Bay of Plenty buses to be free for children and teenagers from July

School-aged children will ride the buses for free at all times from July 1. Photo / Sun Media

Bus fares in the Bay of Plenty will be free for anyone aged 18 or under from July 1.

At present, buses are free for children aged 5 and under and for 6- to 18-year-olds from 7am to 9am and 3pm to 5pm on weekdays in Tauranga, Whakatāne, and Rotorua.

The decision to change the fare structure was made at an extraordinary Bay of Plenty Regional Council meeting on Friday.

It was in response to the Government’s Budget announcement in May to provide funding for free public transport for children under 13, and half-price fares for people under 25.

Councillors were presented with two options. Option 1 was to align with the government announcement, which would remove the free peak fares for 13- to 18-year-olds and make them half-price at all times, from July 1.

Option 2 provided free fares for anyone aged 18 and under at all times.

Both options provided half-price fares for people aged 19-24.

The council’s public transport director, Mike Seabourne, told councillors that staff recommended option 1 because it was easier to implement within the Government’s expected start date of July 1.

He said the financial implications for both options were “generally positive”. The government funding enabled the council to claim a subsidy from Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency and the council could claim more under option 1, said Seabourne.

This additional funding would be around $2 million, said his report to the council.

The current free fares were being paid for through targeted public transport rates from Tauranga, Whakatāne and Rotorua ratepayers.

Option 1 would mean a reduction in revenue for the council from bus fares of $400,000 and option 2 would result in a $600,000 reduction in revenue, said the report.

The reduction in targeted rates under option 1 was $1.6 million and $1.4m under option 2.

Despite the extra funding, ratepayers would still see an increase in the targeted public transport rate because the council elected to use $500,000 of it to replenish the forecast deficit on the Tauranga Public Transport Targeted Reserve.

This increase was less than forecast in the 2023/24 Annual Plan because of the extra funding.

Tauranga ratepayers would now pay an extra $21.98 for the public transport rate $5 less than originally planned. For Rotorua ratepayers, the targeted rate will be $9.53 more than the last financial year, but $2 less than planned. In Whakatāne ratepayers will pay $6.53 more for the public transport rate, $2.21 less than planned.

Councillors were divided over which option to select.

Public transport committee chairman Andrew von Dadelszen supported option 1. Photo / John Borren

Public transport committee chairman Andrew von Dadelszen supported option 1 and said there was “widespread support” throughout regional councils around the country to be “proactive and help facilitate” the initiative.

“If we go for option 2, my personal concern is we make ourselves an outlier.”

The free fares for school-aged children was a trial that began in Tauranga in 2020 and was extended to Whakatāne, and Rotorua in 2022, said von Dadelszen.

The trial was set to end in December 2023.

“Option 1 gives added support to the 5 to 12-year-olds. They were only getting travel before going to and from school, and I think this is the age group that we most want to support,” he said.

Western Bay of Plenty constituency councillor Ken Shirley said he “strongly supported” option 1.

“The simplicity of it is important, the consistency of it with government policy and what other regions will inevitably do.”

Tauranga constituency councillor Kat Macmillan said: “For me, my values can’t go with option 1 because I’m thinking about our rangatahi, our teenagers - for parents, it’s the most expensive time.

“When you’ve got teenagers, they eat a lot, they move around a lot, they go to sports, and if you’ve got teenagers you may just be tempted to now jump in the car rather than tot up your half price fare.

“I like the simplicity of anyone school-age gets to ride for free.”

Councillor Kat Macmillan said she liked "the simplicity of anyone school-age gets to ride for free”. Photo / John Borren

Public transport committee member Jane Nees, Western Bay, said she did not want to reduce the level of service to those aged 13 to 18.

“I think we’ve made amazing gains getting more traction with our public transport network across the region with that group, and I really do not want to see that go backwards.”

Tauranga constituency councillor Paula Thompson said the free fares for 13- to 18-year-olds were the result of “two very significant public consultation processes”.

Ending that fare structure would create a “real credibility issue” for the council, she said.

Recent bus patronage data “spoke for itself”, said Thompson, who is also a public transport committee member.

“To me, it [the data] reflected that the trials, particularly for our younger people, have been a roaring success.

“For me, I’m not prepared to go anything less than the current system.”

Councillor Jane Nees said the council had made "amazing gains" getting people on to public transport through the free fares. Photo / John Borren

Nees agreed with Thompson and said: “I do not want to risk some reputational backlash for our council who have consulted and have been providing free fares for 13- to 18-year-olds.”

von Dadelszen moved to adopt Option 1 and it was seconded by Shirley, but this was voted down. Nees moved option 2, which was seconded by Thompson.

This passed by a majority vote of seven votes to four. Three of the 14 councillors were not in attendance.

How they voted

Option 2 - free fares for 5 to 18-year-olds

For: Jane Nees, Paula Thompson, Kat Macmillan, Matemoana McDonald, Te Taru White, Kevin Winters, Lyall Thurston.

Against: Andrew von Dadelszen, Doug Leeder, Stuart Crosby, Ken Shirely.

Absent: Ron Scott, Toi Kai Rākau Iti, Malcolm Campbell.

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