At a glance
- Weekday cap
- $5.70 full fare, $2.85 concession (Zones 1+2, myki Money)
- Weekend cap
- $4.00 full fare, $2.00 concession; seniors free
- Two-hour fare
- $2.85 full fare in Zones 1+2, $1.80 in Zone 2 only
- Half price
- Until 1 January 2027, then standard fares return
- Free Tram Zone
- Trams in the CBD and Docklands are free; no myki needed
- Cheaper times
- Free metro trains if you tap on and off before 7am on weekdays; tap on after 6pm and travel until 3am
Melbourne’s public transport is half price until 1 January 2027, so a full-fare myki Money traveller pays no more than $5.70 a day across Zones 1 and 2 on a weekday and $4.00 a day on a weekend. The daily cap means that once you reach it, travel is free for the rest of that day.
The Victorian Government’s announcement says the discount covers trains, trams and buses, runs from Monday 1 June 2026, and applies to everyone, including concession holders. Fares are as of October 2026, and this guide will need checking again once standard fares return on 1 January 2027.
How much does a trip cost?
Transport Victoria’s metropolitan fares page lists these myki Money fares. Your fare depends on the zone for your station or stop, whether you pay with myki Money or a myki Pass, and whether you hold a concession.
| Fare | Zones 1+2 | Zone 2 only |
|---|---|---|
| Full fare, two hours | $2.85 | $1.80 |
| Full fare, daily cap | $5.70 | $3.60 |
| Concession, two hours | $1.42 | $0.90 |
| Concession, daily cap | $2.85 | $1.80 |
On weekends the full-fare daily cap is $4.00 and the concession cap is $2.00. The same page lists a public holiday daily cap of $4.00 for full fares and $2.00 for concessions. Senior, carer and Disability Support Pension concession card holders also travel free on Saturdays and Sundays.
Do I need to tap on and tap off?
Yes for trains and buses. Transport Victoria’s visitors page says to tap on every trip except in the Free Tram Zone. Trains and buses need a tap on and a tap off. Trams in Zone 1 need a tap on only, and trams in Zone 2 need both.
If you tap on with a myki card and do not tap off, you are charged a default fare. On a train or tram that is the Zones 1+2 two-hour fare: $2.85 for a full fare or $1.42 for a concession. The fares page tells Zone 2 travellers to tap on and off to get the correct fare.
Can I just tap my bank card?
Transport Victoria says you can pay with contactless payment or a myki. Contactless means tapping a Mastercard or Visa, smartphone or smartwatch, and it supports full fares only. A physical myki card or Mobile myki (Android only) is the option if you do not want to use your bank card, and myki supports both full fare and concession. Both work on metropolitan trains, trams and buses.
Which trams are free?
Trams are free inside the Free Tram Zone, which covers the CBD and Docklands. According to Transport Victoria’s cheaper travel page, you do not need a myki when you only travel within the zone, including on the City Circle Tram route, and you do not tap on or off at all.
If you tap on by mistake with a myki card, you are charged a two-hour Zones 1+2 fare. To be reimbursed you must tap off within the Free Tram Zone. If your journey starts or ends outside the zone, use your myki as normal.
When is travel cheaper or free?
- Before 7am on weekdays: a metropolitan train journey is free if you tap on and off before 7am. You must tap on and off within two hours and before 7.15am, and have no negative myki Money balance. Transport Victoria suggests choosing trains that arrive by 7am.
- After 6pm: if you tap on after 6pm, you can travel until 3am the next day, which Transport Victoria describes as up to nine hours of travel for the price of two hours.
- Weekends and public holidays: the daily myki Money fare is capped, and children under 5 travel free.
- Under 18: young people travel free with a Youth myki.
- Concessions: eligible travellers get a concession myki that takes 50 per cent off the fare.
- Groups: a Group Travel Authority is available for groups of 12 or more.
What does a myki Pass cost?
A myki Pass gives unlimited travel for a set number of days instead of paying by trip. You can buy a pass for 7 days or for 28 to 365 days; passes of 8 to 27 days are not sold.
| Pass | Zones 1+2 | Zone 2 only |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days, full fare | $28.50 | $18.00 |
| 7 days, concession | $14.25 | $9.00 |
| 28 to 365 days, full fare, per day | $3.42 | $2.16 |
| 28 to 365 days, concession, per day | $1.71 | $1.08 |
Multiply the daily rate by the number of days to get the price of a longer pass. If you buy a pass for 326 days or more, you pay for 325 days, which gives up to 40 days free. A pass activates when you first tap on and expires at 3am the morning after its last day. A myki can hold both myki Money and a myki Pass; it uses a valid pass first.
How do I top up, and how long does it take?
Top up before you travel, because you need enough myki Money on the card to pay for the whole journey. Transport Victoria’s myki Money and myki Pass page says an online top up takes 45 minutes to reach the card, and you must tap on or off at a reader for it to apply. A myki Pass will not work if your myki Money balance is negative. You can request a refund of unused myki Money.
What will a typical day cost?
These examples use only the fares above and assume myki Money in Zones 1 and 2.
- One full-fare trip with no tap off costs the $2.85 default fare, which is the same as the two-hour fare. A second trip more than two hours later costs another $2.85, so two such trips reach $5.70, the weekday cap.
- Three or more separate two-hour trips on a weekday still cost $5.70 in total, because the cap stops the charges there.
- On a Saturday or Sunday the cap is $4.00, so two trips ($5.70 if charged separately) stop at $4.00.
- A concession traveller pays $1.42 for a trip, and the charges stop at the $2.85 weekday cap, however many trips follow.
- Someone who travels only inside the Free Tram Zone pays nothing and does not need a myki.
For regular travel, compare the cap with a pass. Five full-fare weekdays at the $5.70 cap come to $28.50, the same as the 7-day pass price of $28.50 in Zones 1+2, and the pass also covers the weekend. Check your own pattern against the tables above and the fares page before you buy.
What does the half-price period not cover?
The government’s announcement says the discount excludes SkyBus, ferries and non-subsidised regional bus services. Transport Victoria says you can’t use a myki on the SkyBus City Express, Peninsula Express or Eastern Express. Our Melbourne Airport to the city guide covers the airport buses.
Sources
- Transport Victoria — Metropolitan train, tram and bus fares (checked 18 October 2026)
- Transport Victoria — Cheaper travel with myki (checked 18 October 2026)
- Transport Victoria — myki Money and myki Pass (checked 18 October 2026)
- Transport Victoria — Tickets and payments (checked 18 October 2026)
- Transport Victoria — Getting to and from Melbourne and Avalon airports (checked 18 October 2026)
- Transport Victoria — Visitors to Victoria (checked 18 October 2026)
- Transport Victoria — Public transport now half price for everyone (22 May 2026)
Featured image: Two trams on Swanston Street, Melbourne CBD (photo: Bhullargraphic / CC BY-SA 4.0) (text added)
OZ Local Updates is an independent local guide and is not affiliated with Transport Victoria or the Victorian Government. Fares and conditions can change; check the official pages above before you travel.