The Department of Transport has announced a new Golden SmartRider competition in an effort to attract more commuters back onto public transport.
Minister for Transport, Rita Saffioti said while the State had experienced one of the strongest returns to public transport across the country following the impacts of COVID-19, services were still running at 85 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Ms Saffioti said over October, every commuter who travelled on public transport and filled out an online entry form on the Transperth website would go into a draw to win.
She said one winner would be chosen each week from 1 October who would be entitled to one year’s worth of free travel across the Transperth network.
Ms Saffioti said the competition was part of a project to upgrade the SmartRider ticketing system, which would include the option for commuters to tag on to the network using their mobile phone or credit card.
“More than 4,200 new SmartRider machines and new ticket vending machines will be installed, with the new payment technology expected to roll out across the network from 2023,” she said.
“While we have had one of the best public transport patronage recoveries in Australia, thanks to our strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to encourage more people back onto our network,” Ms Saffioti said.
