Cheaper public transport a huge opportunity at the 2026 PTAANZ Policy Syposium
May 2026
The opportunities presented by free or cheap public transport were the centre of conversation at the PTAANZ Policy Symposium in Melbourne.
As a response to higher fuel prices, public transport is free across Victoria during April and May, before moving to half price for the rest of the year. Transport Professionals Association, Policy and Advocacy Manager - Duane Burtt, had the opportunity to participate in the conversation first-hand by attending this year.
Jeroen Weimar, Secretary of the Victorian Department of Transport and Planning, described it as a ‘heaven-sent opportunity’ to get people to reconsider public transport as a way of getting around. And people are voting with their feet, with patronage in Melbourne up 25% on the same week last year – finally back to pre-Covid levels – and a boom in regional travel, especially on weekends.
His equivalent in Queensland, Sally Stannard, said 50-cent fares had increased patronage by 21% in Brisbane.
While free or cheap public transport is turbocharging uptake in Victoria and Queensland, increasing fuel prices present an opportunity across Australia. “With people spending $200, $250 to fill up the tanks [of their cars], we can’t waste this crisis,” Weimar said.
Sally Stannard said they estimated the increase in public transport trips from higher fuel prices alone at 3.5% in Queensland.
There was a lot of discussion about buses in particular, with Victorian Minister Gabrielle Williams saying their investment in better services was showing good dividends in increased uptake.
The importance of frequent services was underlined by Stannard, pointing out that in Brisbane 40% of trips were carried on just 5% of the routes – the ones that have 15 minute frequency from 7am-7pm, every day of the week.
Mark Streeting, Senior Partner at L.E.K. Consulting, noted there was more the Federal Government could do, pointing out that tax incentives around work travel still favoured private vehicle use over other ways of moving.
There was an in-depth panel discussion on ticketing. Adam Lawrence from the New Zealand Transport Agency pointed out that the ticketing system is often very complex behind the scenes, but you need to hide that complexity from the end user. NZ is moving to a national system of ticketing called Motu Move (‘motu’ basically meaning the nation) requiring co-ordination with the 13 regional public transport authorities.
Account based ticketing is seen as the future, but in the meantime managing cash in a digital society is often an expensive exercise for operators – think armoured trucks and security guards carrying what is now relatively small amounts of money.
In the days since the Symposium, the WA Government have announced a commitment to free public transport on Sundays (and continuing for school children), while other fares will be half price. It seems cheaper public transport is on the agenda across Australia.
For more on the speech by Jeroen Weimar, see this article in railexpress.
TPA’s Policy and Advocacy Manager Duane Burtt attended the Policy Symposium as a guest of PTAANZ – the Public Transport Association of Australia and New Zealand.
