Pollyana

Quick questions cos I am

I've been sold a Myki card for Melbourne, need to use it Friday/Saturday/Sunday. Info at the Airport provided it at a cost of $20 which they said covers the card and 3 days travel - does that mean its a flat rate for travel each day no matter where I go (in the city centre, that is)? The website is a bit confusing, talks about zone 1 & 2 and it sounds like a flat fare for the day - unlike Brisbane where each Go-card trip has a cost.
And am I right I can use it on any buses and trams?

And as a side question, can someone tell me if I need to book the Skybus back to the airport in advance, or can I turn up on Sunday and pay the driver? I have managed to work out that I can't use the Myki on that!

Thanks for any help

GarryP

Since the 1st Jan its one fare for zones 1&2, all day.

Central CBD is actually free now, but don't you dare step outside those bounds!

Bus & Tram & Train, yes

Not sure about the Skybus, but yes, its not covered by the Myki (wow, such typical foresight Melbourne!)

bobbyftm

From previous visits if you book the Skybus prior to the day of departure it will pick you up outside or somewhere near your hotel and transfer you the 2 kms or so to Southern Cross terminal where you transfer to the bus which goes to the airports. There is a kiosk inside the Southern Cross terminal if you were to make it there on your own accord but the boss is not sure if it is open on a Sunday though. Happy travels .............C'mon England !!

Rhubarb65

Hi Pollyana,

as GarryP stated, the CBD has free trams, running from Docklands in the west and Carlton Gardens in the east, with Flinders Street forming the southern boundary. Here is a link to the map of the free zone:

http://ptv.vic.gov.au/assets/Images/...amZone_Map.pdf

Ref. Skybus, the ticket kiosk at Southern Cross station should be manned on Sunday - you can't pay the driver directly. Alternatively, if you have access to a printer, you can pre-book a ticket online and print it:

SkyBus - City. Airport. Express.

Allegedly, you can send the ticket to your phone - I haven't tried that!

Pollyana

I'll only be CBD so thats fab

OK, I will try and chat to them before Sunday and find out where they will pick up from - if necessary a cab into the city is a lot better than a cab to the airport!

No printer, but i might try the phone thing, I'll report back if it works! Even if I need a cab to a city staton its better than one to the airport!
--------------------------

thanks guys, really appreciate it

Cubiscus

I've tried this, it works well!

An assistant will scan your code before you board the bus.

Pollyana

Thanks, I'll give that a go

koalakim

Good luck with Myki...it's just as baffling to us who live in Melbourne!

I used mine for the first time since the new free zone came in, so I start in the free zone but destination is outside it. One would think that I could just tap as we left Spring Street but no, you tap when you get on and then it's the full amount but then you have to claim a credit back. Let's make this as complicated as possible shall we........

Funniest thing was OH and I went to tap off at our stop one time, I did mine but his wouldn't register, the doors closed and off he went! Fortunately it was in the city so the next stop wasn't far, good job it wasn't in the suburbs!

NJJ

There is a daily cap of $6 on weekends
If you are CBD only as you say then you might not even need one if you just use trams (not trains/buses)

Pollyana

Where I'm staying has a station almost next door, but a further walkto the trams, so I reckon I'll use it a bit at least. Good to know about the cap though as I'll be using it over the weekend

cappuccino

Polly, last time I was in Melbourne I used Starbus which is a door to door shuttle service.

Pollyana

Perfect!!! I was out with Margaret3 today and she mentioned there was a hotel pick-up bus that goes back to the airport, but couldn't remember the name. I've just had a look at their website and I reckon that'll do the job nicely Cheers, I'll give them a call in the morning

DC10

Note that it is actually possible to travel to Melbourne Airport on Myki - yes it takes about an hour from the city, but it costs $3.75 instead of $20-odd on Skybus. If you have already reached your Myki cap for the day then it's a free ride :-)

You take the Craigieburn train line as far as Broadmeadows (granted, not the nicest suburb), walk 10 metres to the bus stop, and then change to the 901 bus for the airport. They run every 15 mins during the day. I do this every time, not because I can't afford $20 but because I object to extortionate airport pricing rip-offs.

In reverse you turn left out of the airport terminals and walk about 200 metres to the stop on an island in the airport acces/exit road.

Pollyana

Going to look into doing it this way, having rung Starbus and been told that I am much too far from the city for them to do the job - I'm near Hawksburn Station, which seems fairly reasonable to me, but they said its too remote

GarryP

This might help Aerohaveno: To Melbourne Airport the Cheap-Arse Way (2014 Update)

It is however much slower than the Skybus route, or indeed getting a car.

This might also help Melbourne Train Map

Frankly it's not beyond the wit of man to either make the Skybus a myki service (which would require a big price drop) or run a normal bus from the airport to a mainline station closer in. Like the reason for the failure to provide a train link - it looks like this is mainly due to corruption.