Public Transport - Melbourne

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Hi All,

Was wondering if someone could explain to me how this works. I have being playing on this website http://www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au/ which is very helpful in plotting a trip. But how does the different zones work and how much does tickets cost per zone. Do you get like one "master" ticket that covers all zones and that you can use on both buses/trams and trains for as many times as you like per month?

thanks,

[Neola]

HI

I am not the expert on this, but I do know you can get a monthly ticket which work out much cheaper than buying a daily ticket. After 6pm at night you only need to buy a 2 hour ticket and it will work for the rest of the night and if you buy a few minutes after 10am in the morning a 2 hour ticket will last for 3 hours. If you need to use the train on a daily basis you can buy a monthly ticket and it will work for the train, bus and trams.

[Garrick]

Ok, during our LSD, we stayed in a Zone 2 area. For us to catch transport into the CBD, we had to get a Zone 1+2 ticket. We just went with daily ones as we'd be in the CBD for a few hours. That cost us $10.60 each, per day. The rates do drop as you buy more, or for extended period, e.g. monthly.

Zone 1 is primarily the area around the CBD. We found that if you didn't need to go to the CBD, then you don't need Zone 1, and thus the tickets are much cheaper. Remember, unlike Sydney, the tickets in Melbourne cover Bus+Rail+Tram. Some of the stations on the rail are marked as both Zone 1 and Zone 2. Meaning that if you get on there, you can buy just a zone 1 ticket if you're heading towards the city, or a zone 2 ticket if you're travelling away from the CBD...once again, a savings.

Hope that helps a bit. I like to work out bus routes that'll get me from wherever I am to whatever shopping center, without touching Zone 1. You can in fact travel from the south to the west without going through zone 1... of course, it'll take you twice as long and most be on the same bus.

-G