Fare increases - articles and discussion etc.

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From the Herald Sun click here!

Commuters paying up as public transport fares jump

Commuters paying up as public transport fares jump

    * Ashley Gardiner transport reporter
    * From: Herald Sun
    * December 20, 2010 12:00AM

THE State Government is poised to order Melbourne's first public transport fare rise in two years.

Commuters can expect to pay 20c more for a zone 1 daily ticket, bringing the cost to $7.

But the change of government means commuters have won a reprieve from the usual January 1 increases.

The Herald Sun believes a final decision on the increase could be made as early as today. It is likely fares will go up by a figure close to the consumer price index, now at 2.8 per cent.

A fare freeze was considered, but this would have meant taxpayers were forced to top up the difference to Metro and Yarra Trams.

It is believed the Baillieu Government will introduce the increase in either March or mid-year.

The previous government had gone into caretaker mode before a decision could be made on fare changes.

Industry sources said fare increases took about six weeks to implement.

Department of Transport spokesman David Stockman said the matter was yet to be resolved.

"No decision has yet been made on the timing of the next public transport fare adjustment or what the level of adjustment will be," Mr Stockman said.

"The new Minister for Public Transport has been briefed on the issue, with a decision expected in the near future."

But two future fare increases previously announced by the Brumby government could be dumped.

The previous government had decided to introduce two 5 per cent rises, on top of CPI, for 2012 and 2013, to partly fund its $38 billion Victorian Transport Plan.

Proposals in the former government's transport blueprint, including the rail tunnel from Footscray to Caulfield, are also now under review.

Fares have not changed since January 1, 2009, as inflation fell to just 1.2 per cent in the wake of the global financial crisis.

It is believed the new Coalition Government will not take this figure into account when deciding on the size of the next increase.