Summer of thrifty ride: Government brings back free transport, flags public holiday change

In an event-studded Perth weekend that has included the rescheduled WA Day Festival, Pride Parade and first Test against India, the state government has announced a repeat of last year’s free public transport over summer.

Premier Roger Cook also floated the idea of changing the WA Day public holiday from the first Monday in June to later in the year.

From December 14 to February 5 (so, not quite a full “free summer”!) all West Australians with a SmartRider can travel on buses, trains and ferries for free.

Premier Roger Cook taps his SmartRider.

The scheme will cost $14 million and has been spruiked as a cost-of-living measure.

“Today, we’re very pleased to announce that this is a ‘free-peat’. The summer of free public transport is coming back again,” Cook told reporters on Sunday at the WA Day Festival.

“We know that there are plenty of people struggling with the cost of living at the moment.

“So this is a great opportunity to provide that relief over the summer holidays and during the summer work period for a whole range of people who take advantage of public transport.”

As with the previous 2023-24 policy, it is expected to see a rise in public transport patronage.

“Last year, 8.3 million people tagged on for the summer of free public transport that increased our patronage on the same time last year by 42 per cent,” the Premier said.

Cook also said he was open to changing the June WA Day public holiday to later in the year, to complement the better weather.

“I’m open to the idea of aligning our public holidays with the public holidays in the east coast. I think that makes sense from an economic reform point of view,” he said.

“We’re here today sucking up this beautiful late spring weather.

“So I can understand why many people would see this as an opportunity to just tweak these dates a bit so that we can celebrate WA Day in more warmer weather.

But he wouldn’t confirm when such a decision would be made, saying it would be “in due course”.

The festival entertainment was set to include music by WA artists including Eskimo Joe, Angie Colman and San Cisco, as well as fireworks, a drone light show, rides and food trucks.

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