News Archive

The new number 950 bus from Morley means that UWA is now directly connected to all Perth train lines.

The new service is a continuous route from Morley busport via Beaufort Street and the city, to QEII and UWA. It is the result of consultation between the University, the Department of Transport and Transperth.

Manager of Parking and Transport David Tyrrell-Clark said UWA commuters could now get services in and out of the Esplanade Busport, and Perth Central and Perth Underground Stations via the 950's stops on Wellington Street.  "One of the big benefits of this new route is its frequency," he said. "It runs every few minutes, and every one or two minutes in peak times."

UWA employee Jake Dennis, who works at the QEII site, has changed from driving every day to taking the bus every day.

"Parking was getting too expensive at QEII, but it was a drag having to get two buses, and waiting around between them. Now I hop on, listen to music or read.  It doesn't even matter if I fall asleep at the end of a busy day. There's no changing buses and the service is so frequent that, if I'm running late and miss one, there'll be another one in a few minutes.  I can't use the excuse that I missed the bus if I'm late to work!"

Jake said he also felt good about leaving his car at home and not adding to his carbon footprint.

The State Minister for Sport and Recreation, Terry Waldron, used the UWA Bike Week event at the University Club to launch the government's new CycleWest cycling strategy.

As always, breakfast was provide for staff, students and Nedlands residents who have cycled to the Crawley campus.

The Bike Doctor was in his ‘surgery' and there were prizes for lucky cyclists.

Trish Howard, Communications Officer for Sustainable Initiatives, said the 2013 UWA Commuter Survey found that health and wellbeing was the main reason cited for cycling, rating higher than reducing the carbon footprint.

"We have developed a calculator for cycling to work. Assuming a staff member rides 12 kms to UWA three days per week over 50 weeks, this is equivalent to 11kgs of body fat, $2,268 in driving expenses, $460 in parking expenses and 720kgs of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to leaving a light bulb on for 500 days."

Sustainable Initiatives together with the student Guild is also running EnviroFest again on the Oak Lawn from 11.30am to 2pm on Tuesday 1 April.  It is a sustainability festival, designed to empower staff and students with the information and inclination to make sustainable choices, on and off campus.

The focus of this year's event will be an' upcycling' workshop.  Staff and students will be shown how to use interesting industry offcuts to create works of art.

"The new products will be flowers, bugs and birds, and we'll create an upcycled garden around the base and in the branches of one of the big oak trees," Trish said. "The tree will become an art installation for the rest of the week."

The workshop will be run by REmida, recycling and upcycling specialists.

EnviroFest will also have a native animal zoo with a koala, a dingo, a wedge tailed eagle and other birds of prey.