Daniel Bowen

RE: https://mastodon.social/@ptua/116244189601902256

The Vic Greens are proposing free PT for a month. Good on them for talking about the issues, but this wouldn’t benefit the people most under pressure from petrol prices - those for whom PT doesn’t effectively serve their travel needs - especially in outer suburbs and regional areas.

Mar 17 at 9:49pmIceCubesApp
Show threadDaniel Carosone1d ago

@danielbowen it doesn't directly. It might indirectly if it helps encourage pt use by those who can instead of driving (as you well know).

How about they drop the RTO mandates and eliminate the travel entirely, though?

Show threadJesse1d ago
@uep @danielbowen Stats are pretty consistent that free public transport doesn't increase ridership much and has almost no effect on the number of people driving.
Show threadDaniel Carosone1d ago

@jessta @danielbowen in general, yes - it might have more impact in a moment when price sensitivity is the focus?

Regardless: hence the other suggestion.

Show threadStuart Coyle20h ago

@jessta @uep @danielbowen
I don't know where you get your stats from but the 50c fares here in Queensland had a significant ~20% effect on usage of public transport.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-10/queensland-50c-fares-public-transport-analysis/104910866

Queensland's 50c fares have hit the six-month mark. Here's the verdict

Public transport patronage is up nearly 20 per cent since the launch of 50c fares, new data shows. 

Show threadDavid Penington1d ago
@danielbowen Removing public transport fares would make it economic to drive to a railway station & take the train from there. Currently public transport has a much higher additional cash cost than driving an extra 10km.
OTOH petrol prices were this high in 2022.
Show threadJesse1d ago

@DavidPenington @danielbowen

There isn't enough parking available at train stations for that to have a significant effect.

Spending the $50m or so on running more frequent buses for a month is really the only thing that could work.

Show threadDavid Penington1d ago
@jessta I think the goal is to help some people who cannot afford petrol for their commute at these prices to save *this month* by using public transport.
That might need less parking than you are thinking of, but yes cars use vast amounts of land both moving & parked, & it makes things difficult.
Show threadJustified Ancient of Moomin1d ago
@danielbowen to be quite honest, fare evasion rates are so astronomically high at the moment that we basically have free public transport anyway for anyone who doesn’t care about the rather remote possibility of getting fined
Show threadTim Richards1d ago
@ThermiteBeGiants @danielbowen They really need to fix that short-trip fare problem; it's so expensive for a short trip that lots of people don’t touch on, and that's becoming normalised. Fair enough too.
Show threadFake mrc (verified)1d ago

@ThermiteBeGiants @danielbowen Fares are too bizarre. I regularly catch the 561 bus from Pascoe Vale Station to Reservoir Station. Heading east, it’s Zone 1. Heading west, it’s Zone 2. I only noticed this when I looked at my myki history in the PTV app.

The “Victorian Bus Zones and Maps Guide 2026” shows the path weaved by the 561 between zones, but it doesn’t explain why the direction of travel changes the fare.

Obviously I tap on and off, but I’ve got no quarrel with people evading it.

Show threadpetros1d ago

@danielbowen You are mistaken.

The people using public transport leave more petrol for the people who cannot use public transport.

Show threadpetros1d ago

@danielbowen BTW: The same with bike riders - every bike rider is one less car in a traffic jam. And is not using petrol either.

I am a little bit flustered about this kind of short-sighted arguments.

Sigh.

Show threadStephen Collins1d ago

@danielbowen @phs @ptua it's a great idea. Though, as you say, it doesn't help some of the people most reliant on fuel. There are a lot of options for things like courier and logistics companies, who can electrify their fleets over time (and are probably doing the sums right now).

But for agriculture (the industry where I work), diesel and unleaded remain critical resources with no option to shift as yet. Supply is already affecting a number of businesses.