I’ve prepared a bill to freeze the 8.6% public transport fare increase for two years, which would bring it back down to something like inflation. While the January 1 fare increase is locked in, I’m getting the feeling that this government, which is clawing in money from everywhere will give it a go again next year if we don’t make a fuss now.

Commuters were outraged when the Baillieu government, who talked a lot about cost of living whilst in opposition, made this move.  Of course they blamed the previous labor government, even suggesting that blowouts on freeway building projects were part of the reason for this increase.

I’d like to go further and see the link Essential Services Commission set these fares, the way they do for water and used to for gas and electricity. Public transport is an essential service too right? Essential for its users (many of whom use it only because they have no other option) and essential to stopping the city grinding to a halt as it chokes on road traffic. 

So what’s a fair fare?

In NSW their equivalent to the ESC known as IPART said that fares recovering thirty percent of the system’s total costs would be fair. They think that seventy percent of the benefits of having a public transport system go out to the wider society.

Of course in a city like New York or Hong Kong, they achieve high cost recovery from revenue, with millions living right on top of a subway system. Sydney’s outer suburban bus routes, by contrast might collect only 17% of their costs from fares.

They also put some close scrutiny on the costs of running the system, both day to day operating and long term investment (capital). That’s almost impossible for an ordinary person to do in Victoria, with complex funding arrangements of privatised operators and no real transparency around the governments investment. Making those figures clear would make it an informed debate and we’d be more confident that fare increases DID go to improving the system.

It’s clear that Melbourne’s system collects a significant proportion of its costs.  Booming patronage has been ongoing since about 2005 and trams, trains and many peak hour buses are stuffed full. By my estimate, if the government isn’t adding a new peak hour tram and train service every three weeks, they aren’t keeping up with the growth.  This study (fig. 5.6) suggests that our operating costs recovery ratio is higher than other Australian capitals even though we collect similar fare amounts as them, on a per passenger/kilometre basis.

Time for a break on fare increases, I reckon.