ptv free travel voucher registration

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• Victorian pensioner free travel vouchers

Pensioner Concession Card holders are eligible for annual free travel vouchers.

Pensioner Concession Card holders are eligible for annual free travel vouchers. The travel vouchers can be used on trams, trains and buses, including V/Line trains and coaches.

Public Transport Victoria issues the free travel vouchers.

You'll need to register to receive your allocation of free travel vouchers.  Find out more and register to receive free travel vouchers.

For more information and to apply

For information about using the Free travel voucher:

• visit the Public Transport Victoria website , or
• phone on 1800 800 007.
• Motor vehicle registration fee
• Public transport concessions
• Transport Accident Commission (TAC) insurance charge concession
• Victorian Seniors Card travel savings

Last updated on 24/03/2023

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Let’s go to town

To get you in the festive spirit, Public Transport Victoria (PTV) are giving away 250,000 free public transport travel vouchers and Port Phillip Ferries are in on the action.

Free public transport for all city activities

To promote a safe return to public transport and reignite a passion for our city, you’ll be able to grab the gift of travel for a range of events and attractions throughout December and January

How it works

50,000 vouchers will be up for grabs for each of five different event categories such as Christmas events, galleries and attractions, dining, performing arts, and shopping. Vouchers will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

The vouchers will be available from 16 December, for travel from 18 December and will be emailed to you, so you can print, or display them on a valid device. The voucher will only be valid for your nominated day of travel.

Up to five people can travel using one voucher per valid email address. When travelling passengers simply need to show the voucher along with their valid Port Phillip Ferries ticket to the crew when boarding the ferry.

Port Phillip Ferries T&C’s

• The offer is valid for customers with a free travel voucher one-way or returns departing from Portarlington or Geelong to Melbourne.
• Up to five people can travel using one voucher per valid email address. Dependants (infants), under 4 years old of passengers travelling with a voucher are not required to be named on the voucher but will need to be pre-booked as infants tickets.
• Dependants 4 years of age will be classified as an infant ticket for booking redemption purposes.
• Further details visit:  https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/more/travelling-on-the-network/gototown/
• The campaign concludes 31 January 2022 or when vouchers are exhausted.
• Travel is valid from both Bellarine Express and Geelong Flyer services ex Geelong or Portarlington from Sat 18 Dec 21 to Mon 31 Jan 22.

Once you have your voucher

Once you have your voucher from Public Transport Victoria please email at least 48 hours prior to intended travel date with your DoT free travel voucher copy, passenger names, telephone number, email address, travel destination (travel to Melbourne), dates & times > Email Us Here 

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Get some work done, listen to a podcast, chat with a friend or post photos of your beautiful ferry trip on social media.

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Choose a window seat or sun yourself on an outdoor deck. We guarantee you a seat on every journey, with tables and drop down trays if you so require.

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We cruise direct to Victoria Harbour, Docklands. Directly across from Marvel Stadium (formerly Etihad) and seconds away from the free CBD tram network.

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Register now for your free 2020 travel vouchers

Each year, the Victorian Government issues free travel vouchers to eligible seniors. You’re eligible if you:

• are a Victorian resident and
• hold a Victorian Seniors Card, a Centrelink or DVA pensioner concession card or a Victorian Carer (‘We Care’) card .

Depending on where you live, you can receive two or four off-peak free travel vouchers each year.

However, the government is no longer sending the vouchers automatically. Instead, you need to register for the new system by 31 July 2020 . There are three ways to opt in:

• Register online on the PTV website .
• Pick up a registration form at any staffed train station and post it back to PTV (completed forms cannot be left at staffed stations).
• Visit a PTV Hub in Geelong, Bendigo or Melbourne CBD with your eligible concession card .

Eligible card holders who are self-isolating can instead call PTV Customer Service on 1800 800 007 (or 9321 5450 for other languages).

For more information about the changes to free travel vouchers visit the PTV website.

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• Carer Card Program Victoria
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Public transport travel discounts

Information to support carers and Carer Card holders.

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All Victorian Carer Card (We Care) holders are eligible for concession fares, free weekend travel and free travel during Carers week.

A Victorian Carer Card (We Care) entitles holders to free weekend travel in any in two consecutive zones. Cardholders also have access to two or four free off-peak travel vouchers per year (depending on where you live).

You will need to register for free travel vouchers via PTV's website .

For further information visit the   Public Transport Victoria website   or call 1800 800 007 (6.00am - midnight daily).

Eight days of free public transport

As a Victorian Seniors Card holder, you can explore Victoria with free Festival travel from Sunday 1 October to Sunday 08 October 2023

On this page:

Where can you go, using your myki, travelling in regional victoria, information on regional town buses and v/line services, regional buses, unreserved v/line services, reserved v/line services, plan your journey.

