Tag: fare reform

Delegates' Report: Enhancing opportunities for our youth, elderly and commuters

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On Saturday I had the great pleasure of being able to launch Enjoying Planned Retirement’s (EPR) Art and Craft Exhibition. EPR are located in Norwood Park and have over 490 members enjoying life and the opportunities provided to them to the absolute fullest. EPR provides an amazing range of social activities including, but definitely not limited to, dancing, bocce, trivia nights, theatre, art, day trips and drama. EPR had over 500 attendees to their weekend-long exhibition and are continuing strongly with the celebrations of their 30th anniversary.

On Tuesday the 10th of October I was conducting surveys as part of the Eastern Transport Coalition’s campaign for fair public transport fares. The existence of zone three is an oddity that only occurs in the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Melbourne and is due to the experimentation of the now aborted ‘neighbourhood zones’ in the mid 1980s. In fact prior to the introduction of the neighbourhood system back in the mid 80s Ringwood and the outer east was located within zone two, demonstrating that the removal of zone three is both possible and feasible.

I would to take this opportunity to thank everyone that completed the survey and also to thank the two Connex station hosts at Heatherdale Station who were both incredibly supportive and friendly.

The existence of zone three limits the opportunity for outer eastern residents to use public transport due to excessive financial burden that the arbitrary zoning system places on the outer east. It is also limits the opportunity to enhance the amenity of Heatherdale due to the excessive demand of car parks.

Lastly I wish to speak upon Community Safety Week and the Croydon Community School Mosaic, which featured as part of this program. Croydon Community School, which has classes for students in Year 7 through to Year 13, provides an alternative for secondary students that have experienced difficulties in other schools. The Croydon Community School provides an opportunity for such students to learn within a supportive environment and reinforced by apprenticeship programs and career guidance. The mosaic helps increase the understanding and cooperation between traders, students and the wider community and as such demonstrates that everyone has the opportunity to excel.

After the launch of community safety week I took the opportunity to speak to a number of youth at Croydon and unfortunately the opportunities they are able to seize are limited due to poor mobility and this is something I plan to raise at the next Eastern Transport Coalition meeting. Train services beyond Ringwood operate at a half hourly frequency during off-peak times causing a source of frustration of our youth, of which many are trying to use public transport to attend employment and educational opportunities.

Mobility is a key factor in enhancing the opportunities provided for our youth. The people of Croydon deserve more frequent rail services. On weekends the train line operates at a twenty minute frequency and there is no reason why our off-peak services which begin at 10am during the week should operate at a poor half hourly frequency.

Campaigning for Fair Public Transport Fares

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This morning, at Heatherdale Station, I conducted the Eastern Transport Coalition’s survey to ascertain the extent in which commuters drive to avoid paying the excessive cost of a zone three fare.

The overwhelming support for the Eastern Transport Coalition’s campaign for the abolition of zone three was extremely encouraging with a significant majority of commuters mentioning that they regularly drive to avoid the cost of the additional cost of a zone three fare.

The existence of zone three is an oddity that only occurs in the eastern and southeastern suburbs of Melbourne and is due to the experimentation of the now aborted ‘neighbourhood zones’ in the mid 1980s. In fact prior to the introduction of the neighbourhood system Ringwood and the outer east was located within zone two, demonstrating that the removal of zone three is both possible and feasible.

It is clear that the existence of zone three is causing excessive traffic congestion through the center of Ringwood, as commuters are clearly choosing to drive to avoid the additional cost of zone three. This also has a detrimental effect on bus services as commuters from as far away as Chrinside Park, Lilydale or Bayswater are choosing to drive to avoid zone three rather than catch buses to their nearest rail stations. As a result the amenity of Heatherdale is affected due to the excessive and unnatural demand for car parking simply due to the fare boundaries.

Hurstbridge is located further from the CBD than Ringwood or Belgrave and yet is located in zone two, demonstrating that the Government appears intent to place an additional financial burden on the eastern suburbs. The continued existence of such inequity makes a mockery of the government’s catchcry of creating ‘a fairer Victoria’.

Melbourne needs fair public transport fares, which do not unfairly penalise the eastern and southeastern suburbs. Furthermore there is a need to remove the high additional cost that exists when travelling between more than one zone since the current additional cost creates a strong disincentive for using public transport.

I would to thank everyone that completed the survey. Your participation in this campaign will help Maroondah and the Eastern Transport Coalition in its fight for fair public transport fares.

I would also like to thank the station hosts at Heatherdale who were incredibly supportive and understanding of the ETC’s campaign. The commuters of Heatherdale Station are fortunate to have such friendly station hosts that truly understand the value of customer service.

Media Release: Councils to seek fairer fares

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The Eastern Transport Coalition (ETC) will be conducting a postcard survey on Tuesday 10 October to call on the State Government to review the fare structure used across the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Councillor Alex Makin represents Maroondah City Council on the ETC, and will be participating in the survey as part of the ETC’s long term campaign to improve transport choices in the East.

“The ETC will be conducting their survey at six different points across the eastern suburbs with the aim of encouraging the State Government to conduct a review of public transport zones and fares,” said Cr Makin.

“I will be at Heatherdale Station on the morning of Tuesday 10th of October to do my part handing out postcards and talking with patrons of the public transport service. I want to hear more about what people think of public transport fares,” said Cr Makin.

Chair of the Eastern Transport Coalition, Cr Mick Van De Vreede says the ETC is calling for fairer fares for Melburnians.

“We don’t believe that the current fare structure encourages people to use public transport as well as it could. Given there is a new ticketing system coming into place in 2007 it would be sensible to introduce fairer fares at the same time,” said Cr Van De Vreede.

