Casual Ballarat commuters will again be stung marginally more for their trips to and from Melbourne, with a single peak ticket next year to rise to $20.60 from the flat $20.

However, bigger losses will be felt for daily commuters, who will pay $113.60 for a seven-day Myki pass on V/Line services between Ballarat and Melbourne from New Years Day – up from $110.20 in 2016.

The $3.4 rise equates to more than $176.80 per year, under the premise a seven-day pass was purchased for 52 weeks.

The fare increases are calculated using the Consumer Price Index (1.4 per cent this year) plus 2.5 per cent and were introduced under the previous Coalition government.

However, Transport Minister Jacinta Allan said a total review would be undertaken next year to help find a more equitable change for 2018 and beyond.

"This review is part of our ongoing improvements to fares and their enforcement, to make it easier top up, touch on and travel, while we build more trains, run more services and deliver our $518 million upgrade to the Ballarat line,” she said. 

Central to the review will be addressing zoning across Victoria’s public transport networks – a topic at the forefront of local commuter concerns.

Ballarat is classified by Public Transport Victoria as a zone eight area, while Bacchus Marsh, effectively between Ballarat and Melbourne, is only classified as in zone two – meaning commuters next year will pay only $4.10 for a full two-hour ticket.

Public Transport Users Association Ballarat convener Ben Lever said change would be welcome, if it improved the equity of services.

"The current fare system is quite a mess. Since 2015, fares within Melbourne are almost flat, with a train from Pakenham to the city costing the same as jumping on a tram for a few blocks - but the cost jumps dramatically as soon as you leave Melbourne's zone two,” he said.

“Bacchus Marsh is quite lucky to be in the overlap between zone two and zone three, so they can take advantage of the cheap Melbourne fares.

“People from Ballan or Ballarat are often travelling on the same trains, but they have to pay considerably more per kilometer, and that really isn't fair. The price should rise slowly in accordance with how far you travel, not jump dramatically once you pass an invisible border. 

”A system based on zones is probably the best way to ensure it is both distance-based and simple, but the size and number of zones, the size of the overlap sections where zones meet, and the cost for each zone, will definitely need to be looked at."