Premier Campbell Newman announced on Sunday Queensland's $30 million in carbon tax savings would fund a reduction from November 3, as well as a fare freeze in 2015.

The move would see a peak zone one GoCard fare drop 18 cents, and a peak zone 2 GoCard fare drop 21 cents.

Robert Dow from Rail Back on Track said they were grateful for "small mercies", but only true fare and network reform would increase public transport use.

He said the Newman government should ditch its policy of allowing unlimited free trips on the Translink network once nine paid ones have been taken.

"There's a growing trend of city workers taking short bus trips during their breaks, so that by Wednesday they're travelling for free," Mr Dow said.

"If people are forced to do that to ameliorate the cost of travel, there is something really wrong with the system."

Mr Dow said there was nothing illegal about rorting, and the government even celebrated an estimated 80,000 free trips being taken each week.

"Most of the free trips are just the tenth trip where people are going home on a Friday, it's not really driving public transport use," he said.

"The only figures I've seen indicated that there was an increase earlier on in the week, which means that people are starting to learn to rort."

Mr Dow said lowering base ticket prices and introducing daily and weekly caps would encourage people to use bus, train and ferry services, which would flow onto reduced road congestion and risks of accidents, and improve health.

Drastic public transport price hikes began under the former Labor government in 2010.

After winning office in 2012, Campbell Newman cut scheduled 15 per cent annual increases to 7.5 per cent, and said this latest cut would put more money back in residents' pockets.

"What this means is that a mum or dad travelling to work in the Brisbane CBD from the Gold Coast will save more than $297 a year, or nearly $2000 compared to what they would have paid under Labor," he said.

But Griffith University senior political lecturer Paul Williams said the government should avoid playing the Labor "blame game" to create cost of living savings.

"There's a lot of scepticism in the electorate when governments start blaming previous administrations," he said.

"Usually by the time that first 12 months is over, the electorate says hey, this is your government, this is your budget."

Opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk slammed the cut as an election sweetener.

"After the election, this government will privatise our assets," she said.

"They want to sell off our electricity network, they want to sell off our public transport network. You cannot trust this government, they are mean and they are tricky."

The 2012 Commission of Audit recommended "restructuring services to be delivered through contestable contracts under franchise and lease arrangements" to offset the cost burden of subsidising public transport.

Dr Williams said that was a different thing to asset sales.

"I would doubt the government would try and privatise given the beating they'd had every time they've mentioned asset sales to this point," he said.

"Economically in reality it probably won't happen, but it's a good rhetorical device for Labor to use to drum up a bit of fear."