Half-price rates end in August, despite cost of living still rising

Half-price public transport fares have had a “significant” impact on patronage, but the government has no plans to expand the scheme despite the rising cost of living.

The rates were halved from April 1 to June 30, then extended into Budget 2022, along with a temporary fuel tax cut from 25 cents/litre earlier this year, until the end of August, in the hopes that they would become permanent for all users. However, they were made permanent for Community Services cardholders.

Transport Minister Michael Wood said that since the introduction of half-price fares, use of public transport has increased in the three largest centers – Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. In the first month of reduced fares, patronage was 84% ​​from what it was in April 2021, up from 57% in March when public transport fares were full.

Work was underway to accurately estimate the impact of reduced rates compared to other factors, such as changes in the alert level.

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“We know it really makes a difference to people who feel the cost of living, especially lower-income households. with community service cards,” he said in a statement.

Twitter user Katie Brown said her 10-ride pass, which usually cost $42.60, had fallen to just over $20.

“That, plus the time in traffic, there’s no point driving in,” she wrote. “Train passengers seem to be back on pre-Covid numbers. I know it wasn’t a climate policy, but it turned out to be an excellent policy.”

It’s almost impossible to say how the tariff cut has affected the data, as the past two years have been marred by lockdowns and other pandemic restrictions that would have led to more people working from home.

However, between March and April, when the half-price fares went into effect, monthly rail travelers increased by 156,623 – that’s 652,533 in April, compared to 495,910 in March.

When asked why the policy wasn’t renewed permanently for everyone, Wood previously said it would cost $250 million to introduce permanent half-price tariffs, money that could have been spent elsewhere.

Kāpiti Coast District Councilor Gwynn Compton said that given the speed at which Transmission Gully had made the journey into town from the coast, the cheaper fares were the last thing to tip travel in favor of public transport.

Without them, he was afraid that people would go straight back to their private cars. The cost of gas for a ride into town and back was about $20 – comparable to the train, but much faster.

Fares were the only lever the government could use to create quick change – new, faster and more frequent train services were a long way off.

“If you want people to keep taking public transit and not going back to their cars, you need to think about that,” Compton said.

Daran Ponter, chairman of the Great Wellington Regional Council, said another lever the government could use was to increase the funding support rate for each municipality – and it varied by municipality – to subsidize rates. At this time, the Wellington Regional Council rate was 51%.

That would be a sign of permanence, rather than a new time-limited commitment, he said.

However, investing in cheaper fares wasn’t enough to provide a solution — the rail networks needed work to accommodate the influx of people. Wellington’s rail network will require billions in upgrades to meet the expected growth in the region.

“Encouraging people to use public transport without upgrading the network won’t help,” he said. “People are left behind.”