Join the campaign for fairer fares on Public Transport
The City of Moreland calls upon the State Government to review the public transport fare zone boundaries in metropolitan Melbourne.
The petition: closes Wednesday 15 February 2012
You can help by supporting our petition. Fill out the petition to the Victorian Government seeking a public transport zone boundary review (DOC 188Kb). We encourage you to collect signatures from your family, friends and workplace.
When you have completed the petition, return it to:
Transport Coordinator
Moreland City Council
Locked Bag 10
Moreland VIC 3058
Return your petitions by Wednesday 15 February so they can be tabled in State Parliament.
Zone 1 and 2 explained
In 2007, the public transport zone 3 was absorbed into zone 2. As a result, most of metropolitan Melbourne is now in zone 2.
Currently, Glenroy is the last zone 1 station on the Craigieburn railway line and Fawkner is the last zone 1 station on the Upfield railway line.
This means Glenroy and Fawkner railway stations struggle with high demand for parking and associated vehicle traffic from rail commuters who drive from outlying locations to take advantage of the cheaper zone 1 rail fare. Driving to zone 1 from zone 2 currently represents a saving of $4 for a daily full fare rail commuter.
To demonstrate the inequity, a daily full-fare (zone 1 and 2) rail ticket from Coolaroo to Glenroy, a distance of 5 kilometers, costs $11, while a daily full-fare (zone 1) ticket from Coburg to Sunshine, a distance of over 20 kilometers, costs $7.
Council survey result
A recent Council survey at Glenroy station showed that 52 per cent of those that drove came from outside the City of Moreland.
At the same time, car parks at Coolaroo, Gowrie and Upfield, all currently in zone 2, are underutilised. Coolaroo station was opened in 2010, built at a cost of $36 million with 450 car parking spaces. Of these less than 50 per cent are used on any weekday. Glenroy station also has approximately 450 car spaces, and this car park is at capacity every weekday morning.
Further, there is a discrepancy between the bus fares in and around Glenroy. Some routes accept overlapping fare zones, while others are in either zone 1 or 2, creating confusion and additional costs for those transferring between modes.
A zone 2 review
Other than the abolition of the zone 3 in 2007, there has not been a comprehensive review of the fare zones since the introduction of Metcards.
Moving the zone 1 fare boundary outwards could deliver the following benefits:
- reducing commuter parking in existing zone 1 areas around transport hubs
- reducing commuting costs for residents in parts of Fawkner, Glenroy and Hadfield, and
- increase uptake of public transport generally, reducing car traffic and greenhouse gas production.
