THE Coalition has accused the Victorian Government of misleading Victorians over the true cost of cheaper V/Line fares.
Public transport spokesman Richard Riordan said independent analysis undertaken by the Parliamentary Budget Office revealed Labor had “misled Victorians by stating that its commitment would be a $203 million cost to the state budget”.
“Instead, the analysis showed the true cost to be 76 per cent more than originally promised,” Mr Riordan said.
“If Labor is to be believed that its policy will remain indefinitely, those figures represent a $358 million blowout over the next four years and a mammoth $1.1 billion blowout over the next decade.
“How does Labor intend to deliver cheaper fares indefinitely without raising taxes to make up the billion-dollar shortfall?”
The government declined to respond to questions from The Guardian over Mr Riordan’s claims.
“We’ve promised to cap regional daily fares at the same price as a metro daily fare by March 31 – making regional fares fair and making public transport accessible to Victorians in every corner of our state,” a spokesperson said.
“Our election commitment costings were independently verified by the Department of Treasury and Finance and we are getting on with delivering what we promised.”
The government will cap the cost of a daily ticket on the regional Victorian network at $9.20 for a full fare or $4.60 for a concession – the same price as a metro daily fare.
Fares for regional Myki passes for travel between 28 and 365 days a year will also be capped at the Melbourne rate $5.52 per day.
All public transport operated by or on behalf of the government where Myki or paper ticketing applies will be covered by the daily regional fare cap, including regional buses, town buses and V/Line trains and coaches.
The Department of Transport and Planning is working with the Myki ticketing system operator and V/Line to ensure the new capped fares are implemented on March 31.
