$10 Public Transport Anywhere in Victoria

BluebirdV on 08/12/2023 - 13:19
Last edited 10/12/2023 - 20:45

What do people think of the fact that you can go anywhere in Victoria on public transport for no more than $10 per day? That's even for a return ticket if you return on the same day. It's only $5 for a concession ticket.

Personally I think it's one of the best things done in Australia recently. Helps get traffic off the road and people are more likely to travel and spend money on other things.

Why is Victoria the only state doing this? I remember public transport prices in Queensland being outrageous.

Now let's hope they keep upgrading train lines and introduce more express services.

https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/fares/regional-fares/

Travel

Comments

      • jv on 08/12/2023 - 13:41
        -1

        Also driving in traffic is stressful.

        I find driving relaxing…

      • AustriaBargain on 08/12/2023 - 15:07

        Kind of a drag meeting someone for Netflix and chill on a train and bus. Though at least you can drink and smoke and legally commute back home after. But spending 90 minutes on connecting busses there and then back again, makes sex feel like a chore..

        • FezMonkey on 08/12/2023 - 15:33

          Lower your km radius on Tinder

          • mskeggs on 08/12/2023 - 16:09

            @FezMonkey: A fisherman needs to go where the fish are biting.

  • HamBoi69 on 08/12/2023 - 13:51
    +7

    They need to now electrify out to Melton and Wyndham Vale, quadruplicate the track to both places and have Ballarat and Geelong trains run non-stop from Melton and Wyndham Vale to Southern Cross respectively. Also, across all lines, 6 carriage trains should be the minimum, 9 during peak on the busy lines.

    That’s what needs to happen. And urgently. Overcrowding is common on all the lines and trains are slow and over crowded.

    Makes driving look more favourable despite the cheaper fares purely given the speed.

    • BluebirdV on 08/12/2023 - 13:57

      I would agree although I didn't have that experience on the train from Swan Hill to Southern Cross.

    • CowFrogHorse on 11/12/2023 - 14:00

      No they need to shutdown roads and trains, then people will travel less and life will be better.

      COmmuting is the dumbest idea of the 21th century its a disaster everywhere. More roads and trains doesnt improve anything it actually makes things worse because veryone has the dumb idea that its now better and we can all travel 2x as far.

      Thats a fact, LA freeways galore, also the worst traffic in America. Japan mega trains galore, and people waste hours travelling.. More doesnt mean better. The answer is less.

      • CommuterPolluter on 12/12/2023 - 00:31

        Hard when you have two working professionals in a household.

  • onetwothreefour on 08/12/2023 - 14:07

    NSW has the Opal card with a daily $17.80 cap or $50 weekly cap. Not sure you can use it everywhere in NSW but NSW is a bit bigger than VIC.

    • hasher22 on 08/12/2023 - 15:41

      $10 cap for the day sounds ok vs NSW daily cap. I mean, I don't travel public transport everyday, it's nice to know for the day my public transport is $10 for the day. Pretty reasonable for those every now and then commuters but full time workers in NSW do benefit from the $50 weekly cap tho.

      • onetwothreefour on 08/12/2023 - 16:20
        +2

        Yep it's funny because before covid I used to travel 5 days a week for $50, now I travel two times a week and it costs me $35.60.

      • markathome on 10/12/2023 - 19:00

        If Victoria includes its eventual Airport Train in the $10 cap, then I'm willing to hand it the win. Right now I feel it's much of a muchness between the two. As pointed out here, there are a lot of people flat caps don't work for as they take short trips that would cost less than $10/$5 in most other states.

        • CowFrogHorse on 11/12/2023 - 14:02

          No the real problem is travelling… plane and train and car are all a waste. Instead of travlling by plane constantly heres an idea, have a zoom call, and instead of wasting a day on those travels spend the 30mins and do something better with your rest of the day.

          • markathome on 11/12/2023 - 22:48
            +1

            @CowFrogHorse: I know it's not exactly intuitive - but one of the best ways to reduce travel is to get behind affordable housing (and lower house prices).

            A home ties people to a particular city - a mortgage limits their spending. It also makes changing homes easier, increases happiness, reduces stress, improves economic output and supports family formation. So many reasons for Australia to get behind this.

            With affordable housing and work from home, we could dramatically reduce travel emissions.

            • CowFrogHorse on 13/12/2023 - 18:38

              @markathome: Agreed im sure you could add many more ideas.

              More travel also means more movement in house prices and other developments. Australia needs to slow things down not speed things up. When u do more roads, and more travel thaat also ends up in more house price increases, and more taxes and more work.

