A lack of access to V/Line tickets in their town has reduced Rochester residents to “second-class citizens”, according to Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh.
Mr Walsh, who is also the state Member for Murray Plains, raised the issue with the Rochester Business Network in a meeting late last month.
V/Line tickets cannot be purchased in Rochester. The closest point for ticket sales is in Echuca, just under 25km from the Rochester train station.
The Rochester Post Office was once the agent where residents could purchase tickets, but the outlet no longer provides the service.
News that the myki system would be rolled out throughout Victoria was welcomed, but Mr Walsh criticised the state government for neglecting Rochester’s commuters.
“While (I am) pleased to see the government finally showing some interest in regional rail services, it can be a very long way between a government saying work is under way to a solution being installed and operational,” he said.
“Regional Victorians in general, and Rochester’s in particular, will remain second-class citizens on the public transport network paid for by their taxes and hard work.”
According to a post office employee, V/Line ticket sales ceased in August last year.
An RBN spokesperson said selling V/Line tickets was time consuming and “not financially viable”.
“We know it took a considerable amount of time for them and it took the owners away from their post office role,” the spokesperson said.
“Given the feedback from the post office, we don’t see how another business would consider taking on this role.
“Selling V/Line tickets is not always straightforward and it would be best to have a dedicated ticketing agent with suitable training from V/Line to ensure that acceptable standards are maintained.”
A letter from the Minister for Public and Active Transport, Gabrielle Williams, addressed Mr Walsh, saying the state government would be rolling out the myki system to the remainder of Victoria.
“I am pleased to advise that work is under way on a new state-wide ticketing solution that will bring existing myki payment options as well as new features to regional areas that are not currently serviced by myki,” she said.
“Customers will have access to a range of convenient new ways to pay for public transport across the whole of Victoria, with options including: ‘tap and go’ payment with credit and debit cards, digital watches, and digital wallets on all smartphones.
“While there are no immediate changes to the current myki or V/Line ticketing system, I can advise that testing and trials of new features will begin this year. We will then adopt a progressive rollout across Victoria once trials are successfully completed and will deliver a comprehensive support program to help customers adopt new features as they are introduced.”