Cheaper regional fares saving victorians millions

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, including over 210,000 passengers on Bendigo line.

The first week alone saw more than 420, 000 passengers travel across the state, 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.

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 Member for Macedon, Mary-Anne Thomas
"We said we’d make regional travel cheaper and we have – saving families and commuters millions of dollars. Whether you’re travelling by bus or train, public transport is now more affordable and accessible for everyone."

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"