CHEAPER BUS FARES FOR COOTAMUNDRA CUSTOMERS

March 6, 2018 

Bus fares for customers in regional NSW have been slashed by almost 30 per cent on average, following the NSW Government’s introduction of a new fare structure for regional bus operators.

The NSW Government asked the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to review bus fares in regional and rural areas in February last year to ensure services were delivering the best value for money.   

Member for Cootamundra Steph Cooke welcomed today’s changes as a win for local customers and operators.

“IPART’s review found fares were higher than what customers were willing to pay, resulting in fewer people using our regional services and we want to change that,” Ms Cooke said.

“By dropping the price of the maximum fare, we hope to make bus services more appealing to local residents and encourage more people to hop on public transport, which means a boost for local operators.”

The new pricing structure will introduce 10 standard fare bands, which will apply across regional and rural NSW. The maximum adult fare for a short trip of 3 kilometres will be set at $2.30, while any trip longer than 200 kilometres will have a maximum fare of $48.20.

“We’re also introducing a new Daily Ticket which will provide customers with unlimited travel within certain sections within a day. Daily adult tickets will start at $6.90 for short trips while eligible concession holders will pay half the adult fare,” Ms Cooke said.

She said the Government was still committed to upholding the discounts already in place for pensioner and senior concession card holders confirming the Regional Excursion Daily (RED) ticket for pensioners and seniors will remain at $2.50.

The Government will also continue to investigate other recommendations from the IPART review such as restructuring services to better match emerging needs, including on demand services and improving operator cost efficiency.