Metcard - The Bacchus Marsh and Gisborne Arrangements

Page last modified/checked: Thursday, 3rd April 2003
In this section we review the special ticketing arrangements involving Bacchus Marsh and Sunbury Coaches and the metropolitan fare system. These arrangements were devised specifically for certain school bus services run by both operators and are traceable to at least 1991. However, it appears that Metcards have been in use only since January 2002, as described later.

The combined ticketing includes special "Bacchus Marsh Plus" and "Gisborne Plus" 2-Hour and Daily tickets as well as a metropolitan student pass. The latter is by far the biggest seller, while the 2-Hour and Daily tickets are offered more as a convenience to occasional users. All the tickets are priced to combine the cost of the school bus service with the respective metropolitan fare zone/s that it operates into. This makes the tickets a worthwhile proposition (particularly the Gisborne services). The 2-Hour and Daily are each available for Full Fare or Concession travel, meaning an adult or a student 15 years and over without their PTC Concession Card could purchase a ticket.

The bus services that these tickets are valid on are explained as follows:

BACCHUS MARSH COACHES
The town of Bacchus Marsh is some 51km west of Melbourne and well beyond the limit of the Zone 2 metropolitan fare boundary which ends at Melton. As well as a local town service, Bacchus Marsh Coaches run a number of school bus services in the region. Five of these operate between Bacchus Marsh and various schools within Melton and at Exford. There is also a counter-flow service for students in Melton attending Bacchus Marsh College. All six buses allocated to these runs are fitted with a keypad and validator specifically for the Bacchus Marsh plus 2 Hour, Daily and Student pass metcards. None of these tickets are valid on the town bus service, nor by train between Melton and Bacchus Marsh.
NOTE: The metropolitan fare component is shown in brackets below each ticket.


($1.10)

($1.90)

For these student passes, the actual cost is given with the metropolitan-only Zone 2 or 3 resident pass price in brackets.


$199.20 ($154.90)

$349.70 ($297.10)


$205.40 ($159.80)

$360.60 ($306.40)

SUNBURY COACHES
The town of Gisborne is approximately 50km north-west of Melbourne and well beyond the limit of the Zone 2 metropolitan fare boundary at Sunbury. In addition to suburban route work, Sunbury Coaches operate a number of school bus services. Two of these are relevant to this section as follows:

One service commences from Sunbury and runs outbound via Riddells Creek to Gisborne, then inbound to Keilor (Zone 2) and Essendon (Zone 1) for selected colleges en route. A second bus connects with this, starting from Gisborne, and runs to other schools in Essendon via a different route. This service extends through the Moonee Ponds Junction tram and bus interchange, increasing scope for usage.

Special Gisborne plus 2-Hour, Daily and metropolitan student pass Metcards are valid on these services and are shown below.
NOTE: They are not available by train between Sunbury and Gisborne.
The metropolitan fare component is shown in brackets below each ticket.


($2.25)

($3.60)

For these student passes, the actual cost is given, again with the metropolitan-only Zone 2 or 3 resident pass price in brackets. On a route/kilometer basis, the Gisborne school buses operate over a much greater distance than their Bacchus Marsh counterparts, thus the higher cost for the Gisborne student passes.


$299.90 ($154.90)

$553.40 ($297.10)


$309.30 ($159.80)

$570.70 ($306.40)

As stated at the beginning of this section, all these special combined tickets had been in use for many years, but only converted to Metcards from January 2002. The continued use of paper and card tickets until then would not have been a problem as they were still being printed and supplied for the National Bus Company, Peninsula Bus Lines and Portsea Bus Service.
When Sunbury coaches were converted to Metcard as part of the system roll-out, the existance of the Gisborne plus fares/tickets was overlooked. A systemwide software upgrade of all bus equipment occurred during the latter months of 2001 and this outstanding oversight would have been corrected then. Indeed, the Gisborne and Bacchus Marsh plus 2 Hour and Daily tickets doubtless converted to Metcard at that time. It followed logically that the student passes then became Metcards from the following school year 2002.

Lastly, a special "thank you" to the staff at Bacchus Marsh and Sunbury Coaches! Without their assistance, this unusual chapter in the Metcard story would never have been properly told.

PLEASE NOTE: The operators are NOT able to assist in requests for used tickets or passes. The images shown above were obtained using a digital camera.

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