Victorian Senior Card holders can enjoy Victoria with eight days of free public transport from 1 to 8 October 2023.

Free public transport is available to all Victorian Senior Card holders. Jump on public transport for free to visit attractions across Melbourne as well as regional and rural locations.

You’ll be able to travel for free on all public transport in Victoria, including:

• Melbourne trains, trams and buses
• Regional trains, coaches and buses (including regional town bus services) as listed below.

The V-Line bookings open at 10am on Tuesday 5 September .

From 1 to 8 October 2023 you won’t be charged when you touch on and off.

Throughout the rest of the year, top up with myki Money if you travel occasionally, or myki Pass if you travel often. Your card isn’t locked to myki Money or myki Pass – choose each time you top up.

Find out more at ptv.vic.gov.au External Link or call 1800 800 007.

Mobile myki is also available for Victorian seniors. For more information visit Public Transport Victoria mobile myki website: www.ptv.vic.gov.au/mobilemyki External Link .

Register your card online to protect your card’s balance if it’s lost or stolen.

• You need to reserve a seat on long distance V/Line trains and some coaches. To book a seat on V/Line Services requiring reservations call 1800 800 007 from 10am, Tuesday 5 September onwards.
• Seats can fill quickly – book early.
• You’ll need to collect your tickets within 48 hours.
• You can only travel free in economy class.
• You can book a return journey for up to four Victorian Seniors Card holders. If you are planning to make a group booking for up to 19 travelling on a V/Line train service, or 12+ travelling on a V/Line coach service, visit your nearest station or agent from 10am, Tuesday 6 September onwards.
• If you make a booking and aren’t able to travel, let us know. We can give your ticket to someone else. Some important tips for travelling on board trains, trams and buses:
• Touch on – have your myki ready so you can touch on.

Travel for free during Seniors Festival free public transport on regional town buses in:

Travel for free without booking a seat on trains and coach services, including those starting or ending at:

• Ballarat/Wendouree/Ararat
• Bendigo/Eaglehawk/Echuca
• Geelong/Marshall

You will need to reserve a seat before travelling for free on these services. Check whether you need to book before travelling by looking for an 'R' on V/Line timetables. Reserved services include:

• Albury/Wodonga
• Warrnambool.

You can plan your journey using the PTV app or visiting the PTV Journey planner website External Link .

Once you have entered your 'From' starting point, you then need to select the most appropriate option for you and complete your planning.

Visit the PTV website External Link for more information.

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• Regional travel

Reviewed 11 September 2023

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250,000 free melbourne public transport vouchers up for grabs.

The Victorian state government will give away 250,000 free public transport travel vouchers to Victorians to get people back into the city.

The vouchers will be available through the PTV website from Thursday 16 December and will be emailed to passengers, so they can be printed or viewed on a smartphone. Passengers will simply show the voucher to station staff when entering or exiting the public transport network on the valid date of travel.

However, from 1 January 2022, metropolitan public transport fares will increase by 2.3 per cent on average. After freezing fares last year, the increase will add 20 cents to the daily Zone 1, Zone 2 and Zone 1+2 metropolitan fares. The average regional fare increase across the network will be 1.1 per cent.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in Melbourne  here .

There will be 50,000 vouchers available for each of five different event categories across December and January, with the categories covering:

• Christmas events
• Galleries and attractions
• Performing arts

The government will also provide free public transport on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve. On Christmas Day, metropolitan and regional public transport will be free from 3am until 3am on Boxing Day and will run to a regular public holiday timetable.

Passengers on reserved V/Line services still need to book their travel so they can be issued a ticket free of charge.

On New Year’s Eve, all train, tram and bus services will be free from 6pm on 31 December until 6am on 1 January. The first V/Line train services departing Melbourne on each line will also be free, even if they leave after 6am on New Year’s Day. Customers travelling during these free travel periods do not need to touch on or off with their myki.

A normal weekday public transport timetable will be in place between 6pm and midnight on New Year’s Eve, with additional services after midnight.

Metropolitan trains will run to a 15-minute frequency between midnight and 1am, a 30-minute frequency between 1am and 2am, and every hour from 2am. On the tram network, most services will operate all night – running to a 15 to 20-minute frequency between midnight and 2am, and every 60 minutes from 2am. The newly expanded Night Network bus service will also run all night.

“Victorians will no doubt be keen this festive season to celebrate their hard-won freedom, so we’re making sure they have travel options to do just that,” Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll said.

