Getting around
Transport Canberra provides light rail and bus public transport services all around Canberra. There are:
- rapid routes (including light rail) which leave every 15 minutes or better, connecting major centres
- local routes connecting suburban locations to interchanges at Gungahlin, Belconnen, Dickson, City, Woden, Weston Creek, Erindale and Tuggeranong. These usually leave every 30 minutes during weekdays, and less frequently on weekends.
Since June 2019, Transport Canberra has been operating on a reduced timetable, with fewer weekend services. PTCBR is campaigning for the ACT Government to bring back more frequent services, particularly on weekends.
Tickets and fares
All Canberra public transport works on the “one fare, anywhere” principle. It is a single fare for any journey, including any connecting services within a 90 minute period, and buses and light rail have the same fares. There are also discounts for:
- students, concession card holders and seniors
- off-peak and weekend travel (for all passengers)
- daily and monthly caps
- travel on Fridays (free for all passengers)
Full details of fares are available from Transport Canberra.
The cheapest and easiest way to get around Canberra is by using a Mastercard, Visa card or a MyWay+ travel card, which automatically calculate the cheapest fare for you and apply daily/monthly caps. Just remember to tap on and tap off at the start of each trip, otherwise you’ll be charged a higher fare.
Since November 2024, you can pay for your fare by using a Mastercard, Visa card, MyWay+ travel card, or buying a printed ticket at a vending machine (at interchanges and all light rail stops).
Apps and journey planning
With apps and live GPS tracking, it’s never been easier to plan and track your public transport service.
The Transport Canberra journey planner, Google Maps and Apple Maps make it easy for you to plan your trip. Just enter when and where you want to go, and they’ll plot out a journey for you. Sometimes advanced transport users think they know better, but it’s pretty reliable!
Transport Canberra makes all its timetable and journey data available to app developers. This means there’s a good range of Android and Apple apps out there, many of which can tell you exactly where your bus is at any given time. AnyTrip (Android) and NextThere (Apple) are some of our faves, but everyone has their own preferences.