Nick Reece and Arron Wood go tit for tat over Free Tram Zone extension

Lord Mayoral front runners Nick Reece and Arron Wood have both put extending the city’s Free Tram Zone at the forefront of their policy agendas ahead of October’s City of Melbourne elections.

On August 31, current Lord Mayor Nick Reece pledged that if elected, he would work with the state government to extend Melbourne’s Free Tram Zone to “key cultural, educational, sporting and tourism precincts” around the city.

These would include stops outside Arts Centre Melbourne in Southbank and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) at South Wharf, as well as Melbourne Park, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Museum.

Cr Reece said the proposed extension would provide significant benefits for Melbourne’s economy and help get people where they want to go more easily “without the hassle and additional cost of having to tap on just to travel an extra stop or two”.

“Now is the time to extend the Free Tram Zone – it’s just common sense, it will support our local businesses, ease the cost of living, particularly for students, and ensure that everyone can enjoy the very best our city has to offer,” the Lord Mayor said.

“International students do so much to make our city great – it’s time they are able to access concession fares in the same way that local students do.”

“I look forward to working with the Victorian Government to better support international students and make extending the Free Tram Zone a reality that works for everyone who lives, works and visits Melbourne.”

Cr Reece’s announcement was quickly followed by his main political rival at the upcoming elections in former Deputy Lord Mayor Arron Wood pledging that if he is elected next month, he would try to extend the Free Tram Zone even further.

Team Wood’s proposal includes extending to other key institutions and precincts, including Royal Parade in Parkville, Flemington Rd (past the Royal Children’s Hospital) and Errol St in North Melbourne, Nicholson St in Carlton and Anzac Station on St Kilda Rd.

Mr Wood said that Cr Reece had “recycled his plan to expand Melbourne’s Free Tram Zone – a promise he made six years ago and didn’t deliver.”

“If elected I’ll deliver a bigger zone to help families, support small businesses, connect suburbs and reach iconic sites,” Mr Wood said.

Any move to extend the Free Tram Zone would require the approval of the Department of Transport and Planning (DPT), which hasn’t supported any changes to the current zone in the past.

A 2020 Parliamentary Inquiry which looked into extending the zone only recommended expanding it to two additional stops – the Arts Precinct on St Kilda Rd and Crown Casino/MCEC on Spencer Street Bridge – which wasn’t adopted by the government.

DPT’s then head of transport services Jeroen Weimar argued at the time that extending the zone to other key precincts would cause further congestion and leave the government $15 million out of pocket.

The Public Transport Users Association not only disagreed with extending the zone, but with the zone’s existence altogether.

The group cited issues with overcrowding, a lack of benefits to paying public transport users, and a disincentive for “active” modes of transport (walking and cycling) in their arguments against the zone.