Public transport needs to keep pace with Perth’s growth.
PERTH’S public rail system is an example of Western Australian leadership and foresight. It shows that as a community we can be visionary and set the Australian benchmark for transportation best practice.
Yet the current issue of overcrowding on the Joondalup line serves to warn against complacency because, while we deserve to pat ourselves on the back for our successes, as the city grows we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.
The completion of the Joondalup line in 1992, subsequent development of the northern suburbs transit system and construction of the new metro rail line to Mandurah in 2007, have resulted in passenger numbers for rail in Perth reaching an all-time high and well ahead of planning predictions – an outcome that could be considered an unqualified success.
But success will quickly turn to failure if our public transit infrastructure fails to keep pace with growth, and it is evident that the Joondalup line is already falling victim to a lack of continuous investment and improvement – less than 20 years after opening.
The overcrowding of commuter trains, and park-and-ride facilities that are full by 7.30am, are signs that public transit does not start and end with the construction of train lines. As a city we need to be on a path of continuous investment and improvement to keep pace with growth – not wait until our existing systems can no longer cope with demand.
The population of Perth is currently about 1.66 million, and public transit infrastructure developed when the population was 1.2 million is already straining under the weight.
What will happen in 2050 when it is anticipated that our population will reach 3.5 million?
The year 2050 might seem like a long way off, but in planning terms it is not.
Both the Joondalup and Mandurah rail lines were about six to 10 years in planning and construction – about 20 years in total delivery. The development of an adequate transit system to meet the needs of a further doubling of our population can only be expected to take longer again, meaning that we need to start now.
Delivery of such a system will require both improvement of our existing transit and very substantial investment in new infrastructure – high quality light rail that can provide the orbital links to complement our existing radial systems.
The benefits of light rail are well documented; it can integrate seamlessly into existing urban areas, it is flexible, cost effective and environmentally friendly, and in cities that have implemented new systems or upgraded existing facilities, people are flocking to it.
In December 2010, Premier Colin Barnett announced that a light rail system is in the planning stages; this is great news.
The 20-year public transport strategy now needs to be released for public comment so we can be sure the investment in public transport that any growing city needs will be made. When voters experience growing pains without solutions in sight, they bay for political blood.
Good public transit, particularly rail, is something that Perth’s population has demonstrated time and time again that it wants and will use in numbers that far outweigh conservative predictions.
Community pressure was instrumental in saving the city’s railway system in the 1980s following the 1979 closure of the Perth to Fremantle line. Public pressure was instrumental in leading to its subsequent expansion of rail lines into the northern suburbs. The state government of the day paid the ultimate price for failure to listen to calls for high-quality rail provision and elections around Australia have been won and lost on public transport issues.
The Perth community expects and will continue to demand improvements to public transit, and the only way to keep pace with growth is to plan with foresight and invest in the future by making sure our existing rail services are future proof.
The time to invest in Perth’s future is now. With political will and clever investment strategies, Perth can keep its place as a leader in providing public transit.
• Marion Fulker is CEO of the Committee for Perth, a member-funded think tank focused on the Perth of the future.
