Cheaper public transport fares could soon be made permanent

Wellington City. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Government's decision to temporarily halve public transport fares could be a sign of more permanent announcements to come in Budget 2022.

Cheaper train and bus tickets will be in place by April 1 for a period of three months.

This decision, along with slashing 25c off fuel taxes, was made in response to a global energy crisis that's having a significant impact on the cost of living for many households.

But Finance Minister Grant Robertson also said on Monday that supporting public transport and mode shift will be an important part of the work the Government does to reduce emissions, which will feature in Budget 2022.

"Therefore, I think it is appropriate to take this step for three months, which takes us up to the beginning of the new financial year covered by that Budget."

"This tides us over through to that period," Robertson said.

Making public transport fares cheaper has been on the cards for some time.

The first Emissions Reduction Plan is due to be published by May 31, allowing the Government to align it with Budget 2022.

This plan will establish policies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and set the path towards meeting long-term climate targets.

One of the proposals being consulted on is reducing public transport fares.

Meanwhile, the Government is already implementing a three-year Community Connect pilot of a 50 per cent concession to Community Services cardholders in Auckland. It will consider rolling this pilot out across Aotearoa.

Furthermore, well before Monday's announcement, Greater Wellington Regional Council made the decision to defer its decision on whether to increase public transport fares by 3 per cent until after Budget 2022.

Chairman Daran Ponter said the council has been anticipating the Government would make some "positive announcements" for public transport as part of the Budget, tied in with its climate response plan.

He welcomed this week's decision to halve public transport fares and said it indicated the types of levers the Government might be willing to pull to reduce fares permanently over time.

Ponter said he would be "surprised if there wasn't" some sort of policy to reduce fares and for that reason he urged the Government to consult with councils while it was finalising the Budget.

At the moment train and bus patronage in Wellington was between 50 and 60 per cent of what it was in February 2020, Ponter said.

Ponter was concerned that if patronage was at pre-Covid levels, the network may not be able to all of a sudden accommodate the increase in people attracted by lower fares.

As for the current situation, the Covid-19 environment also presented its own challenges like having about 100 bus and train drivers in Wellington off work isolating.