❓ Mrs Munday asks about public transport usage and affordability following government investments. The Minister responds with data showing increased patronage and highlights initiatives like Metronet and fare reductions.
AnsweredQoN 183Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Public transport—Infrastructure
183. Mrs Lisa Munday to
the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering affordable and accessible public
transport services.
(1) Can the minister please update the
house on how many Western Australians are embracing the public transport
infrastructure and services that this government has delivered?
(2) Can the minister also please outline
to the house how cheaper and more accessible public transport is supporting
Western Australians to travel to and from the city for work, study and events?
183. Mrs Lisa Munday to
the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering affordable and accessible public
transport services.
(1) Can the minister please update the
house on how many Western Australians are embracing the public transport
infrastructure and services that this government has delivered?
(2) Can the minister also please outline
to the house how cheaper and more accessible public transport is supporting
Western Australians to travel to and from the city for work, study and events?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2) I thank the member for that question.
Today we released some data from the calendar year 2025 that shows a
significant jump in public transport usage. In 2025, transport recorded 151.7 million
boardings. That is the first time that patronage has gone past 150 million.
It is an exceptional result for 2025 in particular, as much of the Armadale
line was still closed during that time. Another issue is that currently there
is an under-reporting of usage by school students. Because it is free, a lot of
kids are not tagging on and off, so we are now collecting that data to get a
better reflection of the jump in public transport usage.
As I said, public transport is
an affordable and efficient way to move around the suburbs. Our investment in
Metronet has made it so much easier for more people to catch public transport.
Our one-zone fare cap is making it far more affordable, and, importantly, these
benefits are flowing to regional Western Australians as we also halved the
fares for Transwa. We are seeing a significant jump in usage as a result. For
example, in the first week of March in 2026 compared with the equivalent time
last year, we have seen a 16% increase in Transwa fares usage plus a 21%
increase on the Prospector , member for
Kalgoorlie. We compared this March with last March a couple of weeks ago. In the
second week of March this year compared with the equivalent time last year,
there was a 10% increase in boardings. We are seeing more and more people
jumping onto public transport.
Where would we be without these
affordable fares and without Metronet? Of course, there would be less patronage
and not the great choice people now have to move around the suburbs at an
affordable rate on accessible public transport. When
we came to government, we decided to reverse the cut to AvonLink that the National Party was undertaking—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: The Leader of the Nationals WA.
Ms Rita Saffioti: The National Party and the Liberal
Party had planned to cut the AvonLink . That
was one of the first decisions that I had to reverse when we won government.
The previous government cut funding for AvonLink .
I was asked what I thought and said: "Do you know what? We're not going to
cut train services to regional WA. We're not going to do what they did to the
regional freight network and to public transport throughout the state."
Our investment in Metronet and in affordable fares, our caps on public
transport fares and the halving of transport fares on Transwa means that more
Western Australians can move around more affordably than ever before.
Visitors
The Speaker: Before I give the call to the member for
Nedlands, on behalf of the member for Collie–Preston, I welcome members of the
Curtin Labor Society up in the public gallery today, especially the president,
Ebony Whitney, who is a former student of the member for Collie–Preston's
senior high school.
Today we released some data from the calendar year 2025 that shows a
significant jump in public transport usage. In 2025, transport recorded 151.7 million
boardings. That is the first time that patronage has gone past 150 million.
It is an exceptional result for 2025 in particular, as much of the Armadale
line was still closed during that time. Another issue is that currently there
is an under-reporting of usage by school students. Because it is free, a lot of
kids are not tagging on and off, so we are now collecting that data to get a
better reflection of the jump in public transport usage.
As I said, public transport is
an affordable and efficient way to move around the suburbs. Our investment in
Metronet has made it so much easier for more people to catch public transport.
Our one-zone fare cap is making it far more affordable, and, importantly, these
benefits are flowing to regional Western Australians as we also halved the
fares for Transwa. We are seeing a significant jump in usage as a result. For
example, in the first week of March in 2026 compared with the equivalent time
last year, we have seen a 16% increase in Transwa fares usage plus a 21%
increase on the Prospector , member for
Kalgoorlie. We compared this March with last March a couple of weeks ago. In the
second week of March this year compared with the equivalent time last year,
there was a 10% increase in boardings. We are seeing more and more people
jumping onto public transport.
Where would we be without these
affordable fares and without Metronet? Of course, there would be less patronage
and not the great choice people now have to move around the suburbs at an
affordable rate on accessible public transport. When
we came to government, we decided to reverse the cut to AvonLink that the National Party was undertaking—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: The Leader of the Nationals WA.
Ms Rita Saffioti: The National Party and the Liberal
Party had planned to cut the AvonLink . That
was one of the first decisions that I had to reverse when we won government.
The previous government cut funding for AvonLink .
I was asked what I thought and said: "Do you know what? We're not going to
cut train services to regional WA. We're not going to do what they did to the
regional freight network and to public transport throughout the state."
Our investment in Metronet and in affordable fares, our caps on public
transport fares and the halving of transport fares on Transwa means that more
Western Australians can move around more affordably than ever before.
Visitors
The Speaker: Before I give the call to the member for
Nedlands, on behalf of the member for Collie–Preston, I welcome members of the
Curtin Labor Society up in the public gallery today, especially the president,
Ebony Whitney, who is a former student of the member for Collie–Preston's
senior high school.
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