“The current fare structure puts in place a number of distortions, for instance we have seen:

  • Station car parks at zone boundaries targeted by consumers seeking to avoid the higher costs,
  • The east of Melbourne having a Zone 3 which does not exist in the north or west,
  • Melbournians living on boundaries having to pay for two zones when the same journey in other locations will cost a fare for one zone only.

“The ETC does not expect the system to be free, however the fare structure should be studied to see how it can work to encourage greater patronage.

“Melbourne has always been a leader with its multi-modal tickets, it’s now time to utilise technology to take the next step.

“A good example of what can be done is EastLink. Along EastLink drivers will have 13 separate tolling points which means that they will only pay for the little bit they use. There is even a 20 per cent discount for local trips on weekends. Public transport users deserve the same flexibility, if fact they need it if public transport is going to compete with EastLink,” said Cr Van De Vreede.

“It would be sensible if the Government announced a review of the fare and zone system before the new ticketing structure comes into place,” Cr Makin concluded.

The ETC consists of seven Councils in Melbourne’s east, representing over 940,000 residents who are conducting a long term campaign to improve transport choices.

I look forward to meeting commuters at Heatherdale Station next Tuesday to further the campaign for fair public transport fares.

Eastern Transport Coalition continuing the fight for fair public transport fares

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Tonight’s Eastern Transport Coalition Meeting focused on the ‘fair fare’ campaign with a survey being developed which aims to ascertain the extent in which zone three penalises public transport users and encourages the practice of driving to areas such as Heatherdale to avoid paying for the additional zone. This research will help present a case to call on the removal of zone three and minimise the price hike between fare zones.

Other items discussed include the need to directly candidates and MPs in the lead up to the State Election to ensure that the goals of the Eastern Transport Coalition and the need for better public transport are fully understood and appreciated.

I also discussed the parking difficulties at Croydon Station and a letter will be issued by the Eastern Transport Coalition to seek additional parking and better bus services for Croydon.

Maroondah Leader: Zoning system must go – Lobby

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The Maroondah Leader has reported on the Eastern Transport Coalition’s campaign to abolish zone three to ensure equity for public transport users in the eastern suburbs:

Maroondah commuters are sick of being slugged an unfair tax in zone three, says the region’s transport lobby group calling for the antiquated zoning system to be scrapped.

Maroondah’s representative on the transport coalition and a councillor, Alex Makin, said the zoning system made a mockery of the Ringwood Transit City Plan.

“If we want to encourage people to live and work in Ringwood, people need to be able to afford public transport or else they’ll drive straight through”, he said.

The current public transport zones were developed in 1982 and do not reflect geographic distances from the CBD.  For example while Ringwood, which is located just 23km from Melbourne’s CBD, is located in zone three, Hurstbridge is 36km from the CBD but located in zone two.

Cr Makin said parking and traffic problems were rife on the border of zone two and three, as people drove to bordering stations to avoid paying the peak price.

As a result of the arbitrary nature of the zone system commuters are simply driving through Ringwood to park at Heatherdale Station which is located in zone two. This has resulted in excessive demand for car parking at Heatherdale affecting the local amenity.

The State Government can no longer ignore the needs of eastern Melbourne. In the lead up to the State Election there must be a pledge to abolish zone three so that it removes the price penalties when travelling between zones.

Eastern Transport Coalition – Advocating for fair public transport fares

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The Eastern Transport Coalition is a coalition of seven outer eastern councils that are united in demanding better public transport for the outer east.

While service improvements are urgently required it is also necessary to look at the pricing structure of public transport to ensure that it is competitive with car travel. With the existence of zone three serving the sole purpose of taxing outer eastern public transport users councils are united in the call for reform of public transport fares.

The arbitrary nature of zones two and three means that Hurstbridge, which located in zone two, is located further away from the CBD than Belgrave which in zone three. Likewise the baseless boundary which places Ringwood in zone three is inconsistent with aims to encourage public transport usage within the Ringwood Transit City and causes costly traffic congestion through the centre of Ringwood as people choose to park at Heatherdale Station (zone two) resulting in unnatural and unnecessary demand for parking simply due to arbitrary zone boundaries.

Rather than simply ignoring issues relating to the price of public transport fares the State Government must commit to reforming zone boundaries and deliver fair public transport fares.

Maroondah Journal: MAV takes a stand on 'unfair' zoning fares

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The Maroondah Journal has reported on the latest efforts to abolish the inequities that exist within Melbourne’s public transport zone system, with the Municipal Association of Victoria joining the call for fare reform:

The Municipal Association of Victoria will lobby the Government to abolish zone three fares after representatives voted at a state council meeting last Thursday.

The motion to abolish zone three fares was proposed by Maroondah Council to ensure equity for Melbourne’s outer eastern residents relative to other parts of Melbourne. This inequity is evident through the fact that an annual ticket for zones, two and three costs $1999 compared to $1633 for just zones one and two.

Public Transport Users Association outer-east convenor Alex Makin said zone three ticketing affected outer east residents.

“Residents within the outer metropolitan areas pay the most for transport, [but they] receive the least level of service,” Mr Makin said. It’s time for the government to start listening to peak bodies like the MAV. It’s time to listen to residents and councils.”

Melbourne’s public transport zones are currently inequitable and penalise Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs. With suburbs such as Hurstbridge, which are further out than Ringwood, Dandenong or Lilydale being located in zone two it is clear that there is no logic behind the current zone boundaries other than an attempt to penalise outer eastern residents.