Fare hikes to hit bus passengers hardest

Fares for bus, train and ferry services in Auckland are set to rise. Photo / The Aucklander

Loyal bus commuters will be punished most by fare hikes to Auckland's buses, trains and ferries kicking in next Sunday.

Auckland Regional Transport Authority this week announced increases to public transport fares averaging about three per cent for buses and six per cent for trains.

But many operators' monthly and weekly passes get a bigger markup - up to 12.5 per cent on NZ Bus's Metrolink, North Star, Link, Go West and Waka Pacific; up to 11 per cent on Howick and Eastern; and up to 13 per cent on Ritchies' bus routes.

It follows a strained pay dispute for NZ Bus drivers last October, when a lockout halted bus services in the city for a week and cost the company $1.1 million. Drivers eventually got an immediate four per cent wage increase.

Campaign for Better Transport spokesman Graeme Easte said increases to weekly and monthly passes would hit people who used public transport the most.

"Those are the people you want to reward - those who make the commitment."

The hikes were big enough to be noticed and could drive away bus users, he said.

"A few per cent people hardly notice ... but when things go up by more than a certain per cent, people wonder if they're making the right decision. Ten per cent is about that range - so it's a problem."

Mr Easte said fare increases often accomplished the opposite of what they were meant to - total takings could decrease as people stopped using public transport.

An NZ Bus spokesperson said the increases were to cover significant increases in operational costs, but the passes were still good value.

Transport authority chief executive Fergus Gammie said fare increases had been chosen to avoid the most popular tickets.

Sixty-three per cent of customers buy single tickets, 10-trip tickets or rail passes, Mr Gammie said.

"The lowest fare increases have been made for the bulk of our customer's purchases, while slightly higher increases have been made by some of our commercial operators for their already heavily discounted bus and ferry multi-trip passes.

"These passes have always been heavily discounted by operators, and even with fare increases a significant level of discount, often up to 40 per cent, remains," he said.

Bus operators' costs had risen 11 per cent in the three years since their last fare increase, particularly due to increasing wages and having to upgrade buses to meet stricter emissions standards, Mr Gammie said.

Prices for NZ Bus passes to all zones will rise from $40 to $45 a week and from $170 to $185 a month. Prices for Ritchies' monthly passes limited to one zone will increase from $137.50 to $155, and Howick and Eastern's from $95 to $105.

Meanwhile, adult train fares increase between 10 cents and 50 cents for single trips.

The fare increases start next Sunday, February 21.