The Victorian Labor government has announced that public transport fares will be capped at $30 a week if it is re-elected next month - a promise that is either bold cost-of-living relief or a temporary bandage with a built-in election-day expiry, depending on which side of the ballot you stand.

Premier Ben Carroll made the announcement on Monday, confirming the cap would kick in on 1 January - conveniently the day after half-price fares end. Those discounted fares were themselves introduced after a stretch of free public transport, which the government rolled out in response to the fuel crisis sparked by the US-Iran war. So the timeline goes: free, then half-price, then a $30 cap. It's less a policy trajectory than a slow-motion landing.

"This is real cost-of-living relief that helps a regular commuter save $1,400 a year," Carroll said, adding that "everyone can benefit, but full-time workers will benefit most." The cap will cost the government $206m and run for two years, until December 2028 - which is, notably, after the election.

The government has been refreshingly candid about the whole thing, conceding the cap is not sustainable in the long term and would be funded through "commonsense decisions to reduce spending" elsewhere. Ah yes, commonsense decisions - the two most reassuring words in any budget document.

The Greens leader, Ellen Sandell, was unimpressed, urging the government to go further and make public transport free. "After 12 years in government, Labor is only offering Victorians a temporary discount with an expiry date after the election," she said. "People are sick of paying more and getting less. We need more frequent, reliable and accessible trains, trams and buses that people can actually depend on." A radical proposal: transport that works.

The transport pledge follows Labor's Sunday commitment to cap road tolls at $30 per week for a year - a move that would save regular toll-users as much as $5,000. The Coalition had previously committed to a $50-a-week toll cap if elected in November, which makes Labor's $30 look like a bidding war conducted entirely in round numbers.

"Imitation is the best form of flattery," opposition leader Jess Wilson told reporters on Sunday. She argued Labor could not be trusted to lower tolls, given they had consistently increased them over 12 years in government. "Victorians are paying higher tolls today as a direct consequence of the decision making of this Labor government, and you simply cannot trust them now, five minutes to midnight, that they're going to reduce tolls," Wilson said. Five minutes to midnight - the political equivalent of promising to start your diet tomorrow.