The new year has brought increased fares for Sydney and Melbourne commuters, with price hikes becoming an annual event on Australian public transport.

The cost of an adult weekly train ticket on Sydney's lines has increased by one dollar from this week. According to some, it means many commuters will pay around $200 more per year to get to and from work.

The New South Wales Opposition has accused the State Government of breaking a previous promise, by ramping up the cost without providing any improved services in return.

Opposition spokesperson Penny Sharpe accused the government of surreptitiously trying to wring more money out of people who rely on public transport.

“Their on-time running performance, six out of the 16 lines are not on time, there have been 31,000 complaints and they've grown in the last year,” Ms Sharpe says

“Commuters are not seeing the service improvements that they were promised.

“They've changed the way periodical tickets work, it's going to be more expensive under Opal and people who are catching the ferry from places like Manly are finding that they've had a significant increase to their fares.”

The NSW Government says the increase is in line with the cost of living, but it has avoided speaking on the supposed improvements.

Similarly, in Victoria, prices have been increased but many who actually ride public transport say nothing has been done to address their many concerns.

Rules have been changed regarding weekend caps and two-hour tickets, which have been increased and tightened to draw in more revenue. Recent Victorian government budget papers say fares will increase by CPI plus 2.5 per cent from 2015 to 2018.