Public bus travel in Tasmania will be free for five weeks in an attempt to ease cost of living pressure and reduce congestion.
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Transport Minister Michael Ferguson made the announcement on Tuesday morning, with the free trips to start on March 28 and run until the end of April.
The free travel covers school and general access buses for all operators, and includes all fare types - adult, concession and students. Mr Ferguson mentioned Metro, Redline, Merseylink, Calow's and Tassielink as being included.
He said the measure was designed as an incentive for people to consider public transport.
"We want to see a sort of greater shift occurring, and we felt that off the learnings that we had from a fare incentive on the Derwent Ferry, we really want to give people the greatest possible special incentive," he said.
"That's why it's for a limited time, for five weeks.
"Also, it takes away the possibility that people might say, you know, 'I don't want to do that'. We want to design this so we get the maximum benefit to the family budget, but also the maximum benefit long-term."
The government provides $100 million in annual subsidies to several private bus operators. The free fares are effectively a short-term subsidy to cover the cost.
Mr Ferguson said the measures would only be "temporary" and it was "not the position" of the government to make it longer term.
He said fuel prices were a key consideration.
"We also see that it's something that the state government can do. We're not able to solve the high petrol price, we know that that's a global phenomenon that's occurring directly as a result of what is going on in Europe at the moment," Mr Ferguson said.
"We've found a measure that we believe is appropriate for the Tasmanian Government, for us to be able to provide a meaningful difference to a family budget, but also something that long term is a value proposition with ongoing subsidies going forward of more than $100 million a year."
Public transport operators will monitor and assess services during the five weeks to identify new demand.
Mr Ferguson said services could also become busier, and thanked passengers in advance for showing patience during peak times.
Call for long-term strategy
Tasmania's peak social service organisation has welcomed the move, but wants a longer term view beyond the five-week period.
TasCOSS chief executive officer Adrienne Picone said there were large parts of Tasmania where public transport options were limited.
"Free public transport for five weeks will undoubtedly assist Tasmanians with commuting costs and provides an alternative to taking the car, however we know for many Tasmanians living in under-serviced areas public transport is simply not a viable option," she said.
The not-for-profit community sector also welcomed $2000 one-off grants to provide relief for the industry to handle rising fuel costs.
Ms Picone said cost of living pressures would continue to be a concern, and the federal government should step in and increase rates of JobSeeker and Commonwealth Rent Assistance.
"Affording the essentials has become increasingly more difficult over the past year, with the cost of housing, health, transport, education and recreational activities, all rising by more than general wage increases," she said.
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