THE state government is encouraging the community to leave the car at home and jump on the train and bus this summer, providing free public transport for SmartRider users.

The ‘summer of free public transport’ will begin on Christmas Eve and run until January 28, with free public transport available to all SmartRider users in metropolitan Perth and regional WA.

The $10.4 million initiative will encourage people to get out and support small business over the Christmas and New Year period, as well as providing cost-of-living relief.

For a family of four travelling into the city on a few occasions over the holidays, it could mean up to $100 in savings – both on public transport fare costs, or driving and parking.

Regular public transport passengers could also see savings of hundreds of dollars across the free travel period.

The new measures come on top of the successful two-zone fare cap – a key pillar of the state government’s cost-of-living support.

The scheme caps all public transport travel to two-zones, which is saving regular public transport users thousands of dollars every year.

SmartRider cards are readily available from a wide range of retail outlets and Transperth InfoCentres.

Further details on where people can get SmartRider cards can be found on the Transperth website.