I walked up the ramp towards the platform this morning, only to be greeted with a notice that the 5.30 has been cancelled. The 5.45am stops at every station so it would be easily 6.30 before I would get started in the gym.

Never mind – I shrugged, sat down to read on my iPad mini and waited for the dreaded 5.45.

A few moments ago I saw this:

Fare changes for 1 January 2015

Added: 17 December 2014

From 1 January 2015, public transport fares across Victoria will rise by an average of 2.5% plus Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 2.3%.

Tram travel within the Free Tram Zone in the CBD and Docklands will be free, and customers who travel across Zones 1 and 2 will be charged a Zone 1 fare.

There will be no change to Early Bird fares on 1 January 2015.

For more detailed information on the fare changes, download a document below or see, More affordable public transport from 1 January 2015

Public Transport Victoria 2015 Fare changes (PDF) 401 KB

Public Transport Victoria 2015 Fare changes – accessible version (XLS) 37KB

A hike of nearly 5%, when service has deteriorated. How can that be? How is it we now live in times when hikes are looked upon as automatic regardless of track records? Does performance matter no more? Is the entitlement age so entrenched?