Infrastructure Victoria calls for off-peak fares on trams, buses
Melbourne’s free tram zone would be scrapped and the cost of travelling on trams or buses outside of peak hour could drop under new recommendations to tackle congestion. See what’s being proposed.
Victoria
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Tram and bus trips made outside of peak-hour could drop as low as $1.25 and the free tram zone scrapped under a raft of bold proposals from the state’s infrastructure body.
Infrastructure Victoria will on Thursday announce drastic new recommendations to reform the state’s public transport fares and tackle congestion across Melbourne.
The body has urged the government to dramatically alter the price between peak and off-peak trips to spread demand throughout the network.
Under their proposed model, those who commute into the city by train at peak hour could be charged between $4 and $5 per journey while express buses and trams journeys would sit at $2.50.
Off-peak trips would be half price while normal bus routes that stop at every station could remain at $1.25 across all times.
The body estimates these changes would mean 71 per cent of Melburnians pay less on travel than they do now and 96,000 car trips would be taken off the city’s roads.
But number of public transport passengers on a typical weekday would rise by 56,000 and this increased patronage would ensure operators continue to earn significant revenue.
Infrastructure Victoria chief executive Michel Masson said the current flat pricing system was not fair to all customers and that more households on higher incomes caught the train than those on trams and buses.
He said off-peak fares and cheaper bus and tram trips should be introduced now, while further changes to peak train fares could happen if patronage returned to pre-COVID levels.
“Cheaper prices for underused services such as buses and all off-peak travel gives public transport users power to decide how much they want to pay for public transport, based on when and how they travel,” Mr Masson said.
“Importantly, this is also good long-term policy as it is cheaper, safer and fairer and makes better use of our transport system.”
It is expect the proposed fare system could add more than 100,000 trips outside of peak hour, with a new “city zone” for CBD journeys and pricing based on direction of travel among other changes considered.
Infrastructure Victoria has also recommended removing the free tram zone to improve access for passengers who need it most and reduce overcrowding.
Proposed Myki reforms include scrapping card purchase fees, scrapping Myki pass for a simpler experience and opening up the current system to allow the development of new technology.
A spokesman said the Department of Transport’s focus remained on building improvements to public transport capacity and performance.
“We’re committed to delivering a great public transport service with the best value for Victorian passengers – and we’ll consider the findings of Infrastructure Victoria’s report as part of our regular review into the ticketing system,” he said.
The RACV’s general manager of public policy, Bryce Prosser said the association supported fare reform that could be rolled out immediately.
eneral Manager Public Policy Bryce Prosser:
“This is a logical first step towards improving our public transport system by making it more efficient and fairer for all Melburnians,” he said.
“Fare reform, such as reducing public transport fares for travelling outside of peak hours, has the potential to reduce crowded trains, result in fewer vehicles on the road and in-turn ease the pressure on Melbourne’s congested transport network.
“However, RACV would like to see the reforms go even further through the implementation of transport network pricing for all users.
“In its current state, the transport system is complex and broken.”
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