Catching light rail in Canberra will cost the same as hopping on the bus, according to a new schedule of public transport fees published ahead of the new year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Public transport fares will rise by up to 20 cents, according to the annual maximum fares determination.
A standard MyWay fare for the bus or light rail in 2019 will be $3.22, up from $3.14 in 2018, while students and concession card holders will be charged $1.61, up from $1.57.
Off-peak travel will cost $2.55 for a standard MyWay card holder, a rise of $0.06, while concession card rate will be $0.89 (up from $0.87) and students $1.61 (up from $1.57).
Default fares - which are incurred when a customer fails to properly tap on or off - will rise to $1.78 for a standard trip.
Cash fares will see the biggest increase, rising $0.10 to $5.00 in 2019 for a single trip, while the daily cash fare will rise $0.20 to $9.60. Concession and student cash fares will be $2.50 for a single trip and $4.80 for a daily ticket.
The new fees will apply to both buses and light rail and will come into effect on January 5.
Bus fares have risen slowly but steadily over the last five years, although it doesn't appear to have hurt Transport Canberra's patronage.
It recorded its highest ever number of passengers for the second year in a row in 2017-18, beating its goal of 18.4 million passenger boardings by more than 540,000.
Customers will be forced to switch between buses and light rail more often under the government's proposed new public transport network, which has been pushed back until April due to delays to the completion of light rail stage one.
However all single trip fares include a 90-minute transfer period, meaning those changing from light rail to buses or vice versa won't be slugged an additional ticket fee.
The government has also not yet received a new construction completion date from Canberra Metro. The operational commencement date for light rail was originally December 21, but now a government spokeswoman said it will be early 2019.
Meanwhile the government has begun to install public transport ticket vending machines across Canberra ahead of light rail going live.
The MyWay ticket vending machines will be located at the Tuggeranong, Woden, Civic and Gungahlin bus interchanges and on the platforms of all the light rail stops.
Customers will be able to top up their MyWay cards through the machines or purchase a single or daily adult or concession ticket. The machines will also have a guide for first-time users.
Transport Minister Meegan Fitzharris told the ACT's parliament in September the machines were a "pre-investment" in a new integrated ticketing system for both buses and light rail.
The ACT government budgeted $3 million for an integrated ticket system in the 2016-17 budget, before setting aside another $2.1 million the following financial year.
A spokeswoman for Ms Fitzharris said the machines were provided by the government's ticketing provider, the Sydney-based Down engineering.
She said the machines would be able to identify any potential vandals.
