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Transport in Perth, Western Australia, is served by various means, among them an extensive highway/freeway network and a substantial system of commuter rail lines and bus routes. Public transport is managed by theTransperth agency.
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Following the settlement of theSwan River Colony in 1829, theSwan River was the main transportation link betweenPerth and the port ofFremantle.[1] Land transportation was difficult as the only river crossing near Perth, aford at the eastern end of the town, was often impassable for wagons and carts. The next crossing point was 32 kilometres (20 mi) upstream atGuildford, a major detour.[1] The only alternative to these river crossings were ferries, which operated fromNorth Fremantle,[2]Preston Point,[3][4] andThe Narrows.[1]
Perth has an extensive road network centred around three freeways and nine metropolitan highways. It has no toll roads.
TheMitchell Freeway connects the city centre toJoondalup, in Perth's northern suburbs. TheKwinana Freeway runs through and beyond the city's southern suburbs towardsMandurah andBunbury. TheGraham Farmer Freeway, incorporating the Northbridge tunnel, was built in 2000, primarily to provide a road link between East Perth and West Perth and act as a city bypass.[5]
The port city ofFremantle, and adjacent suburbs, are linked to the city centre viaStirling Highway, which travels on the north side of theSwan River after crossing intoNorth Fremantle on the Stirling Bridge. On the southern side of the river,Canning Highway, which later continues on asGreat Eastern Highway, connects Fremantle toMidland, north-east of the city centre.Leach Highway is a parallel route that terminates at the edge ofPerth Airport. Marmion Avenue is the northern continuation ofWest Coast Highway, which runs near the coastline, fromSwanbourne toTrigg.[5]
The arterial routes out of thePerth Metropolitan Region radiate out as a series ofspokes.Stock Road,Rockingham Road, Patterson Road, Ennis Avenue, and Mandurah Road are part ofHighway 1, and a coastal route to the areas south of Perth. Kwinana Freeway, and its continuation asForrest Highway, provide a controlled access alternative (State Route 2) further inland, which meets up with Highway 1 (as Old Coast Road) atLake Clifton, south of Mandurah. Albany Highway (State Route 30) travels in a south-easterly direction toAlbany, Western Australia. AtArmadale, in Perth's south-eastern suburbs,South Western Highway (State Route 20) branches off Albany Highway, heading south towardsWalpole on Western Australia's southern coast.Brookton Highway (State Route 40) leads from Albany Highway inKelmscott (just north of Armadale) south-east towardsBrookton.[5]
From the Midland area,Great Eastern Highway connects toKalgoorlie, and is part ofNational Highway 94, which leads toAdelaide, South Australia.Great Northern Highway links Perth toWyndham in the state's north, and is the majority ofNational Highway 95 toDarwin, Northern Territory. It also carries Highway 1 northwards out of Perth.Toodyay Road (State Route 50) is a third route out of Midland, heading north-east toToodyay.Wanneroo Road (State Route 60) is a north-western route from Perth towardsYanchep and beyond, and Marmion Avenue provides a parallel route to Yanchep.[5]
Roe Highway offers a controlled access route between the Kwinana Freeway, east ofJandakot, east of Fremantle, and Midland. There was a plan to extendRoe Highway, Perth's southern half of itsring road, towards Fremantle via overpasses and a tunnel. Roe Highway has also been proposed to extend toStock Road inCoolbelup. InMiddle Swan, one suburb north of Midland,Reid Highway is the continuation of Roe Highway, travelling west toNorth Beach, where it meetsMarmion Avenue.
Weekday traffic congestion is worst during the morning peak hour, when traffic regularly slows to almost half the speed limit, and sometimes to a standstill. Depending on the road, the weekday peak hour is usually about 7am to 8am, or 8am to 9am.[6] On weekends, congestion is worst later in the morning and harder to predict. Rather than being on roads into the central business district, it centres on beaches, shopping centres, white goods and otherbig-box stores, and children's sporting grounds, such as netball courts.[7]
Perth metropolitan public transport, including trains, buses and ferries, are provided byTransperth, with links to rural areas provided byTranswa. Perth provides zero-fare train trips for SmartRider (travel fare card) holders around the city centre (the "Free Transit Zone"), as well as five high-frequency (every 8–15 minutes)Central Area Transit (CAT) bus routes (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple), which, alongside trips on regular Transperth buses in the city centre, are free to all users.
There are eight suburban rail lines, 94 stations and 13 bus-only stations in the metropolitan area.
An extensive bus network services the greater Perth metro area. Many bus routes act as feeder routes to the main rail lines.
There are high-frequency routes that serve Perth, connecting train stations and bus stations with 15 minute frequencies.
The CircleRoute, routes 998 (clockwise) and 999 (antic-clockwise), connect train stations on every rail line and multiple bus stations.
TheIndian Pacific passenger rail service connects Perth withAdelaide andSydney. TheProspector passenger rail service connects Perth with Kalgoorlie via several Wheatbelt towns, while theAustralind connects toBunbury, and theAvonLink connects toNortham.
Perth's first trams operated for a short period at the end of the nineteenth century, on an unsuccessful horse-car tramway between the GPO and East Perth.[8]
The city's first electric trams began operating in 1899 betweenEast Perth andWest Perth, alongHay Street in central Perth. The electric tram network was ultimately expanded west as far asClaremont, north as far asOsborne Park, and south across theSwan River causeway toVictoria Park,Como andWelshpool.[9]
The initial electric tram infrastructure in Perth was privately funded. The government took over the running of trams in 1914, with the aim of better co-ordinating the network. Trams were an integral part of the public transport system in the early 20th century until the advent of the private automobile. However, long term lack of government investment led to the network being phased out by July 1958. A number of Perth's historical trams are maintained atWhiteman Park.
Between 1905 and 1952,Fremantle had a small but comprehensive tramway network of its own. The Fremantle network was owned and operated by a consortium of local municipalities, and was never linked into the Perth network. Throughout its existence, the Fremantle network covered both theFremantle municipality and the adjacent municipality ofEast Fremantle. Its tram lines also extended for part of that period intoNorth Fremantle andMelville.[10]
There are now various tourist buses decorated as "trams", but running on rubber tyred wheels independently of rails, in both Perth and Fremantle. They operate services such as the Kings Park tram tour and others.
In 2012 a light rail network, to be known as theMetro Area Express was announced. After being pushed back, it was shelved in 2016.[11]
Since 2024, Perth’s public transport network has seen significant advancements in smart technology and real-time functionality. The Transperth mobile app now offers live tracking of buses, trains, and ferries, allowing commuters to view real-time service information and next arrivals.[12]
Transperth has also been steadily upgrading theSmartRider card system, including phased rollouts of new readers and value-loading machines, with plans to supportcontactless payments via debit/credit cards and mobile wallets by 2025.
On the road network side, Western Australia's “Smart Freeway” systems; first deployed on theKwinana Freeway in 2020 and expanded to theMitchell Freeway in December 2024, implementing over 1,400 sensors, CCTV, on‑ramp signals, digital gantries, and variable speed signs. These systems collect and analyse real-time traffic data to optimise flow, enhance safety, and reportedly reduce peak-hour commute times by up to seven minutes.[13][14]
Cycling in Perth is common on the roads and paths forrecreation,commuting andsport. Between 1998 and 2009 the number of cyclists in Perth increased 450%.[15]
Perth is served byPerth Airport in the city's east for regional, domestic and international flights andJandakot Airport in the city's southern suburbs for general aviation and charter flights.
