On Thu, 28 Jul 2022 at 14:57, TP historyworks@...> wrote:

> The interview with Daniel has appeared on the Facebook pages of the Age

> and the radio station and the comments on both are overwhelmingly against

> canning the FTZ, not that we should entirely go by Facebook comments. Two

> of the reasons given are that the free travel encourages economic activity

> and tourism in the CBD and that it makes it easier for people from outside

> Melbourne to move around the CBD as they typically don't ave Myki cards.

> The latter points to a deficiency in the Myki system in that one-off users

> can't buy a day ticket from a machine at tram and train stops, unlike in

> other states and ACT.

>


Yes. You can buy a Myki card at most CBD tram stops, and load it with a day
of fares, but yes it's not exactly easy for a new user.

The main reason the opinion piece happened was a discussion around
forthcoming upgrades to Myki, which will include options to pay your fare
using an iPhone (Android is already possible) or a bank-issued card, which
for most new users removes the issue of Myki cards.

> For certain, there are two main ways to go. Either cancel the free travel

> or build up the fleet to 30 metre trams and closer headways. I think

> another interim possibility until tram capacity grows is to just run a

> single free loop tram service around the CBD, like the free bus loops in

> other cities.

>


Prior to 2015, that's exactly what we had: the free City Circle tram.

Daniel