“This year, we’re not only making public transport free on Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve, we are also giving Melbourne a quarter of a million free reasons to head into the city this Summer to enjoy the best Melbourne has to offer.”

“After freezing fares last year, we’re keeping this year’s public transport fare rise as low as possible to allow us to support a sustainable return to public transport.”

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Public Transport Vouchers

In years of fare increases, operators are required to contribute part of their increased fare revenue to the Public Transport Fund. Financial penalties collected from PTOs when significant disruptions occur are also paid into the Fund. The Government then draws from the Fund to disburse Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs) to help lower-income households cope with fare adjustments. The Government will also supplement the Public Transport Fund from time to time. 

Following the implementation of a fare increase in December 2023, the Government will be making available PTVs worth $50 each as part of the 2023 Public Transport Voucher Exercise. Details of the exercise can be found in the poster below. As part of the first stage of disbursement, over 240,000 households have received PTV notification letters in December 2023.

1) Who is eligible for the Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs)?

To be eligible for the PTVs, applicants must have a monthly household income per person of not more than $1,600. At least one member of the household must be a Singapore Citizen or Permanent Resident. 

2) When and how do households get the Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs)?

Over 240,000 households that received a PTV under the 2022 PTV Exercise and continue to meet the eligibility criteria have received a PTV in December 2023.

Households that meet the eligibility criteria but did not receive a PTV in the first stage can apply for the PTVs online at https://go.gov.sg/ptv or in person at their local Community Centres/Clubs (CCs) from 15 January 2024 to 31 October 2024. During this period, households that require additional help or slightly missed the income eligibility criteria can also submit an appeal online at https://go.gov.sg/ptv-appeal or in person at their local CCs.

The PTVs can be used to top up their fare card via the SimplyGo app or at any SimplyGo Kiosk, Top-Up Kiosk, Assisted Service Kiosk, SimplyGo Ticket Office or SimplyGo Ticketing Service Centre. Please note that users of the SimplyGo app must first register for an account and add a SimplyGo Concession/EZ-Link card into the account to be able to redeem the PTV.

The PTVs can also be used to offset monthly pass purchases at any SimplyGo Ticket Office or SimplyGo Ticketing Service Centre.

3) When will the Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs) be sent out to successful applicants?

Notification letters (which serve as the PTV) will be sent out to successful applicants within four to six weeks from the date of application.

4) Is the use of the Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs) limited to only one household member?

No, the PTVs can be shared amongst all members of the household. PTVs can be redeemed in denominations of $10 to different travel cards, regardless of who the PTV is addressed to.

5) How many Public Transport Vouchers (PTVs) can each household receive? How can households apply for more than one PTV? If my household has four members, does that mean we can submit four separate applications?

The PTVs are given out on a per household basis to help cushion the impact of an increase in public transport fares on lower-income households. Each household is eligible for one PTV, and only one application is needed. Under Stage 1, each household that received a PTV during the 2022 exercise and continue to meet the income eligibility criteria should have received one PTV in December 2023. Households who may need more assistance may submit an appeal for an additional PTV at https://go.gov.sg/ptv-appeal . Cases will be assessed by the Citizens' Consultative Committees  on a case-by-case basis.

6) A household submitted an application for the first time, but was rejected even though they met the income criteria. What should they do? Why do they have to submit an appeal?

There are several reasons why an application may have been rejected, such as a Public Transport Voucher (PTV) being granted to someone residing at the same address during Stage 1, or if there have been recent changes to household income which have not been reflected in official records. These households should submit an appeal online at https://go.gov.sg/ptv-appeal or at their local Community Centres/Clubs (CCs) from 15 January 2024. 

7) Why were some beneficiaries excluded from Stage 1 when they have received a Public Transport Voucher from the 2022 Public Transport Voucher Exercise? What should they do?

Some beneficiaries from the 2022 PTV Exercise did not receive a PTV in Stage 1 of the current exercise (which ended in December 2023), because of changes to their household information such as their address or their monthly household income per person. 

First, official records may have indicated that they are no longer staying at their registered address. In such cases, they may approach their local Community Centre/Club to update their details or apply during Stage 2 which is from 15 January 2024 to 31 October 2024.

Second, there may have been another 2022 PTV beneficiary with the same registered address under official records. As PTVs are disbursed on a per household basis, a PTV will, as a default, be sent to the oldest 2022 PTV beneficiary in the household based on registered address for Stage 1. In addition, there may have been PTV beneficiaries from separate households with the same registered address, but were not reflected as separate households in our records. In this case, only one household from that address would have received a PTV in Stage 1. These separate households may submit an appeal during Stage 2. 

