Victorians saved millions of dollars on public transport fares last month after the Andrews Labor Government’s regional fare cap came into effect, transforming the way people travel across the state.
Passengers have saved more than $4 million since the cheaper fares were introduced on March 31, with the average V/Line passengers paying 50 per cent less for their trip.
More than 1.5 million people took a trip on public transport across regional Victoria in the first month of the new fairer fares.
The first week alone saw more than 420,000 passengers travel, making it the busiest week on the network since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
V/Line patronage data shows more passengers are taking advantage of cheaper fares to travel to and from major events like the Grand Prix, AFL matches and Groovin’ the Moo, as well as tourism destinations across Victoria, with an uplift in patronage on weekend and special services.
Daily fares are now capped at the current metropolitan fare of $9.20 or $4.60 concession, while on weekends or public holidays, fares are capped at $6.70 for a full fare of $3.35 for concession per day.
Passengers taking long-distance journeys from regional cities such as Ballarat and Bendigo have saved around $40 for each return journey on the regional public transport network since the cap was introduced.
As Victorians continue to embrace travel on V/Line thanks to the fairer fares, the Labor Government will upgrade and boost the regional public transport network, including progressively adding new trains and more services to the network.
Since 2014, an extra 800 V/Line train services have also been added – with a record 2,200 regional train services now operating every week. Almost 200 extra weekend services are set to be added to the V/Line timetable from 2024 – with a further order of 23 VLocity trains to meet the demands of a growing network.
For more information or to purchase tickets visit ptv.vic.gov.au or vline.com.au.
Quote attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews
“We said we’d make regional travel cheaper and that’s what we’ve delivered, saving Victorians millions of dollars and making it easier for families and commuters in regional Victoria to leave the car at home and get around by train and bus.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll
“It’s great to see Victorians voting with their feet and taking advantage of cheaper public transport right across Victoria, as we get on with delivering critical work to make public transport services more reliable and more frequent for millions of Victorians every day.”
Reviewed 04 May 2023