              Nobody wins when everything is MORE.

    • Neoika on 09/12/2023 - 06:30

      I think daily cap for Friday and weekend is under $10 now.

  • brendanm on 08/12/2023 - 15:38
    -4

    It's free in queensland if you don't have a card, you then can't tap it.

  • AustriaBargain on 08/12/2023 - 15:48
    -6

    Wouldn't this just encourage people to leave their homes for fun? Public transport should cost $1,000 a day to discourage as many people as possible from using it. And the seats should give you an electric shock ever two minutes.

    • Mechz on 08/12/2023 - 17:05

      The seats aren't comfortable enough (excluding VLine) to just use it and see where you end up.

  • Mechz on 08/12/2023 - 17:03

    Seems good on the surface, but what about people like me that PT because the distance to work is just slightly too far to walk (1hr each way with office clothes and laptop etc)?

    The PT only takes me 15-20 minutes but feels like it should cost about half the new fare.

    • JimmyF on 08/12/2023 - 17:45

      get a ebike then

    • Ade99 on 09/12/2023 - 13:23
      -1

      Paying for Dan's excesses means that when I used to be able to commute for 5 days the same expense only covers me for 3 days…..a big jump in only a couple of years

    • aliceisstupid on 10/12/2023 - 07:07
      +1

      Yeh I’m 20mins out too and if me and my partner are both going then we usually drive because $20 is the most expensive option

    • CowFrogHorse on 11/12/2023 - 15:33
      -1

      Maybe you should be asking why your boss wastes 1hr a day or 5hrs a week travelling and not paying you.

  • apple2016 on 08/12/2023 - 20:14
    +2

    Only if trains are running. Usually they are not. PTV is a joke in vic

    • drprox on 11/12/2023 - 14:13

      Vline is pretty sweet…

  • movieman on 08/12/2023 - 20:45
    +1

    Can someone please explain how this works?

    If you're in Melbourne (say Broadmeadows), how to you get this pricing to somewhere like Morwell or Shepparton, and then back?

    As you'll need Myki for the Melbourne component, plus a Vline paper ticket once you leave Myki area, and then how do you return on the same fare that day?

    • BluebirdV on 08/12/2023 - 20:59

      You just buy a paper ticket. I did Shepparton to Southern Cross and back in a day. I also did Mildura to Southern Cross.

      • movieman on 09/12/2023 - 21:23

        Ok, thanks.

        Then how do you travel from say Southern Cross to somewhere else near Melbourne, where you need a Myki? As the paper ticket won't tap off / on?

        • BluebirdV on 10/12/2023 - 20:32

          You would use the Myki in the Myki areas and paper ticket to regional areas.

          • movieman on 10/12/2023 - 21:18

            @BluebirdV: Yeah, I get that. But then it's not $10 cap for the day.

        • Abominable on 11/12/2023 - 16:13

          If you buy a paper ticket that hits the daily cap of $10, that covers the rest of your travel for the day - including all trams, metro trains and busses.
          You don't need to touch on or off - you have the magical paper ticket, so those rules no longer apply to you. If you happen upon a ticket inspector, you show them your paper ticket, they'll verify the date and be on their way. If you buy your ticket online, you can even just show your confirmation email (although some staff may get a bit snarky about that).
          At ticket gates, just flash your ticket to a staff member at the gate and they'll let you through.
          Source: I travel around Melbourne using a v/Line paper ticket (or email) nearly every week.
          Actual source: "Extra travel included" section on https://www.vline.com.au/Fares-general-info/Ticketing-Fares

  • pgcs on 09/12/2023 - 07:40

    For tourists in Brisbane, there is the Tourist GO card for $10/day.

    Sydney:
    Travel as much as you want on metro, train, bus, ferry and light rail services within the Opal network and you never pay more than:
    $17.80 a day (Mondays to Thursdays),
    $8.90 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
    $50 a week

    The Sydney airport stations access fee is still a bugbear, but the 420 bus from Mascot or Burwood helps with that.

    • brendanm on 09/12/2023 - 11:58
      +2

      420 bus

      👍

      • Mechz on 09/12/2023 - 16:58
        +1

        Bro

  • colossus on 09/12/2023 - 16:26
    +8

    This is fantastic, one of the best things a Victorian government has done.

    Living in a regional area, it's so much cheaper going to Melbourne, even more so with increases in fuel prices.

    • BluebirdV on 10/12/2023 - 20:34
      +2

      It's great for regional areas. I went all the way from Mildura to Melbourne. Would have cost well over $200 in fuel alone.

  • calcium on 09/12/2023 - 17:24
    +5

    I think it's a really good idea.