Third, the circumstances of the household may have changed, such that official records now reflect that they exceed the income eligibility criterion of $1,600 monthly household income per person. If the household requires assistance, they may submit an appeal during Stage 2.

You may find the 2023 PTV posters below in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Click on the thumbnails to view the posters.

• Travel Updates

250,000 free public transport vouchers up for grabs, plan to encourage more people into Melbourne CBD

Hundreds of thousands of free vouchers are up for grabs to encourage people back into Melbourne’s CBD. Here’s how to nab one.

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A quarter of a million free public transport vouchers will be handed out to Victorians in a bid to encourage more people into Melbourne’s struggling CBD.

About 250,000 vouchers will be offered from December 16 through Public Transport Victoria ’s website.

The vouchers will be in addition to free travel days on Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Melbourne’s CBD has struggled after months of lockdowns, with many businesses shut and city workers still working from their homes.

But pedestrian movements are slowly increasing as the state reopens and adjusts to living with coronavirus.

Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said the voucher scheme would “promote a safe return to Melbourne’s CBD”.

“Victorians will no doubt be keen this festive season to celebrate their hard-won freedom, so we’re making sure they have travel options to do just that,” he said.

In order to get the free passes, valid throughout December and January, travellers need to apply for a voucher that will be emailed for printing or downloading to a smartphone.

Passengers will then be asked to show them to staff when entering or exiting public transport.

The vouchers will be broken into five event categories – Christmas events, galleries and attractions, dining, performing arts and shopping – with 50,000 passes allocated to each category.

Trains, trams and buses across the state will also be made free for all passengers between 3am on December 25 and 3am on December 26, as well as from 6pm on December 31 until 6am on January 1.

Mr Carroll said metropolitan public transport fares would rise by 2.3 per cent from January 1 after the government froze fares last year.

This will amount to a 20 cent increase to the daily cost of zone 1 and 2 metropolitan tickets.

But the state opposition was critical of the voucher program’s conditions and said it had been calling for free travel through December and January for more than a month.

“Instead of a restrictive and limited voucher program, the government should be offering unlimited free travel into the Melbourne CBD in December and January to ensure it’s a Christmas present that all Victorians can enjoy,” deputy Victorian Liberal leader David Southwick said.

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Airbnb has announced a huge change to take effect on June 6, but not everybody is pleased about it.

This deal has been described as a groundbreaking move towards a future where drivers can take their cars to the skies to avoid traffic.

There is one Aussie state that tourists can’t get enough of and because of them visitor expenditure has soared past a record-breaking figure.

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Changes to concessional travel in Victoria and NSW

Changes to NSW and Victorian concession travel arrangements from 1 January 2022.

Victoria’s free travel voucher scheme

Victoria’s free public transport voucher program is changing significantly. From 1 January 2022, Victorian residents will no longer receive free travel vouchers. The program has moved to an ‘opt-in’ program, with eligible DVA clients now having to register with Public Transport Victoria (PTV) to continue receiving free travel vouchers annually.

You can register online for free travel vouchers or in person at a PTV Hub. Register by 31 July 2021 to receive your 2022 vouchers in September/October 2021. If you register after 31 July 2021, you will receive your vouchers in the following year’s mail-out. You only need to register once and the vouchers will be mailed to you each year, provided you remain eligible.

If you have already registered through PTV’s other eligibility categories, such as a Senior or Carer, you don’t need to register again. This is because the free voucher scheme has been streamlined, which means all eligible customers get access to the same entitlement, regardless of your concession category.

As part of the new voucher program, PTV is phasing out peak-free travel vouchers. However, eligible DVA clients who previously received one peak voucher per year will now be eligible for two or four off-peak vouchers annually (depending on where you live — metro or regional).

For more information, visit the Public Transport Victoria’s Free travel vouchers webpage or call 1800 800 007 .

Update on NSW War Widow/er Transport Concession Card

From 1 January 2022, NSW war widows/ers will no longer receive their NSW War Widow/er Transport Concession Card.

Instead, you can now use your Veteran Gold Card to apply for a Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card. This will enable you to travel on senior/pensioner fares in NSW at the same reduced rate.

Keep your Veteran Gold Card with you as proof of entitlement for concession fares.

You can apply for a Gold Senior/Pensioner Opal card on the Opal website . Make sure you have your NSW Pensioner Concession or DVA Veteran Gold card handy to confirm your eligibility.

Interstate seniors can apply for a Gold Opal card on the Opal website or by printing the Interstate Seniors application form available on the Transport NSW website and following the instructions provided. You will need to apply 2–3 weeks before travelling to NSW.

To find out more, visit Transport NSW’s Veterans and War Widow/ers webpage .