Commuters will be able to take advantage of no-cost public transport in Central Victoria over the next two days.
Beginning today (Monday, July 13th), free travel is being offered on all V/Line services, meaning you won’t need to use your Myki card nor purchase a ticket when travelling by train.
This follows a pledge from Premier Jacinta Allan after last week’s statewide network outage that halted all trains, including those on the Bendigo and Maryborough lines.
“To be eligible for free travel, you must start your journey within Victoria on a V/Line train or use a bus or V/Line coach to connect with a V/Line train,” the organisation says.
“If you are travelling on the Warrnambool, Ararat, Maryborough, Echuca, Swan Hill, Shepparton, Albury or Bairnsdale train lines or on a scheduled coach service, you can book a free V/Line ticket online, from station staff, retail agents or over the phone.”
Vouchers are also being offered to regional Victorians who plan to travel on Melbourne’s train, tram and bus network on either day.
“You only need a free travel voucher if you are connecting to an onward journey with another operator or exiting the myki gates at a Metropolitan Station (e.g. the gates for Platforms 9-16 at Southern Cross Station),” V/Line says.
“Vouchers will be available from the conductor on board the train (on Monday and Tuesday) and from some staffed V/Line stations.”
Not everyone is impressed by the move though, with Opposition MP and upper-house Member for Northern Victoria, Gaelle Broad saying two days of no-cost travel is “not the answer” to the issue.
“Every time something goes wrong in this state, the premier thinks ‘free will fix it’. But this is doing nothing to address the underlying problem,” Ms Broad said in a statement.
“Regional Victorians already put up with fewer services, longer travel times and constant disruption. They shouldn’t also have to wonder whether the whole network will collapse every time something goes wrong.”
Meantime, those affected by last week’s outage are being encouraged to apply for compensation through V/Line’s website.
