Public Transport in Melbourne

Myki Card

Melbourne has some different types of public transport, such as bus, train and tram. One thing you need to have to be able to travel by those public transports is Myki card. With this single card you can travel using either buses, trams and trains, because the public transportation in Melbourne is well integrated and maintained. But of course you need to have credit in your Myki 😁 Myki is valid within Victoria state only so if you go, for example to Sydney, you would have to buy a different card valid for that region. You should tap on and off your Myki everytime you travel, because there are officer who randomly check your card.

There are two types of Myki. The first one is Myki Money. If you are not living in Melbourne for long and do not travel every day by public transportation, Myki Money is the best choice. With this card, you pay the transportation daily, which means if you do not travel, you do not pay. The second type of Myki is the Myki Pass. This card suits those who travel everyday because this card allows the customers to pay weekly, or per 28 - 365 days. The fare of Myki can be accessed here at https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/tickets/fares/metropolitan-fares/ 

Myki Money

Myki Pass

You can get Myki card at any train station in Melbourne. It is also available at convenience stores. You pay $6.00 for the card then put some amount of credit in it and it is ready to use. You need to register your card so if you lose it you can get it back at train station with whatever credit you have in it. To top up your Myki, you can either do it yourself at the top up machine or at the counter in all train stations and inside the buses. 

PTV application

The state of Victoria provides an application called PTV (you can download it from apple store or play store, free) to help people access information about public transport in Victoria. PTV shows the type of transport you can take in order to get to your destination. It is really easy to use, for example:

- you just need to plan your journey

- by inputting where you travel from and to, and when you want to travel

This application also shows at which platform you should catch your train at a particular station. This is really helpful, because, although this information is also available at the station, it is easier if you know it from the application before you travel because just in case you just have no time to read the announcement at the station.

However, PTV does not provide the map that can direct you to the train station or bus/tram stop from your location, so you might need google map as well. It is important, for you who are new to Melbourne and you don't know which way to go. For example, the PTV shows that you need to catch your tram at tram stop number 17, but actually, there are two of stop 17 which located at both sides of the street. In this case you might need the map to know at which stop 17 you should catch your tram by looking at the direction. 

The train

For a person who always takes train from Depok to Jakarta everyday to go to work like myself, travelling by train in Melbourne is really comfy. The train is clean, always punctual, and not too crowded (compared to my train back home). The best thing I like about this public transport, if there is any maintenance activity that stops the train from operating, there are always buses replacing train available for the customers. These buses will take the passengers to every train station that are impacted by the maintenance activity, with no charge.

If you travel by train, you need to touch on your myki card at the train station. There are gates that
could be open only if you touch on your myki. However, at some station like Caulfield station, there are platforms with no gate, only the tap on/off machine. You should never forget to touch on your myki before boarding even though you could freely enter the platform.

This is Melbourne Central station

The tram

Next, Melbourne has trams, which serve limited area only. Trams do not reach areas far away from the city where there is no tram track (haha, of course). Even though it is a bit slow (for example it takes 45 mins from Caulfield to the city by tram, while it only needs 15 mins to get to the city by train), I like to use trams sometimes if I want to enjoy the travel (and if I have time).

Different to the train, a tram has tap on/off machines inside it and you are able to tap on your myki once you are on the tram. Sometimes people forget to tap their myki because once they are on, they take a sit and just enjoy the trip. This is what you should avoid. Always remember to tap on whenever you travel.

You should board your tram from the tram stop. Some stops are big and got the shelter that you can sit in while the others are just places somewhere on the side of the street with a green sign that shows that that is a tram stop :D

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One of the tram stops at Collins Street. This is wohat I call the big tram stop, with a place to sit while waiting for the tram

This is a tram stop near Caulfield station. No seat, just that sign.

FYI, there is a free tram zone inside the city. In this area, you can take tram without paying so you do not need to touch on your myki. The driver will remind you if you are 2 stops away from the end of the free tram zone so you can tap on your myki just in care you are travelling outside the free zone.


The bus

Similar to trams, all Melbourne buses have machines to tap on/off your Myki. The special thing of the buses is that you can also to up your myki on it. The driver will help you do that, of course when the bus stops. You should also board from a bus stop. Similar to trams, some bus stops have seats, while the others only have sign. The color of bus stop signs is orange.

Enjoy your travel!