MANDURAH Transwa users will be riding in style with the State Government committing $16.3million towards 23 new road coaches on Friday.
The decade-old coach fleet of 22 will be replaced over the next three years and will also expand by one extra bus.
Transport Minister Dean Nalder said the old coaches had earned their keep, travelling an average of 1.4 million kilometres each.
He said while the vehicle’s odometer might seem high it was standard for a road coach which travels across Western Australia.
In 2012-13, Transwa’s 144 services per week carried about 210,000 passengers.
“All buses are meticulously maintained by Transwa which extends their life,” he said.
“Daily checks are conducted on the vehicles so that any maintenance issues can be addressed early.
“Preventative maintenance is scheduled maintenance that is carried out prior to major component failures.
“In this way the coach operates more reliably and safer.”
Mr Nalder said the existing coaches had already had their operating life extended by several years through this intensive preventive maintenance program.
Until a preferred tenderer is known, it is not known what the new road coaches will look like however the Transport Minister said they would be at a similar five-star quality to the current ones.
The $15.1million of the upgrade was funded by the State Government’s Royalties for Regions program.
Regional Development Minister Terry Redman said the investment would improve services in regional communities and especially help senior passengers and tourists who were frequent bus users.
“This provides regular transport services to people in the 250 regional communities they travel between and a vital link for tourists exploring WA,” Mr Redman said.
It is expected the buses will start to roll out late next year.