    Public transport is a service.

    Services dont make money.
    Services cost money.

  • lddv04 on 09/12/2023 - 18:53

    It's a joke. Try getting a seat on a regional service now into Melbourne. Seats now cheap as chips but no extra seats or trains!

    • BluebirdV on 10/12/2023 - 20:37
      +3

      I didn't have that experience on the train from Swan Hill to Melbourne or the coach from Mildura to Swan Hill. I did it twice this year.

    • CowFrogHorse on 11/12/2023 - 14:14
      -1

      Then dont go.

      Your life wont end.

      Food and drinnk in your town is prolly better than Melb, and you can buy more on the internet. LIfes too short to waste sitting in a train or car or bus or whatever. Siply not worth the triuble.

  • Frozensage on 09/12/2023 - 19:34
    +3

    No guarantee your train will come.

    • jv on 11/12/2023 - 14:10
      +1

      Has Jetstar taken over the trains?

  • cenakhoa on 09/12/2023 - 20:50
    +2

    Sounds good at first but:

    1- The myki system is in competent, it actually cannot handle more advanced fee options so they charged it $10 for all. The number of people who made the longest trip for $10 is way less than the number of people who paid $10 every day for a 2km trips. I am happy to pay $50 for a long trip by ptv but only willing to pay $5 for a short trip every day to work.

    2- They advertise discount fee for 365 days of myki but people use ptv mostly to commune and the discount is useless on weekend, so actually you have to pay more for regular transportation. Once again, it’s bad system design, bad tendering process, bad process planning that you cannot even buy bulk tickets and charge by number of touches.

    • BluebirdV on 10/12/2023 - 20:38
      +1

      It's great for regional areas.

  • cookie2 on 09/12/2023 - 21:03

    It's bs.
    It costs me the same amount to travel 15 minutes away to my local shopping centre, or to go 3 stations on the train to work for the day.
    I pau more to live in metro melb than ppl living outside and yet ppl living regionally now pay the same amount to travel long distances as i do to travel a few kms.

    • BluebirdV on 10/12/2023 - 20:42
      +1

      It's designed to benefit people in regional areas the most which is great for people who live there. Don't have to pay $200+ to go from Mildura to Melbourne and back in fuel alone. Not to mention the pot hole damage on the way.

  • ContinuousCustomer on 09/12/2023 - 21:49
    -2

    Victorian people deserve this, they already deal with the crappy weather.

    • try2bhelpful on 09/12/2023 - 22:27
      +2

      Actually I’m more than happy with our weather compared to 40C scorchers. The dams are 95% full, my herbs are going mental.

  • machej on 09/12/2023 - 22:18

    As others have said, doesn't really take into account distance so for people going 1 or 2 stops the cost is pretty high. Also likely leads to more fare evasion due to this.

  • Chong on 09/12/2023 - 23:06
    -4

    This is inaccurate should be updated to Melbourne Metro not Victoria….

    But point is true you can take any combination of bus train tram in Metropolitian Melbourne and only need to pay max $10 per day.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/12/2023 - 02:07

    Anyway on a lighter note, which regional areas in Victoria should I check out?

    • geekcohen on 11/12/2023 - 07:14
      -2

      Start a new thread, don't hijack someone else's.

      • [Deactivated] on 11/12/2023 - 09:23

        Maybe you should stay out on the farm grumpy, enjoy paying double for everything :)

  • mitty on 10/12/2023 - 10:51
    +5

    We have recently had two overnight trips away, to Apollo Bay and The Grampians from Melbourne. Cost us $10 each way (as we left Melb one day, and came home the next). There is no way anyone could do that trip in a car at that price.

    The downside is there is crowding at times on certain lines/routes on Vline.

    And the opposite side is, that it's still $5 to travel a single stop/station on a train/tram/bus. Which just seems ridiculous when the same $5 could get you way out into the country.

  • smartazz104 on 10/12/2023 - 20:07

    And then you remember how much you pay to go 2 tram stops.

  • OzzyOzbourne on 10/12/2023 - 22:44

    When it's not randomly cancelled for some obscure reason, leaving you stranded for hours or delayed (90% of the time), then yeah it's great.

