Is Public Transport Reliable in the Great Southern Region?

Yes, if you mean does the coach turn up when it says it will. In 2024-25, 98.34 per cent of Transwa road coach services arrived within 10 minutes of the scheduled time, against a target of 95 per cent. Public transport in the Great Southern region is punctual.

Useful is a different question. The whole network is a coach spine running along the highways, once or twice a day, and it stops nowhere near most of what people drive down here to see. Sorting out which of those two things you need is the difference between a good trip and a long afternoon at a roadside stop.

What the punctuality numbers tell you

The Public Transport Authority reports coach on-time running every year, and Transwa has cleared its target for four years running. It hit 98.34 per cent in 2024-25, 97.95 per cent the year before and 96.95 per cent in 2022-23. Overall satisfaction with Transwa's country rail and coach services sat at 90 per cent in the PTA Annual Report 2024-25.

The operation behind those numbers is small but steady. Transwa runs 143 road coach services a week across the state with 45 drivers and 25 Volvo Irizar coaches, all of them wheelchair accessible.

So the coaches come, and they come on time. The catch is how few of them there are.

What public transport runs through the Great Southern

Three Transwa routes link Perth and Albany, and between them they pick up most of the region's towns.

GS1 comes straight down Albany Highway through Williams, Kojonup, Cranbrook, Tenterden and Mount Barker. GS2 swings inland via Northam, York, Narrogin, Wagin, Woodanilling, Katanning, Broomehill, Gnowangerup and Tambellup. GS3 takes the long way round through Bunbury, Bridgetown, Manjimup, Walpole and Denmark.

Read that list again and you will spot the pattern. Every single stop is a town sitting on a highway.

Getting to Kojonup by coach

Kojonup is on GS1, which means daily services both ways. Here is what the current Transwa coach timetable looks like.

Heading south from East Perth Terminal, the weekday coach leaves at 9:00am and reaches Kojonup at 1:02pm. There is a Friday evening run that leaves at 5:30pm and gets in at 9:30pm, and a Sunday afternoon service leaving at 3:00pm and arriving at 7:02pm.

Coming north from Albany, the Monday to Saturday coach leaves at 9:00am and reaches Kojonup at 11:06am. Friday evening leaves at 5:30pm and arrives at 7:36pm. Sunday leaves at 3:00pm and gets in at 5:06pm.

One gap worth knowing about. There is no Saturday southbound service through Kojonup, because that day's Perth to Albany coach runs via Narrogin instead. If you are planning a Saturday arrival from Perth, you are looking at Friday night or Sunday evening.

The stop is the car park at the Kojonup Visitor Centre, 143 Albany Highway, right in the middle of town. Cornwall House sits at 70-72 Albany Highway, so it is a short walk up the road with a bag.

Where the network stops

This is the part that catches people out.

There is no public transport to the Stirling Range. None to the Porongurups, the Valley of the Giants, Torndirrup National Park, Bremer Bay or Fitzgerald River. No coach, no shuttle, no taxi rank waiting at the trailhead. The Transwa network connects towns to towns, and everything worth photographing in this region sits somewhere in between.

That isn't a criticism of the service. It is a country coach network built to move people between population centres, and it does that well. It just isn't a tourist network, and treating it like one leads to disappointment.

If a walk through the Stirling Range is the reason you are coming, read our guide on seeing the Stirling Ranges in a day from Kojonup and budget for a vehicle.

Albany is the only town with local buses

Albany runs the region's one proper town bus network, branded Transalbany. It is five town routes operating Monday to Saturday, plus 13 dedicated school services during term, across a fleet of 18 buses.

Note the Monday to Saturday part. There is no Sunday service, so even in the region's largest city, a Sunday without a car means walking or paying for a ride.

Everywhere else, including Kojonup, has nothing local. The coach is it.

What to sort before you book

A few practical things trip up first-time coach passengers in regional WA.

• Reservations are essential on every road coach. You can book up to three months ahead, and you should during wildflower season and school holidays.
• Be at the stop 15 minutes before the scheduled departure. Drivers do not wait.
• Paying on board is cash only. Card works online, by phone or at a booking centre, but not on the coach.
• You get one stowed bag up to 20kg and one piece of hand luggage up to 7kg.
• Children aged 5 to 15 travel at half fare, and there are concessions for pensioners, seniors, health care card holders, veterans and full-time students.
• Bikes, eRideables and surfboards are restricted or prohibited on some services, so ask when you book.
• Timetables change on most public holidays and during school holidays. Check before you travel rather than after.

Making it work without a car

The approach that works is treating the coach as the long haul and sorting the last leg separately.

Ride the GS1 down from Perth, stay somewhere you can walk out of, and spend a day on foot in town. Kojonup suits this. The Kodja Place, the rose maze, the old barracks and the historic town walk are all within a few blocks, which is the whole idea behind our one night in Kojonup itinerary.

For anything beyond town limits, hire a car in Perth or Albany, or book a local tour. Our budget travel guide to Kojonup covers the cheaper ways to combine the two. The coach can also work as one leg of a longer trip, letting you drive one direction and ride the other.

Stay in the middle of town

Cornwall House is on Albany Highway, a few minutes' walk from the coach stop, the cafes and the visitor centre. That makes it a straightforward base if you are arriving without a vehicle, and an easy overnight stop if you are breaking up the Perth to Albany drive. Check availability and room options for your dates.

Check availability and book Call us (08) 9831 0214

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