Travel by train to be cheaper under Myki

VICTORIA'S new public transport ticketing system is predicted to give south-west Victorians cheaper train travel to Melbourne.The Myki system, which started yesterday on the metropolitan network, will be introduced to the V/Line network next year allowing rural travellers to purchase a pre-paid card linked to a computer system which calculates fares.According to Myki media manager Adrian Derwent, south-west passengers would benefit by buying a pre-paid card because it would provide the best-available fares on the day of travel."People will still be able to buy a daily ticket as they do now which will cost the same as now, but with Myki it will be a bit cheaper," he said."It determines the best fare as you touch on and touch off. Cards can be topped up."It's like the e-tag. Travel will be cheaper than purchasing a ticket on the day."He said Myki would apply to all metropolitan train, tram and bus routes, V/Line train and coach services and local bus services in major rural centres including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Moe.The State Government has been criticised for rushing the new ticketing system before glitches have been ironed out.However, Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said the system had undergone rigorous testing in the past two months and the Transport Ticketing Authority had recommended it be introduced."I'm confident that once people are familiar with Myki they are going to love the ease and convenience it brings to ticketing," she said.Ms Kosky said it would take about six months or more to fully implement Myki across the state. Online account registrations opened yesterday afternoon.Meanwhile, south-west residents can travel for free by train to Melbourne on the last service on New Year's Eve and return for free on the first service out of Melbourne. Metropolitan travellers can also get a free trip to south-west destinations to see in the new year. Travellers should pre-book their seats, a V/Line spokesman said.Last year more than 250 people packed the 5.05pm service heading to festivities in Geelong and the metropolitan area.Free Christmas Day trains were well patronised with at least seven carriages booked out in advance for the morning trip out of Melbourne. Warrnambool was one of the state's most popular destinations for metropolitan travellers on Christmas Day.