Visitors to one of the jewels in Tasmania’s tourism crown are to be hit with an extra charge.
From November 15 2023, anyone over the age of 18 using the Cradle Mountain shuttle bus service – which has been free since it was introduced a couple of decades ago – will now have to pay $15 for the privilege.
The service takes visitors from the information centre to Dove Lake and is intended to help protect the area by limiting the number of vehicles accessing the park. Vehicle access into the park is only permitted outside of shuttle bus operating hours.
Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) says it costs them more than $3 million dollars to operate each year.
Cradle Mountain is one of the jewels in Tasmania's tourism crown.
The $15 ticket will be valid for 72 hours to be used in conjunction with a Parks Pass. An annual shuttle bus ticket will also be available for $45.
PWS says it believes "$15 for a return transport service for three days to access this iconic World Heritage Area site represents really good value for money".
More than 300,000 people visit the park each year and approximately 80% of them are interstate or international tourists.