It constantly amazes me that even in rush hour buses from the Hills into the city are rarely ever full. Most times that I travel to the city I have the seat to myself. It got me wondering - why? One of the things I suspect that many Hill’s residents would find frustrating is that most of the bus services stop all the way along Great Eastern Highway. This adds considerably to the time it takes to travel to Perth by bus. For example the bus from Kalamunda takes about 55 minutes to get to the city, whilst the same trip takes just 40 minutes by car.
While this is only a 15 minute difference, we all live very busy lives. With their family and work commitments this extra 30 minutes travel time per day is time that many people are simply unwilling to commit.
The answer to this is simple. Run all Kalamunda bus services express once they reach Great Eastern Highway. People living along Great Eastern Highway already benefit from having multiple bus services and shorter travel times, so it seems to me that this would be a more equitable outcome that would encourage more Hill’s residents to commute by bus.
During rush hour there should also be a number of services that run express from Kalamunda bus station all the way into the city without stopping. This would mean that the travel time in the bus would be faster than by car with the benefit of the special transit lanes across the Causeway. Similar services could run from other major Hill’s centres such as Lesmurdie and Darlington.
Another thing we need to do is to educate people on how much it is costing them to commute by car to work every day. I’ve done the sums and I think that many people would be amazed by the result. The average hills commuter would save around $7,000 a year by taking the bus rather than the car. With rising petrol prices this saving is only going to increase. People could use this saving to help pay off their mortgage or to help offset the rising costs of food, fuel and other living expenses. I’m sure that if more people were aware how much it is really costing them for the convenience of commuting by car they would think twice and many would more likely take the bus.
Bus stops are also in urgent need of upgrade within the Perth Hills area. In the western suburbs, almost every bus stop has a shelter and most stops have timetables and route maps clearly displayed. Yet Perth Hills stops for the most part do not.
The Kalamunda Bus Station is in a shocking state of disrepair. There is no adequate shelter from the rain, there is no lighting in the car park at night, and there are no lock-up facilities for bikes.
Our community needs a light rail route from Perth to Maida Vale, via Forrestfield and the Airport, which would dramatically reduce travel time for Hill’s commuters, when linked with express feeder bus services from the Hills suburbs.