Wouldn’t it be great if you could travel to see your family in Sydney, Newcastle, Bermagui, or just go on a break to Melbourne, and all for 50 cents per passenger.

If you’re a worker in Wollongong, a 50 cent fare on public transport–buses, trains, ferries–would save you $2,160 a year. If you’re in Cunningham, the new fares would save you the same each year.

Greens Candidate for Cunningham Jess Whittaker said that a reduction of fares throughout Australia would help alleviate the grinding cost of living pressures that many families and people face right now.

“Rising transport costs, along with rent for many, takes up more than 40 percent of a person’s fortnightly wage,” Ms Whittaker said. “If we are able to reduce our public transport fares this would be  a great improvement on affording the small things, such as buying food each week or paying for medications.”

The Greens’ national plan includes a one-off $250 million-dollar fund to help states and territories transition to ‘smart ticketing’, allowing people to pay for public transport using their credit or debit card, or their phone.

“It was only under sustained pressure from the Greens, that the Queensland Government recently shifted to 50c public transport fares and we’ve seen a big increase in people using public transport. In regional Queensland there’s been up to a 49 per cent increase in public transport. Although the figures are hard to come by, this would mean a big reduction in traffic and the ensuing air pollution.”

With a minority parliament looming at the 2025 Federal election, the Greens’ are best placed to introduce ‘Robin Hood reforms’ that will be put on the table in any post-election negotiations, and will be funded by making big corporations pay their fair share of tax. 

For more information contact Jess Whittaker or phone 0491 316 123.