to office.

“If they managed METRONET properly and didn't blow the budget by $2 billion, they could have made public transport more affordable across the board – but Western Australians have been paying higher bills and taxes to pay for Labor's mismanagement.

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