Stefan Bradley
YOUR paper ticket to the city, or another Gippsland town, will finally become digital this month.
Public and Active Transport Minister Gabrielle Williams on Tuesday announced an electronic ticketing plan to simplify V/Line train and coach travel by giving passengers the option to display their tickets on their smartphone.
“Since the introduction of the regional fare cap, long-distance V/Line services have become more popular than ever before,” Ms Williams said.
“We’re always looking for opportunities to improve the passenger experience, and electronic ticketing will make it easier for passengers to access and display their tickets for their long-distance train and scheduled coach services.
“Passengers have told us that they want more options for how they receive their V/Line tickets and eTicketing means they can now be displayed on smart phones or printed at home.”
Available from Wednesday, September 18, the new electronic ticketing option will provide passengers with a link to their ticket via SMS or email when they make a reservation for a long-distance train or scheduled coach service, instead of visiting a staffed station to buy a ticket or have it mailed by post.
Regional spokesperson for the Public Transport Users Association Paul Westcott said it was long overdue for V/Line ticketing to modernise for the 21st century.
“The requirement to attend a staffed station to get your ticket, even if you booked it online, was extraordinarily old fashioned,” Mr Westcott said.
The eTickets will be available on V/Line scheduled coach services as well as the Albury, Ararat, Bairnsdale, Echuca, Maryborough, Shepparton, Swan Hill and Warrnambool train lines.
Tickets can be added to a passenger’s Apple or Google Wallet, or downloaded as a PDF which can be printed at home and brought with them when they travel.
The tickets will also cover additional travel on Victoria’s public transport network, such as metropolitan trains, trams and buses, in the same way that a paper ticket currently does.
Passengers can still choose to collect tickets they have purchased online from their nearest staffed V/Line station, V/Line ticket agent, or premium Metro station, or have them sent via post before they travel.
In a media release, the government said “almost 200 extra weekend services” would be gradually rolled out in the coming years on V/Line, and since the regional rail cap was implemented, 31 million trips have been taken and “more than $80 million already saved by passengers”.
