Priv fares in Australia/NZ

[theageofthetra]

Sorry I may have asked this question before but am struggling to find the answer. Are there any Priv fares to be had on any of the metro/local services in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, The route between Sydney-Canberra, and the major NZ cities.I'm not worried about any of the tourist long-distance services Ghan etc. Thanks.

 

[Zerothebrake!]

Howdy, I applied for concessionary travel when I went over a few years back but the discount was off of the highest available fare - so it was actually cheaper to book ordinary tickets ( in advance) on the websites.I used the excellent off peak day rover tickets to cover the suburban services around Auckland though - and these can be bought on the day at the station. Hope this helps..

 

[306024]

The only clue I can find on the ATOC website is that half price priv travel may be available on some Australian state railways (page 28 of the 'where can I go' guide).

They ask for 10 weeks notice and don't guarantee any success. Many years ago I did manage to get a 'letter of introduction' for Melbourne. On arrival I had to go to the offices to obtain authorisation, and got a tour behind the scenes of the Control and timetable planning office for free.

All in all though it was quite a performance, these days with the various rover tickets available I wouldn't bother to be honest.

Nothing for New Zealand, but that is worth every penny anyway.

 

[ag51ruk]

If you're only using local services, the fares are pretty reasonable anyway - e.g. in Melbourne, a day ticket for all city trains, trams and buses is maximum $7.52 - in Sydney, with an Opal card fares are capped at $15/day or $60/week, and that includes trains out as far as Newcastle or the Blue Mountains, plus buses and ferries. Perth and Adelaide have similarly cheap day tickets that are also valid on buses.

 

[185]

Not for TOCNE. No discount.

As for the ex-BR protected staff, the benefits offered were cut back in 2013 when NSW railways were informed about post-1996 UK staff being barred from non-European priv facilities. As correctly stated, discounted fare is now usually higher than the cheapest Early purchase ticket.

 

[theageofthetra]

Thanks. The fares do seem good value anyway particularly with the improved ex rate.