“It’s a good thing for customers,” Mr Neal said.

“People closer to town may not notice the difference, but it will work out well for people from the Bay and Basin.”

A 30 per cent reduction in fares could see return trips from Jervis Bay to Nowra previously costing $16 drop down to $11.

And while the price drop is welcomed, some local passengers are less than impressed with the service.

Tammy Meek, 47, needs a wheelchair to get around, and recently had to wheel down to shops at South Nowra before she caught the bus to withdraw cash.

She was then told she couldn’t board the bus, because she only had a $50 note.

“They need to introduce Opal cards here,” Tammy said.

“If you don’t have cash, drivers won’t pick you up.

Dennis O’Neill from East Nowra, 77, agrees.

“You’re paying double if you catch a bus without an opal card and then a train,” he said.

Both Dennis and Tammy have grown accustomed to waiting for a bus.

Buses from East Nowra and South Nowra into town run on a two-hourly basis, and the infrequency of basis has been a major inconvenience for them and their families.

“The buses come every two hours, that’s just wrong,” Tammy said.

“They should come every half hour. What if I have to go to a medical appointment?

“There is no support for people like me.”

The pricing changes come after the NSW Government asked the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) to review bus fares in regional and rural areas in February last year to ensure services were delivering the best value for money for our customers.

Kiama MP Gareth Ward welcomed the changes as a win for local customers and operators across the South Coast.

“IPART’s review found fares were higher than what customers were willing to pay, resulting in lower patronage on regional services and we want to change that,” he said.

“That’s why we’ve implemented a simpler fare structure in response to the Tribunal’s recommendations.

“By dropping the price of the maximum fare, we hope to make bus services more appealing to local residents and encourage higher patronage numbers which means a boost for local operators.

“The new pricing structure will introduce 10 standard fare bands, which will apply across regional and rural NSW.

“The maximum adult fare for a short trip of three kilometres will be set at $2.30, while any trip longer than 200 kilometres will have a maximum fare of $48.20.

“We’re also introducing a new Daily Ticket which will provide customers with unlimited travel within certain sections within a day. Daily adult tickets will start at $6.90 for short trips while eligible concession holders will pay half the adult fare,” he said.

Mr Ward said that the NSW Government was still committed to upholding the discounts already in place for pensioner and senior concession card holders confirming the Regional Excursion Daily (RED) ticket for pensioners and seniors will remain at $2.50.

“The RED ticket is such a great affordable option for seniors and pensioners to access discounted fares, offering unlimited local daily bus travel for just $2.50,” he said.

“RED tickets are accepted by more than 600 local bus operators in regional centres around NSW including some school bus routes and there’s no limit to how often you can purchase RED tickets, eligible customers can travel with one every day if they need to.

“The Berejiklian Government will also continue to investigate other recommendations from the IPART review such as restructuring services to better match emerging needs, including on demand services and improving operator cost efficiency,” Mr Ward concluded.