Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rides a Melbourne tram, laments lack of AFL grand final fever on public holiday

Have you seen any grand final fever in Melbourne on this inaugural grand final eve public holiday, because Malcolm Turnbull is looking for it?

Our Prime Minister hopped on a Route 11 tram on Friday morning, but lamented the lack of grand final fever in the country's AFL capital.

"Very peaceful trip on no 11 tram - eerily quiet on a public holiday!" he tweeted.

'Eerily quiet' ... Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rides the tram in the Docklands on Friday morning. Photo: Twitter

In a subtle dig at Premier Daniel Andrews, who gifted Victorians today's public holiday, Mr Turnbull added: "Miss the people & excitement of grand final eve."

Mr Turnbull was sitting opposite a man reading The Age newspaper, which happened to be open to an article about his predecessor's comments on radio.

On Thursday, former prime minister Tony Abbott told radio station 3AW he never trusted Mr Turnbull, believing he was always intent on stealing the leadership.

Yet Mr Turnbull did not appear to notice the awkward coincidence.

The Prime Minister's tweets echoed the thoughts of many Melburnians on Friday, with the CBD likened to a ghost town as many businesses closed their doors.

Mr Andrews promised to introduce the public holiday before last year's state election, despite criticism from businesses.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has estimated the public holiday will cost the state upwards of $500 million. 

In a slightly ironic twist, the last high-profile person to ride a Melbourne tram was Queen Elizabeth in 2011.

Queen Elizabeth rides a tram through Melbourne. Photo: Coppel Alex

But Mr Turnbull is no stranger to public transport - Friday morning's ride was his second tram trip as Prime Minister.

In July, Mr Turnbull took the train to Geelong, a none-too-subtle jab at former speaker Bronwyn Bishop who billed taxpayers $5000 to take the same trip in a helicopter.