Metropolitan Transport Trust

The Metropolitan (Perth) Passenger Transport Trust was a statutory authority of the Government of Western Australia from 1958 to 2003. From 1958 to the mid-1990s, it operated bus and ferry services within the Perth metropolitan area. From 1974 to 1993, it managed suburban rail services within the Perth metropolitan area as well, contracting the operation of those services to Westrail.

The organisation was formed with the trading name Metropolitan Transport Trust (MTT) on 15 January 1958 with the purpose of consolidating the various private bus companies into one entity. The private bus companies at the time were in a perilous financial state and people believed that Perth would benefit from a single integrated public transport system. Over the following four years, the MTT acquired the bus companies and the government-operated ferries. The MTT opened the first bus stations in Perth during the 1970s, starting with Morley bus station (now Galleria bus station) in August 1972 and Wellington Street bus station in March 1973.

In March 1974, the MTT took over the management of Perth's suburban rail system from the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) and contracted the operation of the suburban rail system back to WAGR, making this the first time that all public transport in Perth has been managed by one organisation. The MTT adopted Transperth as its trading name on 31 August 1986 in a bid to create a unified brand for the buses, ferries and trains. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the existing three train lines were electrified and the Joondalup line was constructed.

The process for privatising the operation of the Transperth system began in 1993. Responsibility for managing the system was transferred to the Department of Transport. The Transperth brand was also transferred to the Department of Transport, with the brand to be used by all the companies which were to operate services under contract. The MTT adopted the trading name MetroBus on 14 February 1995. The operation of the ferries was transferred to Captain Cook Cruises in February 1995. It was initially planned that MetroBus would compete with the private sector for contracts, and it was successful in bidding for the Joondalup North, Armadale South and Perth CATs contracts in 1995 and 1996 whilst several other contracts were awarded to the private sector. The government later announced that it would withdraw MetroBus from operating and it would tender out the remaining contract areas. MetroBus ceased operating bus services on 4 July 1998 and it was abolished on 30 June 2003 upon the formation of the Public Transport Authority.

Investment in buses by the private bus companies in Perth fell during and after World War II, leading the buses to become run-down. Car ownership became more common as well, and these factors caused bus patronage to fall following 1950. The private bus companies were in a perilous financial state and people believed that Perth would benefit from a single integrated public transport system.

In 1957, the Parliament of Western Australia passed the Metropolitan (Perth) Passenger Transport Trust Act. The act was assented on 10 December that year and on 15 January 1958, the Metropolitan (Perth) Passenger Transport Trust was formed under the trading name Metropolitan Transport Trust, or MTT for short. The act called for the MTT "to provide, maintain, protect and manage … efficient passenger transport facilities."

The MTT commenced operations on 31 August 1958. The first two private operators the MTT acquired were Metro Buses and Beam Transport. Later in 1958, Carlisle Bus Service, Kalamunda Bus Service and United Buses were acquired. In early 1959, Emu Buses was acquired. No further acquisitions were in the 1959–60 financial year, but negotiations commenced for the acquisition of the WA Government Tramways and Ferries, the Fremantle Municipal Transport Board, the Riverton Bus Service, and the Coogee-Spearwood Bus Company. Concession fares for pensioners and ex-service people were introduced. The following financial year, the MTT acquired the aforementioned agencies and companies. By this point, the MTT owned 26 different engine models which resulted in high maintenance and repair costs, so the MTT adopted a fleet standardisation policy.

The MTT acquired the North Beach Bus Company in October 1961 and in April 1962, it acquired the Scarborough Bus Service. The MTT took over the operation of the Perth to Wanneroo bus service from Metro Tours in June 1964. Bus-ferry transfers were introduced in 1964–65, which allowed transfers between the two modes with no additional cost to the passenger. This resulted in an increase in patronage on the ferry services from the Barrack Street Jetty to the Mends Street Jetty in South Perth. Diesel buses started to take over the trolleybus routes as well that financial year. On 30 August 1969, the last trolleybuses ran, making Perth the last city in Australia where trolleybuses operated.