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Travelling into the Melbourne CBD is about to get a lot cheaper, with the state government giving away 250,000 free public transport vouchers this summer. To encourage people back into the city over the festive season and summer holidays, 50,000 public transport vouchers are up for grabs across five event categories. Those categories include Christmas, performing arts, galleries and attractions, dining, and shopping.
The vouchers are available from the PTV website from Thursday, December 16. Those successful in securing a voucher simply need to show it to staff when entering or exiting their station (or if stopped by a ticket inspector) while travelling on the valid voucher date. Vouchers can be used from December 18 onwards.
Even if you miss out on a free travel voucher, you can still take advantage of free public transport across the network on Christmas Day and on New Year's Eve. The free holiday travel periods run from 3am December 25 to 3am December 26, and from 6pm December 31 until 6am on January 1. No special ticket is required on metro transport, simply don't use your Myki during those periods. If you're catching a V/Line service you'll still need to make a free booking to secure a spot. Metro trains and most trams will run all night on New Year's Eve as well.
It's not all good news, however, with metro public transport fares increasing an average of 2.3 per cent from January 1, 2022. That rise means that daily fares in zone 1, zone 2 and zone 1 and 2, will be 20 cents dearer in metropolitan areas (that is, Melbourne).