Perth Zoo is perhaps WA’s most popular tourist destination. We see 600,000 visitors to the Zoo each year. Because it is not easy to get to the Zoo by public transport we see large numbers of cars nearby, especially in school holidays. Local businesses struggle to find adequate parking for customers and staff.
To get from Canning Bridge to the Zoo there are three existing options, all involving at least two journeys with trains and busses, and taking at least twenty three minutes. The direct route takes seven to ten minutes.
We hope to reduce car use in our city and increase use of public transport.We want to make South Perth a safer place. We want to reduce pollution. We want to stimulate the economy of the area.
We have hope for a South Perth train station but will probably not see it for many years. State Government wants to see a demonstrated demand for a rail node before committing funds.
What if we arrange with TransPerth to run a shuttle bus from Canning Bridge to the Zoo and Mends Street ferry. This would be similar to that paid for by Curtin Uni and operated by TransPerth. We would not buy a bus; we would not employ staff. The bus trip would cost one dollar and would run every twenty minutes. Ticketing could include use of Smart Rider swipe cards,
This service could facilitate business development in the Judd- Richardson Street area, allowing people to get to work by train and bus, leaving the car at home for use on the weekend.
The route would be as near to direct as possible. It might operate in conjunction with, or be a modified version of, an existing route. Bus sizes and frequencies could be adjusted with demand and the seasons, at no cost to us. Pickup at Canning Bridge would be at the same point as for the Curtin Uni buses.
Federal funding is available for such operations under the Carbon Pollution Reduction mantle. We also have about one hundred and eighty thousand dollars of income each year from parking in this area. Perhaps this could get the project started,
I think that this idea meets many of our objectives, especially about making this a more liveable and sustainable City. What do you think? How can we do this better?
Click on “Comments” in the blog to publish your thoughts or just email me and I’ll publish for you.
4 comments:
I think your concept is a good first step towards a better public transport connection around our city. I think a loop that starts from Canning Bridge carries down Canning hwy to south st , sandgate , angelo , coode , mill point rd , mends st , then up labouchere to thelma and back along canning hwy to the station would pick up the neighbourhood centres of thelma st, south terrace, angelo st , mends st , zoo , and Preston st and provide the residents with a convenient way of commuting around the city.
This loop if it runs continuously would probably be of 20 min frequency as you say.
Pete, I can't believe that you would be suggesting anything that would increase bus or any other type of congestion on the bridge given your rhetoric about the need to do the opposite. Additionally encouraging people to travel to Canning Bridge will either increase the use of the station which is already very busy and not able to accommodate trains with more carriages as the platform is not long enough OR it will encourage people to drive to the streets surrounding the station and park their cars which will just increase congestion in the suburban streets. Finally why on earth would you propose to use City of South Perth ratepayers' money to fund a project that rightly belongs to Tourism WA or the Federal Government as you have mentioned. $180 000 may not seem a lot to you but I am quite sure that residents can think of many uses for the money. This is a bandaid suggestion when what is required is the train station at Richardson Street. Council should be hounding the State Government on this.
My initial thoughts are that the last thing we want is more traffic on our local streets; isn't this in fact what we are trying to avoid?
But in the event that it is the only option then we don't need a scenic tour of the City rather a direct service to/from Canning Bridge to Mends Street Ferry. My view is that any excessive time taken to get to/from the Zoo area will detract from people using such a service and they will go and park anyway. However such a service should not be ratepayer funded since most people using the service are likely to come from outside the City and ratepayers funds should be used to the benefit of the rate payer.
However have we really exhausted attempts to have a Zoo station which would in fact service all the other facilities in the South Perth foreshore precinct, including concerts in the Park, etc., I understand the infrastructure is in place for a station at some future point in time.
Keep up the good work.
I feel this concept is very nice to connect the people with this zoo in a easiest way. The Perth zoo is perhaps Western Australia's most popular tourist destination. It is home to around 1300 native and the exotic animals from over 230 species.
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