Melbourne Getting there & around

Getting around

Public transport

Melbourne’s public transport system of buses, trains and trams is privatised. For timetables, maps and fares call the Met Information Centre (13 16 38; www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au). The Met Shop (13 16 38; Town Hall, cnr Swanston & Little Collins Sts; 8.30am-5.30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-1pm Sat) has transport information and sells tickets.

On Friday and Saturday nights after the trams, buses and trains stop running (roughly around midnight), NightRider buses ($6) depart hourly from City Sq from 12.30am to dawn for many suburban destinations.

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Car & motorcycle

City parking costs from $2 per hour. Read parking signs for restrictions and times, and if your car is parked in a ‘clearway’ zone, which operates during peak hours, move it, otherwise it will be towed. The visitor information centre has information about city parking spots.

Hire

Avis (13 63 33; www.avis.com.au), Budget (1300 362 848; www.budgetaustralia.com), Europcar (1300 131 390; www. europcar.com.au), Hertz (13 30 39; www.hertz.com) and Thrifty (1300 367 227; www.thrifty.com.au) have desks at the airport and in city-centre locations.

For cheap, secondhand rentals in varying conditions, try Rent-a-Bomb (13 15 53; www.rentabomb.com.au), which requires no bond and doesn’t have a driver age limit. Rates start as low as $35 per day, but make sure you read the fine print.

Toll roads

CityLink (13 26 29; www.transurban.com.au) has two main sections: the western link that runs from the Calder Hwy intersection of the Tullamarine Fwy to join the Westgate Fwy; and the southern link that runs from Kings Way, on the southern edge of the CBD, to the Monash Fwy. Both sections are toll ways.

Tolls are ‘collected’ electronically by overhead readers from a transponder card (an e-Tag). If you don’t have an e-Tag, you can purchase a day pass ($10.90), which is valid for 24 hours from your first trip on any CityLink section, or a weekend pass ($10.90), which is valid from noon Friday to midnight Sunday. If you only intend to use the western link to travel to/from Melbourne airport, you can purchase a Tulla Pass ($3.90). Day and weekend passes can be purchased at any post office, Shell service station, CityLink customer service centre, over the internet or over the phone. Travelling without payment cops a $100 fine.

Motorcycles can use CityLink for free.

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Travel documents

Tickets

Metcards allow you to travel on any and all Melbourne bus, train and tram services, even if you transfer from one to another. Tickets are available from Metcard vending machines and counters at train stations, on board trams (tram vending machines only take coins and only dispense City Saver, two-hour and daily tickets), from retailers displaying the Met flag (usually newsagents and milk bars) and the Met Shop. You can purchase tickets directly from the driver on bus services.

The metropolitan area is divided into two zones. Zone 1 covers the city and inner-suburban area (including St Kilda) and most visitors won’t venture beyond that unless they’re going right out of town. Adult Zone 1 two-hour tickets cost $3.20, daily $6.10 and weekly $26.70.

City Saver tickets ($2.30) are fairly useless, only allowing you to travel two sections (check the maps on each tram giving this information) in the CBD without breaking your journey.

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Bicycle

Melbourne’s a great city for cycling, as it’s reasonably flat and there are great routes throughout the metropolitan area. Bicycles can be taken on suburban trains for free during off-peak times. Slippery tram tracks are a major hazard for Melbourne cyclists, though. Cross them on a sufficient angle to prevent your tyre falling into the track.

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