All Public Transport Will Be Free on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve

Finding a designated driver on Christmas Day and New Year's Eve is not an easy feat — nan is stuck into the boozy pud, dad has pulled a dusty one out of the cellar and you don't really want to carpool with that weird uncle. And no one's putting their hand up to find a park near the fireworks on December 31. Public Transport Victoria understands, and is easing the pain of commuting on the two big days (slightly) by offering all public transport for free.

Over Christmas Day, all trains, trams, buses and V/line services will be free from 3am on Tuesday, January 25, till 3am on Wednesday, January 26. Most public transport services will be running to a Sunday timetable, and there will be limited V/Line coaches to regional cities. There will, however, be no Night Buses, Trams, Trains, so if you do spend too much time sipping sherry with your aunt, you might have to try your luck with a taxi or Uber.

A few days later, over New Year's Eve, the same public transport services will be free from 6pm on Monday, December 31 until 6am on Tuesday, January 1. As there will most likely be hordes of people flocking to get home after the fireworks, metro trains will be running every ten minutes from midnight till 1.30am, trams running every five-to-ten minutes until 2am and 905, 906, 907 and 908 buses every 15 minutes till 2am. You can check out a comprehensive rundown of New Year's Eve services at the Public Transport Victoria website.

For those located regionally, the first V/Line service to each regional destination on New Year's Day will also be free.

If you do want to check out the midnight fireworks, they'll be four spots to catch them: Docklands, Flagstaff Gardens, Treasury Gardens and Kings Domain. The City of Melbourne has created this handy map pinpointing the closest train stations, too:

To use the free public transport you just need to rock up, and you don't need to be carrying a valid Myki.

Find more information on the free travel periods here and check for updates on the PTV website.