Borussia_Teeth

I am only five weeks away from starting my new job in Perth!

We are currently looking at setting up in Rockingham (cheap housing, by the sea etc etc etc).

My work will be located just past the CBD in Subiaco which makes for a rather annoying 6 minute connecting train on the Freemantle line.

My question is... what is it like commuting by car from the South to Central Perth on the Kwinana freeway?

I plan to leave home at around 6.15am every morning (and start work just after 7am until just after 3.30pm).

Sunshine7

The traffic is really bad in the mornings - you could be lucky and get to Perth in under an hour, but then it could well take more like an hour and a half!

The train takes just over half an hour to Perth so you would get to Subiaco in under an hour, and it's a lot less stressful.

Not much help, sorry, but my hubby has done the journey by car and by train at that time in the morning - and the train wins. He would never take the car unless he REALLY had to for some reason.

Sunshine7

Sorry, meant to say ..... good luck with the new job - Perth is cooling down a lot now and we are having a bit of rain, but it's still lovely here

Borussia_Teeth

Thanks - I dont mind the rain and it looks like youll have a nice weekend according to the forecast

Sunshine7

Yep, it's going to get really warm again next week according to the forecast.

Have you got somewhere to live in Rockingham? You will find lots of info about it on here if you do a search - I think it has been discussed many times.

ozhappy981

Commuting by car from Rockingham to Perth will be horrible and you can't do it in 45 minutes at that time of day. If you have to live in Rockingham (not sure from your post why you must live there if you work in Perth), I would suggest you choose some short-term accommodation and see if you can live with the long journey each way every day.

Japonica

Ack, I would go by train. I have no idea about what it costs to commute daily to and from work with it...I just use the Family Rider passes and haul the kids to the CBD and back on school holidays, but seriously...the Kwinana is a parking lot after 3pm heading south...some exits obviously worse than others.

Even if it worked out to the same cost as petrol and maintenance and parking, it would still be worth it to me to avoid the gridlock, lousy drivers, and massive aggravation...

We were just heading back from the CBD today at 3:30pm on the train, passing all the cars stopped or barely doing 60km/h. We made the trip to Warnbro Stn (the one past Rockingham) in 40 minutes. It would have taken at least an hour by car at that time of day.

mvagusta

My son in law works in Perth and travels from Rockingham every day. The traffic is bad and he leaves at 5.30am to start at 7.00am. He normally arrives with 15 mins to spare.

I would say let the train take the strain but bare in mind thaT the car parks at the station fill up quickly especially the free one so you will have to allow $2 per day for parking. You may have to stand on the train if it's busy, which it normally is.

An off peak return from Wanbro to Perth costs $9.00. I'm not sure what a normal ticket would cost.

Also take into consideration that you will need a plan B when the trains don't actually run for what ever reason although it's not that common.

ernie24

I travel from Rockingham (Safety Bay) to West Perth (near Subi) every day and door to door it takes me 1h 10m (10mins to the station in the morning, 35min train ride to Perth, 10min bus ride to work + 15mins waiting for train/ bus). With a 'Smartrider' card the journey costs just under $10 a day which by UK standards is pretty damn cheap.

Parking at Rockingham is fine as long as you're there before about 8am and if that's full then there always seem to be space at Warnbro (next stop away from Perth).

I drive ocassionally but to be honest it is a nightmare and will take you at least an hour and with the price of petrol at the moment will cost you more than the train!

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!

Good luck!

eddie007

DONT DO IT....

Used to work in perth, unsocial hours the drive was fine, but during the peak times its HIDEOUS

As previously said... Go by train,


And when you arrive look us up, we're in shockingham too

HelenTD

As others have said, take the train. The drive would be tiresome at the best of times, but it's nearly winter here and driving in Perth's heavy rain (if we get any) can be terrifying. Use TravelPerth's Journey Planner http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/Jour...N&EndMode=Walk to see the timings from Rockingham to Subiaco - it shows having to change from Perth Underground to Perth Station (a walk of 228 metres), journey time about 1 hour, or taking a bus from Rockingham to Fremantle and then the train to Subiaco, about 1 hour 15 mins.

Anibec

Hi,
I travel from Rockingham to Leederville daily, the next stop after Perth, train is the only way. You should be able to park for free at Rockingham ok until 7.30, then the pay one starts to fill $2, after 8.30 its a lottery to get a space. Travel costs me $10 a day with a smartrider.
No-ones mentioned yet the joy of playing sardines. Your lucky to get a seat if you travel between 7.30 & 8 in the morning.

Always up for saying hello to new people if you're set on Rockingham.

Borussia_Teeth

Thanks for all your responses - it seems like the train is the way to go.

I should be OK with the lock up parking as I will be there early and the train cannot be any worse than my current daily Virgin rail trip from Newcastle to Leeds which is on average half an hour late EVERY afternoon.

Sunshine7

If your rental is near a bus stop (probably will be) then even easier - just get the bus to the station in the morning, get dropped off right at the door! They run very frequently and you just have the one travel card which covers the bus and train.

Much easier and probably even quicker because you won't have to find parking, and you never have long to wat for a bus when getting off the train later in the day either.

ozhappy981

For all those using the SmartRider card - in case you did not know:

If you sign up for "AutoLoad" you get a 25% discount on the cash price of the ticket. Using SmartRider without AutoLoad only gives you a 15% discount.

"AutoLoad" means your SmartRider gets charged up by direct debit. You set the amount when you sign up - has to be between $20 and $250.

To read more and to sign up go here: http://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/Tick...ueMethods.aspx

Scroll down to the "AutoLoad" section.