Getting around
When you live in Victoria, Australia, getting around is easy and affordable. Whether it’s to or from school, visiting friends or sightseeing, you’ll quickly find your way.
Help is easy to find
You can get from A to B in many ways when you live in Melbourne. Your host family or International Student Coordinator will give you tips on:
- the simplest, quickest route
- the best ticket to buy
- how much it will cost
- how long it will take.
A network to take you in all directions
Melbourne has a transport system that makes it easy to move between trains, trams and buses. From the city centre the transport network extends in all directions. Metropolitan, rural and interstate railway networks link together at the bustling city hub called Southern Cross Station.
Find a school and use the maps to see how it links up with local public transport.
Ride your way around town
Use our extensive network of dedicated, safe bike paths when you’re living in Melbourne. Mix and match a train trip with a bike ride – you can take your bike on the train.
One convenient ticket for public transport
In Melbourne, you can buy one ticket to use on suburban bus, train and tram services for a specific time period. There are two ticket systems being used at the moment:
At the moment, you’ll see machines for both types of ticket on trains, trams and buses. Check with Metlink for updates as the 'metcard' system is gradually phased out.
The network is divided into two zones according to the distance from the city centre. The price of your trip depends on the:
- zone(s) in which you want to travel
- time period for your ticket (two hours, daily, weekly, monthly, annual).
All children aged 16 years and under are eligible for concession fares on public transport in Victoria. They don’t need a concession card to travel on a concession fare.
International students over 16 years can’t travel on concession cards and pay standard (‘full’) fares on public transport in Victoria.
Our famous trams
Melbourne’s trams are part of the city’s unique character. They’re a great way to explore the central business district and inner suburbs. We have the largest tram network in the world, with over 500 trams and 28 different routes. They travel along most of the city’s major roads and their routes extend out into the suburbs.
Heritage trams run on the free City Circle route, especially for visitors to Melbourne. Trams run on many of the major roads in the inner suburbs, but only some run on roads in middle and outer suburbs.
The central city train network
The city has a train system (the “City Loop”) that is partly underground. There are five stations in the city centre: Flinders Street, Parliament, Melbourne Central, Flagstaff and Southern Cross.
There are 16 different train lines to the outer suburbs. Trains run from around 5am until midnight.
Regional trains to country Victoria
V-line is Victoria’s regional rail network. It will take you to all the main tourist attractions across the state. It connects to regional cities in Victoria and also to the other Australian states.
A modern transport hub in the middle of the city
Southern Cross Station is Melbourne’s central ‘hub’ station. All metropolitan and V/Line trains and most coach services depart from and arrive into Southern Cross.
Rebuilt in 2006, the station has been transformed into a modern arrival point for international, interstate, regional and suburban visitors. The new station has a unique roof design that’s also environmentally friendly.
A busy, well-connected airport
When you’re living in Victoria there are flights to almost any location across Australia and all major international airports.
