❓ Mr Williams asks about the affordability of public transport. The Minister for Transport responds by highlighting initiatives like the Go Anywhere Fare, free travel Sundays, and halved Transwa fares, while also criticising the opposition's past plans regarding the AvonLink service.
AnsweredQoN 151Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
Public transport—Affordability
151. Mr Rhys Williams to
the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering affordable public transport
services.
(1)
Can the minister update the house on how the government is making public
transport cheaper and more accessible for Western Australian families?
(2)
Can the minister advise the house how cheaper public transport is supporting
more Western Australians, particularly in light of rising fuel costs caused by
the conflict in the Middle East?
151. Mr Rhys Williams to
the Minister for Transport:
I refer to the Cook
Labor government's commitment to delivering affordable public transport
services.
(1)
Can the minister update the house on how the government is making public
transport cheaper and more accessible for Western Australian families?
(2)
Can the minister advise the house how cheaper public transport is supporting
more Western Australians, particularly in light of rising fuel costs caused by
the conflict in the Middle East?
AnswerView source ↗
(1)–(2)
I thank the member for that question. Of course, it is those residents in the
outer suburbs and in regional Western Australia who are seeing real cost
savings in public transport because of our initiatives. The Go Anywhere Fare
started on 1 January, capping the cost of public transport across the suburbs
to $2.80 with the autoload SmartRider. Last week, the average daily number of
people using the journeys was 180,000 people—people who are benefiting
from this new fare. That means we are seeing more people on public transport
than ever before. Real savings are being delivered to Western Australians with free-travel
Sundays, kids going to school for free, and of course our capped public
transport fares. In regional Western Australia, we have halved Transwa fares, so
we are seeing a 50% cut, and what we are really seeing is an increase in
patronage. Comparing one week in March to the similar week last year, there has
been a 16% increase in patronage across Transwa. One of the key areas where we
have seen a massive increase has been the AvonLink, which I know some people
are very interested in. Remember, it was the AvonLink that the Liberal and
National Parties had planned to cut. They planned to cut it. In a news article from
20 August 2013, the then Minister for Transport said that the Perth to Northam line
would be cancelled from December and that the—
Mr Shane Love: It was not. It was not
cancelled.
Ms Rita Saffioti: They planned to cut it and I will
tell members the story; I am glad of the interjection. One of the first things
that happened—
Several members
interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti: The story is—the facts are—that
when we got elected, as the new Minister for Transport, I was presented with
the forward estimates and what was planned to be cut, and there it was: the AvonLink was budgeted to be cut from 1 July. That
is what the Liberal and National Parties did. That is what the National Party
did. They were planning to cut the AvonLink .
It was in their estimates—no funding. Plus—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Thank you.
Ms Rita Saffioti: Under Labor, we have cut the fare,
not the train service, and we have seen a 16% increase in use across Transwa.
Again, in these times, of course, with what is happening in relation to the
global economic shocks, public transport and regional Transwa provide an option
for Western Australians. Not everyone can catch public transport or Transwa, but
those who can are jumping on board and getting the savings. We are making sure
and we will continue to make sure that regional Western Australians and those
across the suburbs have quality public transport, an affordable option, with investment
like we have never seen, and of course it has been the Liberal–National
Party fighting us every day on delivering Metronet and subsidising fares. We
have had the shadow Treasurer and the shadow spokesperson for other matters—I
think Treasury or finance matters—in the upper house saying that we
should not be subsidising public transport and we should not be cutting fares.
As has been demonstrated, more than ever before, people are catching the buses,
trains and ferries as an option to move across this state and these suburbs in
an affordable way.
I thank the member for that question. Of course, it is those residents in the
outer suburbs and in regional Western Australia who are seeing real cost
savings in public transport because of our initiatives. The Go Anywhere Fare
started on 1 January, capping the cost of public transport across the suburbs
to $2.80 with the autoload SmartRider. Last week, the average daily number of
people using the journeys was 180,000 people—people who are benefiting
from this new fare. That means we are seeing more people on public transport
than ever before. Real savings are being delivered to Western Australians with free-travel
Sundays, kids going to school for free, and of course our capped public
transport fares. In regional Western Australia, we have halved Transwa fares, so
we are seeing a 50% cut, and what we are really seeing is an increase in
patronage. Comparing one week in March to the similar week last year, there has
been a 16% increase in patronage across Transwa. One of the key areas where we
have seen a massive increase has been the AvonLink, which I know some people
are very interested in. Remember, it was the AvonLink that the Liberal and
National Parties had planned to cut. They planned to cut it. In a news article from
20 August 2013, the then Minister for Transport said that the Perth to Northam line
would be cancelled from December and that the—
Mr Shane Love: It was not. It was not
cancelled.
Ms Rita Saffioti: They planned to cut it and I will
tell members the story; I am glad of the interjection. One of the first things
that happened—
Several members
interjected.
Ms Rita Saffioti: The story is—the facts are—that
when we got elected, as the new Minister for Transport, I was presented with
the forward estimates and what was planned to be cut, and there it was: the AvonLink was budgeted to be cut from 1 July. That
is what the Liberal and National Parties did. That is what the National Party
did. They were planning to cut the AvonLink .
It was in their estimates—no funding. Plus—
Several members
interjected.
The Speaker: Members! Thank you.
Ms Rita Saffioti: Under Labor, we have cut the fare,
not the train service, and we have seen a 16% increase in use across Transwa.
Again, in these times, of course, with what is happening in relation to the
global economic shocks, public transport and regional Transwa provide an option
for Western Australians. Not everyone can catch public transport or Transwa, but
those who can are jumping on board and getting the savings. We are making sure
and we will continue to make sure that regional Western Australians and those
across the suburbs have quality public transport, an affordable option, with investment
like we have never seen, and of course it has been the Liberal–National
Party fighting us every day on delivering Metronet and subsidising fares. We
have had the shadow Treasurer and the shadow spokesperson for other matters—I
think Treasury or finance matters—in the upper house saying that we
should not be subsidising public transport and we should not be cutting fares.
As has been demonstrated, more than ever before, people are catching the buses,
trains and ferries as an option to move across this state and these suburbs in
an affordable way.
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