Regional Victorians are taking advantage of the cheaper travel fares implemented by the Victorian Government.
Since reducing travel fares on regional public transport, Victorians have saved an estimated $31 million in the first six months of the fare cap.
October marked the busiest month, with nearly two million passenger trips taken, with more than 13 million since the cap commenced in late March.
Under the fare cap, regional fares are capped at the same price as the metropolitan daily fare, with Albury passengers who previously paid up to $82.40 now paying no more than $10 a day.
“We’ve made fares fairer no matter where you live — easing the cost of living for Victorians and bringing more passengers to the regional network,” Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams said.
“We’re delighted fairer fares have been so popular, and we’ll continue transforming the regional rail network — upgrading every line in the state, adding bigger and better trains and additional services.”
V/Line has added hundreds of special services across the network to meet the extra demand, put on extra carriages, utilised standby coaches and trialled new reservation procedures.
On the Albury line, which passes through Benalla, V/Line is trialling reservation-only seating on weekends and during the school holidays due to the increasing demand to give passengers more certainty around seating.
Since 2014, the Victorian Government has invested more than $2 billion in 82 new VLocity trains and supporting infrastructure.