Tuesday, 10 September 2024

Free tram zone

David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (18:01): (1115) My adjournment matter is for the attention of the Minister for Public and Active Transport. In recent weeks a bidding war has emerged between candidates for Lord Mayor in the upcoming Melbourne City Council elections. Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece and candidate Arron Wood are overextending the free tram zone. One wants it extended to one area and the other one wants it extended a bit further. It is likely that this is just political opportunism, appealing to the many foreign students who live in the city and, strangely, have the right to vote. It is also highly cynical from both of these candidates, as it is a promise they do not have to keep. They know that the government is not going to expand the free tram zone, so it is an empty promise.

The Legislative Council held an inquiry into this just a few years ago which recommended against this measure, except for one stop to the arts precinct and one stop to the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. It noted existing issues with the free tram zone, including overcrowding, uncomfortable passenger experiences, safety issues and boarding issues for passengers with mobility issues. The last point is particularly of note, as the ongoing disruptions in the city are having the same impact on the elderly and the disabled who rely on public transport. It would also cost about $15 million, and I am sure as everyone is well aware by now, there is not exactly a lot of spare change in the coffers of Treasury right now. Wisely, the government rejected the recommendations for expanding the free tram zone to the arts precinct and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. I can assure you that the residents of Frankston and Dandenong could not care less about the free tram zone. The residents of regional Victoria would likely care less, even though they are still paying for it. They would likely see it as just another circumstance where people in the city get high-quality services and they get the scraps.

In their submission to the inquiry into the free tram zone the Public Transport Users Association themselves noted data suggesting that the increased patronage in the free tram zone primarily came at the expense of walking and cycling. They also noted that the current cost of the free tram zone was about $10 million to $13 million per year. Not only did they not support the expansion of the zone, they actually called for it to be scrapped and for the savings to be reinvested in improving public transport overall. We are, however, in a different budget position now and the government are looking for savings wherever they can be found. Therefore my request for the minister is that she resists the calls from Melbourne City Council candidates to expand the free tram zone and instead considers abolition.