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Melbourne

Local Transport

Melbourne's public transport system is operated by several companies and is collectively known as Metlink (website www.metlinkmelbourne.com.au) and is comprised of buses, trams and trains.

BUS

Buses go everywhere that isn't covered by trams or trains, although it is unlikely that you'll need to travel by bus.

TRAM

Most travellers find trams the most useful way to get around the city. They slowly rattle down the major streets and cover most of the inner city neighbourhoods. Trams are particularly useful for travelling between the city centre, South Melbourne and St Kilda.

The best deal is the free City Circle tram, which runs a circular route around the city centre along Flinders, La Trobe, Spencer and Spring Streets.

TRAIN

Trains are a good way to get to the outer suburbs. The five stations on the underground city loop serve as the core of Melbourne's extensive suburban train network of 232 stations. Taking a train is a handy way to get out to the choice hitchhiking spots on the edge of town, for catching the Phillip Island ferry at Stony Point, for visiting friends or going to job interviews in the suburbs.

FARES

The Metcard ticketing system allows you to transfer between these three modes of transport within a two-hour, daily, weekly or monthly period. The Melbourne area is divided into two fare zones, with virtually everything of interest located within Zone One.

Two-hour tickets are valid for two hours from the next full hour. For instance a ticket purchased or validated at 10.55am expires at 1pm, but if you wait 10 minutes and validate your ticket at 11.05am it will not expire until 2pm. Two-hour tickets are valid until 2am the next morning if validated after 6pm.

Only a limited range of tickets is available from buses, trams and at the machines at some of the smaller train stations. The full range of tickets is available from major train stations and many convenience stores. Note that some ticket machines only accept coins.

Refer to the following table for ticket prices:

Zones	2 hour	Daily	Weekly
One	$3.20	$6.10	$26.70
Two	$2.40	$4.30	$18.40
One & Two	$5.20	$9.70	$45.20

The two-hour and daily tickets are cheaper if you buy a multi-trip ticket that bundles either 10 two-hour tickets or five daily tickets. This is often the best ticket option if you're staying a while in Melbourne, but don't need to use public transport every day. Prices for these tickets are as follows:

Zones	10 x 2 hour	5 x daily
One	$26.70	$26.70
Two	$18.40	$18.40
One & Two	$45.20	$45.20

Another option is the City Saver ticket, which is good for a single trip within the city centre and some inner city neighbourhoods. This ticket costs $2.30 or $19.60 for 10 City Saver tickets.

DRIVING

Because you will be sharing the road with trams, Melbourne is one of Australia's more challenging cities to drive in.

Whenever a tram stops at a tram stop you must also come to a complete stop and wait until the tram leaves the tram stop before you start moving again, so people can alight safely. This is not necessary at many of the tram stops in the city centre which have a barrier called a Safety Zone or when you are travelling in the opposite direction to the tram.

If you're driving in the rain, avoid braking on tram tracks. They can be very slippery.

Hook Turns

A hook turn is a bizarre driving rule unique to Melbourne. In certain intersections in the city centre (where there is a sign indicating Right Turn from Left Lane), a right-hand-turn must be made from the left-hand-side of the road. Although this sounds confusing, it actually makes a lot of sense as hook turns prevent trams from being held up in traffic.

Instead of turning right from the right lane, you should get into the left lane and cross three-quarters­ of the intersection and then stop, indicating to turn right, until you have a green light in the direction you are turning. Only when you have a green light should you complete the hook turn.

Citylink

Citylink, Melbourne's new tollway, is a quick way to get in and out of the city. The tollway runs from Tullamarine Freeway at Bell Street to the Westgate Freeway and also from the city centre to the Monash Freeway at Toorak Road. The electronic payment system ensures that there are no queues at tollbooths and is a convenient system for residents, but for visitors to Melbourne it is much less convenient. Residents using Citylink affix an electronic device to their windscreen called an eTag, which automatically debits the toll from their account. If you're just visiting Melbourne, it is inconvenient and expensive to buy an eTag and it a better idea to buy a 24-hour or weekend Citylink pass for $9.95 that allows you to use Citylink for either a 24-hour period during weekdays or all weekend. Passes are available from Citylink offices, Post Offices and from machines inside most Shell service stations around Melbourne. You have until the following morning after driving on Citylink to pay for your Citylink pass. Passes can also be ordered by calling 13 26 29 or online at www.citylink.com.au. There are heavy fines if you do not pay.

There are alternate routes if you want to avoid the tolls. Going to the airport from the city centre, you can avoid Citylink by getting on the West Gate Freeway at Power Street or Kings Way and heading west and then taking the Western Ring Road north to the Tullamarine Freeway. If you're heading to Gippsland, Phillip Island or the southeastern suburbs, you can get to the Monash Freeway via Toorak Road.