Be Bendigo's head believes the future of the city is promising

There has been a bump of around 25 per cent use of the Bendigo rail line since fares were reduced at the end of March.

Train passengers have taken more than 286,000 trips on Bendigo line services since the fare cap began on March 21 - roughly a 25 per cent increase on the same period in 2022.

MORE NEWS:

Since the start of the regional fare cap, introduced at the end of March, there has been an average of 1600 passenger trips a day to Melbourne from Bendigo during the morning peak.

There is an average of 2100 people travelling to Bendigo from Melbourne during the afternoon peak.

Be. Bendigo CEO Rob Herbert, speaking about the rail service before the budget, said it was not possible to determine whether the increase in rail traffic meant more tourists were heading to Bendigo or whether travellers had simply changed from driving cars and were opting for train journeys.

He said the a strength of the city was that it had many events that catered for various audiences, and was hopeful about what the rest of the year would bring for the region.

Mr Herbert said the first half of 2023 had seen some major events takes place, bringing with it increased foot traffic and booming businesses.

However, the day-to-day local trade still struggles with quiet days particularly around Monday and Friday when many people still work from home.

Mr Herbert said there were outlying issues which were affecting local residents and the wider community from spending excessive money.

"There is no escaping that there is challenges. I mean everyone is dealing with rising costs and other challenges in terms of businesses trying to attract a skilled workforce," he said.

"Accommodation is another big one that is front of mind.

"The fundamentals that underpin all of this are there is an outlook the Greater Bendigo population will continue to grow and there is opportunities to thrive in the future."

However, Mr Herbert said with the sheer number of major attractions the city had, including co-hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026, the next number of years looked bright for the goldfields region and its residents.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"By and large most people know for Bendigo to continue to be a real destination for both tourism and people to live and work here we need to continue to have different events to attract different audiences," he said.

"There are a lot of positive things on the horizon for this area ... our challenge with all of that is is how do we take advantage of it and accommodate it."

A V/Line spokesperson said the capped fare has now allowed people to travel intrastate more freely.

"While the fare cap has only been in place for six weeks, it is proving popular and we continue to receive positive feedback from passengers, staff and people planning to travel," they said.

Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with the Bendigo Advertiser app. Click here to download.