Regional Victorians are keeping more money in their pockets with the game-changing fare cap.
Thanks to the Allan Labor Government’s commitment to fairer fares on public transport, Regional Victorians are now benefiting from substantial savings. The first six months of the fare cap have seen passengers pocket an impressive $31 million.
With a keen embrace of more affordable and equitable travel options, October emerged as the busiest month, witnessing nearly two million passenger trips. This brings the total to over 13 million trips since the fare cap came into effect in late March. Particularly during school holidays and weekends, long-distance services have become incredibly popular among passengers seeking substantial savings.
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around the region here.
From today, you can take the V/Line anywhere in Victoria for less than $10
The fare cap ensures that regional fares are equivalent to the metropolitan daily fare. For example, Albury passengers, who previously spent up to $82.40, are now enjoying the benefit of paying no more than $10 a day.
Similarly, Ballarat passengers who previously shelled out $45.60 for a return trip to Melbourne are now saving over $30 on a same-day return journey.
To cater to the increased demand, V/Line has introduced hundreds of special services across the network, added extra carriages, made use of standby coaches, and introduced new reservation procedures.
Regular special services are running on most weekends along the Wyndham Vale, Bacchus Marsh, and Albury corridors, offering passengers greater flexibility in reaching their destinations.
Due to rising demand, V/Line has also initiated a trial of reservation-only seating on weekends and during school holidays on the Albury Line, providing passengers with more certainty when it comes to seating availability.
V/Line is currently operating more trains and services than ever before, with VLocity 109 recently entering service and new trains being produced every few months, thereby increasing capacity on the busiest regional lines.
Over the years, the Labor Government has invested more than $2 billion in 82 new VLocity trains and supporting infrastructure, which has also led to the creation of hundreds of jobs.
Currently, V/Line runs over 2,250 scheduled train and 1,500 coach services each week, with over 800 new services added to the V/Line network since 2014. Furthermore, nearly 200 additional permanent weekend services are set to commence in the coming years.
