Gippsland V/Line free travel scheme leaves Victorians confused as commuters report mixed messages
Norm Drew says the free travel on the Gippsland line scheme was a "PR exercise". (ABC Gippsland: Jack Colantuono)
In short:
Gippsland commuters say there have been mixed messages over how the region's free travel month works, with some passengers struggling to work out how to obtain the required tickets or vouchers.
Public Transport Users Association spokesperson Daniel Bowen says the scheme needs to be simplified in the future.
What's next?
A V/Line spokesperson says it will continue to invest in the public transport network to deliver more services and boost reliability for passengers.
Norm Drew, a farmer from Heyfield in Victoria's east, recently travelled to Melbourne for a meeting, eager to take advantage of free travel on the Gippsland train line.
The Victorian government made V/Line travel in Gippsland free in November as a way of making up for years of disruptions during line upgrades.
But when he informed staff he would need to return the following day, he was surprised to learn he would have to pay to come home.
Mr Drew is one of a number of Gippsland passengers who have told the ABC they faced issues when trying to use the free travel scheme.
It comes amid concerns about the effects a statewide free travel scheme will have on regional commuters.
In Mr Drew's case, he was unaware that free travel only applied to return trips made the same day.
His experience left him confused about the way the scheme works and left him branding it a "PR exercise".
"Unfortunately, the Victorian Labor government, what they tell you and what happens is totally different quite often, very deceptive comments they put out to get people in,"Mr Drew said.
"Let's put it this way: when you live in rural Victoria, fairness doesn't come into it, does it?"
A free travel sign displayed at the Warragul train station for during November. (ABC Gippsland: Danielle Kutchel)
Almost charged full fare
Stratford man Sean Falzon, who was travelling to Melbourne about a week ago, said he called V/Line after reading a sign at the station instructing passengers to book their free ticket over the phone.
Instead, he was told the fare would be $11.
"I said, 'It's supposed to be free' … and they had no idea what I was talking about,"he said.
Mr Falzon was told to go to a staffed station to collect the ticket, however, he told the staff member the sign directed him to call to book one.
A free Gippsland travel poster displayed at the unstaffed Stratford Station. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
He was then put through to a V/Line supervisor, who was surprised Mr Falzon's ticket was not booked instantly.
"He said they could have just booked it quickly and easily," Mr Falzon said, indicating earlier advice from the first employee was wrong.
"I said to him [the supervisor] if I knew it was going to be this long, I would have just jumped on the train and rolled the dice and see if I got a fine or not."
Mr Falzon later learned from another local that he could have collected a free ticket from the conductor on board, something he said was not mentioned on the call.
"There's a sign at the station saying if I'm travelling between Nar Nar Goon and Traralgon, I can get the ticket from a conductor, but between Rosedale and Bairnsdale [where Mr Falzon is travelling from] I need to get it over the phone. I'm not sure if the advice was correct," Mr Falzon said.
"I would have given up if I didn't absolutely need to go to Melbourne the next day."
The Stratford train station is one of the few stations across Gippsland that is unmanned. (ABC News: Jack Colantuono)
He said while the free travel was a good idea, the process could cause "headaches", particularly for elderly passengers.
Clear instructions, but still confusion
Warragul commuter and musician Malcolm McCaffery, who has been affected by Gippsland Line disruptions in the past, had a different problem when he tried to use the free travel scheme.
When he went to board his train to Melbourne, he discovered it was cancelled and later vented his frustrations on social media.
"Love the free travel vouchers to compensate for months of cancelled trains, just to have the train service cancelled," Mr McCaffery shared on Facebook, noting the irony of the situation.
The post quickly gained attention, prompting other passengers to share their own issues, such as not realising the free vouchers or tickets could be issued by on-train conductors.
"As long as you read, it's really clear what you have to do; but not all stations have staff, so that's where I think people get confused," Mr McCaffery told the ABC.
The Gippsland rail upgrades began in 2018, resulting in extended periods where buses replaced trains.
The completion of the upgrade this year means an extra 80 services can run each week.
Malcolm McCaffery shared a quirky post on Facebook on the irony of free travel. (ABC Gippsland: Danielle Kutchel)
Simplify it, passenger union says
Public Transport Users Association (PTUA) spokesperson Daniel Bowen said the free-travel offer was welcome after years of disruptions on the Gippsland Line, but described the arrangements as "really confusing".
"To have two different types of a free ticket or voucher for different parts of the line … if your local station is unstaffed, then that's a real problem," Mr Bowen said.
He said the scheme should be simplified.
"You shouldn't have to read a wall of text to decipher the instructions," Mr Bowen said.
"Even for people who can access information online, it can still be confusing.
"The fact we've had V/Line staff themselves confused around it just underscores what a confusing arrangement it is."
A V/Line spokesperson said the free-travel initiative was being promoted through station posters and online information.
The spokesperson said signs at unstaffed stations also reminded passengers they could collect a voucher from the conductor after boarding.
They said that of the more than 744 Gippsland line services running in November, only eight were cancelled due to emergency incidents and staff availability.
“We continue to invest in our public transport network to deliver more services, boost reliability and to make travel cheaper for passengers," the spokesperson said.
"Since we introduced the regional fare cap, Victorians have taken 62 million trips across the state."