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Transforming Perth's public transport network: the unseen technology powering daily commutes

Seamlessly integrating digital solutions to transform urban mobility
Transperth Route Information System
Transportation
Rail & Transit

Western Australia’s Public Transport Authority (PTA) is responsible for delivering reliable, efficient public transport services that support the daily commutes and journeys for millions of people in Western Australia. To keep the network running smoothly, PTA relies on the Transperth Route Information System (TRIS) — a single source of truth for all data relating to public transport, including routes, services, stops, timetables and contracts that also supports a significant number of uses cases, systems and tools. 

For 25 years, PTA has turned to Jacobs to continuously innovate and adapt TRIS. Drawing on our unique knowledge of the platform as well as our digital and data capability and deep transportation domain expertise, we’ve evolved the solution from a simple contract administration tool to a critical asset that underpins operational efficiency and enhances journeys and passenger experience across the city. 

25

years supporting the Transperth Route Information System

1.296 M

lines of web code written

40

modules in TRIS, each performing a unique service to one or more PTA divisions and external agencies

Enhancing the user experience for commuters

TRIS has transformed how Perth's residents interact with the city's transport network, making public transport a more attractive and reliable option for daily commutes. 

TRIS provides data that underpins the Transperth website and Transperth Mobile App. Together, they make accessing up-to-the-minute transport information easy. Around 80,000 users login each day to find journey planning information, access timetables and track bus movements in real-time.

A digital asset that evolves with changing business needs

When Jacobs was first engaged by the Department of Planning and Infrastructure in 2001, Perth was a small city on the cusp of major growth. The team developed TRIS as the digital solution to manage bus contracts across the State’s public transport network. Over time, rapid urban growth created new challenges in delivering reliable, efficient services to an expanding population and TRIS was expanded to incorporate additional use cases. 

Today, TRIS has over 40 different modules supporting contracting and operations and maintenance of its ferry, bus, school bus and train fleets; infrastructure planning and major project coordination; traffic signaling; and customer-facing services including website, mobile applications, customer feedback and lost property. 

20.3K

contract variations managed by TRIS 

615K

customer feedback records managed by TRIS

$284 M

(AU $400 M) in annual bus contracts across Western Australia are managed by TRIS 

  • Nearly two and a half decades of continuous development has transformed TRIS into an enterprise-wide digital solution underpinning the efficient operations of most PTA services, functional divisions and the passenger experience.
    Alan Rogers
    Project Manager, Jacobs

  • TRIS is a custom-built information system that plays a vital and highly valued role across many operational aspects of Transperth's business. It supports the management of numerous dynamic business systems and has continued to evolve over the past 25 years, enabling Transperth to respond effectively to new demands and emerging technologies. For the past 25 years, Jacobs has provided consistent and reliable support for the system, leading numerous enhancements that have contributed significantly to Transperth’s ongoing improvement initiatives.
    Peter Jones
    Executive Director, Transperth, Regional & School Bus Services, Public Transport Authority

  • TRIS shows that transformation doesn’t happen overnight. Starting small and expanding strategically supports clients to overcome budget constraints, reduce risk and build confidence in every step. Each enhancement is guided by real operational priorities, ensuring adoption is seamless and every update delivers measurable value. It’s not just technology; it’s a partnership for sustainable progress.
    Alan Rogers
    Project Manager, Jacobs

In 2025, the Transperth Mobile App had…

267K

downloads on iOS and Android devices

268 M

user interactions with bus live tracking

30 M

user interactions with journey planning tools

An evolving technology environment 

TRIS was initially developed around a single use case with the digital solution comprising a web-based application backed by a database with hundreds of tables of data. The solution has grown into a digital product suite of diverse components, including websites, an Oracle-based data store, web and desktop applications, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and more. 

TRIS is hosted internally within the PTA environment to maintain security, control and compliance with government standards. It also leverages cloud-based services for specific applications — such as real-time data publishing, mobile app integration and advanced analytics — to deliver greater efficiency, scalability and flexibility. 

This hybrid approach ensures that mission-critical systems remain under direct governance while cloud capabilities enable rapid deployment of new features, elastic resource scaling during peak demand and seamless integration with modern digital tools. By combining the stability of on-premise hosting with the agility of cloud services, TRIS empowers the PTA to innovate continuously without compromising reliability or performance.

The journey’s not over yet

Perth continues to grow and TRIS will continue to evolve with it to meet changing needs and incorporate new technologies seamlessly. Jacobs has been awarded continuous contracts to maintain and enhance TRIS since 2001 and is set to continue until at least 2030, driving further innovations and ensuring TRIS remains a robust, responsive and future-ready platform for Perth's evolving public transport needs.

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Key team members

  • Alistair Fox, Project Director

    Alistair oversees the TRIS project, ensuring delivery to scope, budget, schedule and quality. He meets regularly with team leadership, provides guidance and serves as an escalation point for client concerns.

  • Alan Rogers, Project Manager

    Alan has managed TRIS for 20 years. He's overseen multiple contract iterations and system evolutions, managing a core team of eight Jacobs staff and three specialist sub-consultants.

  • Asvin Bhudia, Assistant Project Manager, Business Analyst

    Asvin performs project management, business analysis and development roles. Since 2015, he’s worked with the Security Services branch of the PTA, bridging technology and business domains to digitize processes and implement flexible reporting modules.

  • Bindu John, Database and Web Application Developer

    Bindu is the database and web application developer, specializing in Oracle database programming. She serves as the project's change manager and coordinates our internal TRIS team.

  • Ervy Galvez, GIS and Application Developer

    Ervy focuses on mapping applications for web and ArcGIS Desktop. Ervy also enhance TRIS web application functionalities using a suite of core technologies. 

  • Madhab Dhakal, Web Application Developer

    Madhab leads system design decisions and modernizes core application components as system architect and senior software engineer. He contributes to security uplift, performance improvements and scalable feature delivery.

  • David Walden, Lead Application Developer

    With over 25 years of experience, David specializes in database development and drives business improvement across large, complex projects. He’s the Lead Developer on TRIS.

  • Shane Lawerence, Cloud Services and Application Developer

    Shane develops, supports and implements modern software solutions in the client's cloud, local data center and smartphone device platforms.

  • Ramjie Linog, GIS and Web Application Developer

    Ramjie works on web mapping applications using ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro, while also supporting and improving TRIS web app features using core technologies.