Canning Vale College students Jacob Thomas and Kelly James with second year apprentice Kylie Van Uden (front).
Camera IconCanning Vale College students Jacob Thomas and Kelly James with second year apprentice Kylie Van Uden (front). Credit: Supplied/Marcelo Palacios

CAT trails behind light rail

Staff ReporterWestern Suburbs Weekly

At its meeting last week, councillors signed off on a review of current public transport options, which included a recommendation not to consider a CAT service at this stage.

Mayor Heather Henderson said a CAT service was not a top priority, given the potential difficulties in financing a free service through the district.

‘For many years there was discussion with the City of Perth about extending the CAT bus into Subiaco, and there were issues about how it would be supported financially,’ she said. ‘Secondly, to extend it into the city of Subiaco would prolong the service and not allow for the frequency that was currently available.

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‘But the city is always looking for other connections, and there is a feeling that there should be some shuttle connection between railway stations and certain parts of the city.’

She added the existence of the 97 bus route, which connects QEII and the Subiaco train station, meant there was already a local service paid for by the city.

But Mrs Henderson said a light rail service was still the best option, further down the line.

‘The city was one of the first councils to first talk about light rail many years ago with a view to having a light rail that connected UWA to Curtin (university) through the city,’ she said. ‘We’re waiting for the opportunity to have some light rail in Subiaco, to service mainly QEII and UWA.’

Light rail is one transport option under discussion in Subiaco since the Think2030 community visioning project in 2011, which allowed residents and visitors to comment on facilities. This was followed in 2012 by a CATALYSE Community Perceptions Survey, which examined the views of residents.