WA Premier announces $100 boost for regional pensioners on travel card to ease cost-of-living pressures

The WA Premier announced a $100 boost to a transport scheme for pensioners to help ease the cost of living during a visit to Albany on Tuesday morning. The Regional Pensioner Travel Card usage has increased by nearly 30 per cent across the WA regions since July 1 to August 2, with a 28.70 per cent increase in the Great Southern and 26.58 per cent in the Wheatbelt. The $100 boost on the travel card will take it from a $575 a year allowance to $675. During his visit to Albany Community Care, Premier Roger Cook said it was “great” to see pensioners across WA benefiting from the travel card. “This program is about easing cost-of-living pressures, so pensioners have an extra $100 back in their pockets each year,” he said. “It’s just one of the ways we’re supporting seniors and doing right by regional WA.” The $20.3 million boost was first announced in the 2024-25 State Budget and is designed to provide cost-of-living relief to seniors in regional areas. There have been 54,900 pensioner travel cards have been issued across WA since July 1, with fuel and taxi fares purchased using the cards to the value of $2.9m. Regional Development Minister Don Punch said the increase benefits pensioners with regards to travel support in regional WA. “Providing cost-of-living relief remains our Government’s top priority and I am delighted to see such good uptake of the Regional Pensioner Travel Card,” Mr Punch said. “Around 55,000 regional pensioners have already benefited from the increased travel support, which will go some way to easing the extra costs associated with regional travel. “Residents in regional WA do not have access to metropolitan levels of public transport, so it’s important to offer some extra assistance to bridge that gap and help our country pensioners stay connected with their communities.”