‘Gone a bit nuclear’: Experts warn opposition’s $2-a-day public transport fares will worsen inequality

Planning and transport experts warn a new opposition policy to set $2-a-day public transport pricing would disproportionately benefit the affluent and starve the government of funds needed to improve services in the outer suburbs.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy on Sunday announced a Coalition government would cap public transport fares at $2 per day, and $1 for concession cardholders, saying it would reduce cost-of-living pressures and “reward” Victorians who have endured two years of pandemic restrictions.

Daniel Andrews and Matthew Guy are going head-to-head at the state election.Credit: The Age

Under the plan, Myki users would tap once and pay $2 – down from $9.20 for zone 1 and 2 fares – and not be charged for the rest of the day. Concession-card holders would pay $1, not $4.60. The cap would remain in place for at least four years. The opposition said the free tram zone would remain, along with other concessions and discounts. Its election pledge of free public transport for healthcare workers would also remain.

Guy pitched his commitment as “a straightforward way to reduce and ease cost of living and reward Victorians”, saying a family of four would save $3500 a year. Shadow public transport minister Danny O’Brien said more affordable fares would encourage people to use public transport.

The plan is costed at $1.3 billion over four years by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office, and includes train, tram and bus fares across the state, but does not include V/Line services. Guy said he would have “more to say” on V/Line in the lead-up to the November 26 state election.

Guy’s commitment came as Premier Daniel Andrews said his government would remove seven more level crossings on the Frankston line to make it entirely free of boom gates by 2029.

But Professor Jago Dodson, director of urban research at RMIT University, said free public transport was an “economically regressive policy” and risked worsening social inequalities by benefiting wealthier households.

Maps produced by Dodson show the quality of public transport networks was poorest in the outer suburbs, where households have lower incomes, so the benefits of cheap public transport did not flow to those people.

The main issue was access to public transport, he said, and when people made the choice to use a car or public transport, “convenience and travel time are more important”. The average service worker in the retail or hospitality sector worked and lived in areas poorly served by public transport.

Of more benefit would be an expansion of the public transport network with “services that are frequent, fast and well-connected”. A $2 fare policy would make this more difficult, Dodson said, because revenue raised from ticketing would be slashed by 80 per cent. In Victoria, ticket fares make up about 30 per cent of the network’s revenue.

Dodson’s analysis earlier this year, using census data, showed poorer households were more dependent on private transport and it “should be an embarrassment for both sides of politics” that Victoria still does not have a transport plan to identify what the needs of the state are, and how political commitments fit into that vision.

“The cost of $300 million for this, though, pales in comparison to the cost of the Suburban Rail Loop, which also has uncertain benefits,” Dodson said. “At least if you’re going to make a mistake in transport, make it a $300 million and not a $50 billion one.”

Daniel Bowen, from the Public Transport Users Association, said while he welcomed the focus on making public transport more affordable, the Coalition had “gone a bit nuclear”. A more moderate discount would leave more money to upgrade services.

A desire for better public transport has emerged as a key issue in The Age’s Victoria’s Agenda project, with many people citing inadequate transport links, infrastructure deficiencies and population growth as the issue they would like politicians to be addressing.

One under-45-year-old man in the survey said, “our rail network is embarrassing compared to NSW, let alone Europe”, and another mother wanted “access to good quality public transport, so [her two children] don’t eventually need to be in two-car families”. Many others asked for “cheaper public transport”.

Infrastructure Victoria has recommended governments reform the public transport fare system by introducing more flexible pricing depending on the mode of transport, and said buses and trams should be cheaper. The Public Transport Users Association earlier this year argued Melbourne’s public transport fares were among the world’s most expensive for short trips, which account for the majority of day-to-day travel, due to above-inflation fare rises over the past 20 years.

The Premier on Sunday announced that level crossings would be removed from Wickham and Highett roads in Highett, McDonald and Bear street in Mordialloc, Station and Groves streets in Aspendale, Armstrongs Road and Station streets in Seaford, and Latrobe Street in Mentone.

New stations would also be built at Highett, Mordialloc, Aspendale and Seaford. Some homes and businesses would need to be acquired as part of the project.

“This is absolutely massive for people up and down the Frankston line,” Andrews said. “To be level-crossing free means you can run more trains more often; it’s safer, and, of course, the road network is so much improved with people not being held up for very lengthy periods of time.”

Andrews refused to reveal the cost of his announcement, saying it would be disclosed in the pre-election budget as they are government announcements and not election commitments.

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