Action for Public Transport (N.S.W.) Inc.

Regular users of State Transit buses should buy themselves a Christmas present and stock up on TravelTen tickets now before the price goes up in early January, according to the consumer group, Action for Public Transport.

A spokesman for APT, Allan Miles, said that while no price increase has yet been announced, there is certain to be one. "The Minister has proposed increases of between 7 and 14 percent for the various STA TravelTen tickets," Mr Miles said, "but consumers have lobbied for smaller increases."

Mr Miles said that a final decision was expected soon from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

"TravelTen tickets give discounts of 20 to 30 percent off the price of most single bus fares," Mr Miles said. "They can be bought at the current price now and used at any time in the future." He said that they also save everybody's time when you get on the bus.

Mr Miles said he does not expect the current high levels of discount to continue, but hoped for a level of around 20 percent, the same as applies to the equivalent tickets in Brisbane.

The current single fare for 1-2 sections is $1.60 and the equivalent Blue TravelTen costs $11.60. A TravelTen holder therefore pays only $1.16 per trip, a saving of 44 cents or 26 percent on the single fare. Mr Miles said that it has already been determined that the single fare for this distance will remain the same in 2005 but the TravelTen price is sure to increase.

"It is always cheaper and more convenient to buy a TravelTen," Mr Miles said, "but a user who stocks up before January will save even more."

Mr Miles said that similar savings apply to the 3-5 section tickets, where the single fare ($2.70) will not increase from January but the price of the Brown TravelTen ($19.70) will rise, although by what amount is not yet known.

"For the longer distance journeys, single fares as well as TravelTens will increase in 2005," Mr Miles said, "as part of the process of standardising bus fares throughout Sydney."

Mr Miles said that the increase proposed by the government for the Red TravelTen (6 to 9 sections) was a whopping 14 percent, from $24.50 to $27.90. While he did not expect the final increase to be so large, Mr Miles said that regular users could still give themselves a Christmas present and stock up before 1st January.

"Buy a six-pack of TravelTens now," Mr Miles said, "and enjoy your Christmas present well into the New Year."

Contact: Allan Miles 9516-1906