  • greater mimic on 11/12/2023 - 06:01

    WA does a 2 zone cap which is something like $5 after you factor in smart rider discounts etc.

    https://www.transperth.wa.gov.au/tickets-fares/fares

  • Sinnerator on 11/12/2023 - 08:27
    -1

    it's cheap because of all the stabby stabby crazy people using it

  • DemocracyManifest on 11/12/2023 - 09:50

    Might have already been said but in nsw the Multis used to be awesome, they were zoned but you got away with paying for less a lot of the time. The opals are now capped at $50 a week but if you don’t travel often and it’s Monday to Thursday, it’s a eye watering $17.80

  • Hangryuman on 11/12/2023 - 10:09

    NSW has deals - e.g. from Sydney to Broken Hill - with a Seniors Gold Opal card you can travel to Bathurst for $2.50 - https://transportnsw.info/tickets-opal/opal/fares-payments/s…

    and then for another $2.50 CountryLink XP Explorer train deal could go to Broken Hill - a total of about 1000km for $5

    but that involved some complexity and staying overnight somewhere and going by bus between a couple of towns making the trip many hours longer

    so we ended up taking a train direct 13 hours for about $75 or so and flew the other way for a few $'00 - both special experiences

    in the old days I hitch-hiked for free between Cairns and Melbourne, but that was before Ivan Milat murdered a number of backpacker hitch-hikers he picked up …

  • techyy on 11/12/2023 - 12:39

    A daily ticket used to only cost $7.80 8 years ago
    https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/public-transport…

    • BluebirdV on 12/12/2023 - 13:45

      Inflation is more.

  • mrvaluepack on 11/12/2023 - 20:52

    This is bad and not worth it if i just want to go for quick or short trip. I wish PT vic would follow japan or other countries ticketing system. You pick the station and depending on the distance get charged the exact fare.

  • Storm2022 on 11/12/2023 - 23:28

    This isn't good for the regular users who might usually get a seat on their regional service. Now they'll have to fight all the cheapskates who might only travel because it's cheap and something to do.

  • derrko on 12/12/2023 - 10:04

    Qld translink should scrap peak travel and just have off peak mon to fri. Zone 1 should be the same as the rest of qld $2.40. Way to many cars on the roads in Brisbane.

  • kaleidoscope on 12/12/2023 - 10:25

    What do people think of the fact that you can go anywhere in Victoria on public transport for no more than $10 per day? That's even for a return ticket if you return on the same day. It's only $5 for a concession ticket.

    What do you think of the fact that it takes 1.30-2 hrs to travel door to door each way when you have to catch a connecting bus and take the train to where you want to commute? Not to mention the fact that even if you time your travel extremely well, the delays on each segment can cause another 15-20 minute delay for next segment as you have missed the planned and gotta wait for the next one. The problem with public transportation in vic (and may be australia) is the frequency of services and the speed of travel. Instead of having 15-20 minute express trains we're all stuck with slow trains that takes 50-60 minutes to travel 40-50kms even by trains. On the contrary, look into how other countries such as singapore / japan have solved this problem. Add up these ridiculous times, twice a day, 5 days a week and think of the massive amount of time that is wasted just on the road.

    • BluebirdV on 12/12/2023 - 13:49

      If your traveling long distance say from Mildura or Shepparton the time is not that different to driving and you don't risk your life dodging pot holes.

      I agree that there are drawbacks versus other countries but this is the best option in Australia if you don't like driving and want to save money.

      It's also similar to time spent driving in Melbourne traffic but a lot more comfortable than driving.

      • kaleidoscope on 12/12/2023 - 14:09

        my point is, if the long distance travel through rail was good and time saving than driving, people would be happy to settle further away from cities. This will in turn contribute to lesser traffic congestion near to the city as people live further away. It’s a vicious cycle.

        I personally would not mind living 80 or 100km away from cbd if there were express services that reduces commute time to around hour or so. But its far from that. I used to live about 6km from melb cbd, and commute time was about 45-50mins on average. Now I’m around 40km away and its about 1.15-1.30hrs.

        • BluebirdV on 12/12/2023 - 16:18

          I think people settle in cities because of job opportunities as well as better medical care, markets, shops, etc. It is true people will move further out if a smaller city is well connected. Bendigo and Ballarat are good examples. Not many people would go to Mildura because it's so far away it's on the edge of the outback. Although Mildura has a lot to offer considering it's isolation compared to surrounding towns.

  • Ramrunner on 12/12/2023 - 19:28

    WA has $10.30 dayrider or familyrider.

    Same thing?

    Even if you use SmartRider it will automatically cap your day's travel at $10.30.

    So $10.30 is the maximum you ever need to pay to travel all day in WA on public transport. According to both my experience and the web site. So VIC NOT the only state doing this?

  • RSmith on 23/12/2023 - 13:10

    The price will be going up from next year.

    • BluebirdV on 23/12/2023 - 14:19

      How much?

      • RSmith on 23/12/2023 - 14:53

        Daily fare going up by 60c.

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