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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Guide to Perth by Tina Hammond Perth is an extremely travel-friendly city. Firstly, all buses travelling within a specified zone which makes up the city centre are free! The free zone is bordered by Kings Park Rd. Thomas Street, Newcastle Street, The Causeway and Barrack Street. In addition to these ordinary buses, there are also free 'Clipper' buses which run less frequently and on specific routes at specific times. There are five different clipper buses, distinguished by a colour displayed on the destination blind: Yellow, Blue, Red, Green and Route 2 (White). The clippers run from 7.30am to 5.30pm weekdays, and 9am to 11.30pm weekends. On a more general basis, the entire network is divided into seven zones and called Transperth. The rail network alone is called Fastrak. Tickets are available from all train stations, bus stations and ferry terminals. Purchase is by machine, but beware! These machines take only coins and there is no way of getting change unless a fellow passenger can assist. No change machines exist and nearby vendors, understandably, get peeved at being asked to give change out. ALL DAY TICKETS $5 for unlimited access to the network, train, bus or ferry and in all zones. Certainly the cheapest ticket if you are trying to get your bearings, as you can afford to make mistakes without cost! They can be used from 9am Monday to Friday and all day weekends and public holidays. GROUP DAY TRIPPER TICKETS A ticket with a difference. $5 for the same access offered by the All Day Ticket, but availability differs slightly. One ticket covers up to seven people (but no more than two adults) and can be used from 9am on weekdays during school holidays and all day weekends and public holidays. Excellent value, as it is two for the price of one. Press the All Day Ticket button on the vending machines 28 DAY PERIODICAL TICKET Unlimited travel all day every day. Ideal for commuters. Sold in zones, so travel is somewhat limited. One zone costs $48 and eight $188. MULTI-RIDER TICKETS. The one ticket you can buy without having to worry about coins, as they are freely available. All the normal places, plus Newspower Newsagents, as well as some TAFE centres and University Guild Offices. Gives you ten trips for the price of nine and does not expire until all ten trips have been taken. The ticket has to be validated in a special machine at all stations before travel commences. One trip is equal to two hours travel. Therefore, if you can get somewhere and return to your place of origin within two hours, only one validation is necessary. Again, zoning applies: one zone costs $12, and eight $41.15. Bus, ferry, train. CASH TICKETS A standard ticket. One ticket per journey, regardless of time taken. A one zone journey costs $1.40, a seven zone $4.80 and an eight zone $5.50. Suggest you purchase an All Day Ticket if travelling eight zones! BICYCLES Can he taken on trains, but a standard one zone ($1.40) Cash Ticket must he purchased. This is valid all day. Travel is not permitted at peak hours i.e. between 6am to 9am or 3pm to 6pm weekdays. There is a spot fine of S50 for travelling without a valid ticket, including a MultiRider that has not been validated prior to travel. I have witnessed this: two policemen got on a train and checked everybody's tickets: ten people were travelling illegally, so $500 was made in the space of five minutes. Timetables and other information are available from TRANSPERTH. Wel1ington Street Bus Station, Wellington Street, Perth, WA 6000. Telephone 13 22 13 (local call rate, anywhere from within Australia). 6.30am to 8pm Mon-Fri and 8am - 5pm Sat and Sun. AIRPORT
BUSES Operated by a private firm and buses run 15 (in theory) to 30
(in practice) minutes after the arrival of all domestic flights and 30-60
minutes after the arrival of international flights into Perth. Tickets
are purchased from the driver and cost $6 single or $100 return. The purchase
of a ticket also gives you discounts off certain day tours in and around
Perth. First published in issue 16 (April 1995), since when prices have almost certainly changed - but hopefully the basics may still apply! |