Sally Capp no closer extending free tram zone promise

Uncertainty looms over another promise made by Lord Mayor Sally Capp, with her pledge to extend Melbourne’s free tram zone unlikely to happen.

Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp has failed to deliver on her election promise to expand the free tram zone in the CBD, and cannot say whether the change will be in place before this year’s election.

Ms Capp promised she would negotiate the expansion of the free tram zone during her first lord mayoral campaign in 2018.

She said, if elected, the free tram zone would cover the whole of the City of Melbourne.

Shortly after winning the election, she walked back that promise, saying it was a “long-term goal” that could “ideally be delivered when the Metro Tunnel Project is up and running” and public transport in the CBD had more capacity.

Melbourne’s free tram zone runs to as far as Docklands. Picture: Sarah Matray

Lord Mayor Sally Capp promised to extend Melbourne’s free tram zone when she was elected in 2018 Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

The Victorian Government’s multi-billion Metro Tunnel is expected to be operational either late this year or in early 2025 — a year ahead of schedule — but Ms Capp would not say when, or if, the free tram zone will be expanded.

“I will continue to advocate for the extension of the free tram zone because I believe it holds many benefits for city stakeholders including traders, residents, workers and students, plus our valued visitor cohort,” Ms Capp said.

“This is a personal position I took into the 2018 election and I have since pursued in a number of ways with State parliamentarians.”

The Victorian Government has no plans to extend the free tram zone.

Ms Capp would not say why she promised voters she would expand the free tram zone when public transport is the responsibility of the State Government.

In 2018, the cost of expanding the free tram zone was estimated at $9.5 million each year.

The Sunday Herald Sun asked Ms Capp if she planned to offer council funding to the Victorian Government to help expand the free tram zone.

She did not answer the question.

The council’s budget is in a dire state with a predicted deficit of $17.5 million for this financial year.

In total, the council has borrowed $234.8 million.

Melbourne’s free tram zone was introduced in 2015 Picture: NCA NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui

The City of Melbourne has repeatedly failed to complete projects on time during Ms Capp’s time as Lord Mayor, and Ms Capp has personally failed to deliver on commitments she made before coming to office.

Despite committing to walk, cycle and take public transport to most of her meetings, Ms Capp has racked up more than $30,000 in bills for taking chauffer-driven limousines to appointments.

Ms Capp also failed to deliver on her promise to establish a 30 per cent weighting for City of Melbourne-based firms in Town Hall’s procurement guidelines to support economic recovery. Instead, a voluntary 10 per cent weighting was introduced.

Ms Capp is tens of thousands of jobs short to fulfil her key economic election pledge to create 80,000 jobs over this council term, with just 22,700 jobs created since the pandemic.

During the last election campaign, Ms Capp also pledged to fix the council’s delivery of infrastructure projects, but last financial year there was an $85 million shortfall between what Ms Capp promised and the council delivered.

Ms Capp said she has delivered on a number of her 2020 election commitments – including a rates freeze, the Melbourne Money scheme and establishing a Night Time Economy Advisory Committee.

The same month Ms Capp promised the expansion of the free tram zone — May 2018 — state government bureaucrats released concept plans for the Victorian Heart Hospital, a state-of-the-art and nation-leading cardiac hospital in Clayton.

The hospital was built in less than five years, and admitted its first patients in February 2023.