KEY POINTS:
Hundreds of thousands of senior citizens will be able to use buses, trains and ferries without paying under a Government-funded scheme starting next week.
Holders of SuperGold cards - who include war veterans and their spouses - will be eligible for free travel after 9am each week-day
and during weekends and public holidays from Wednesday in Auckland and many other regions. These include the Waikato, Wellington and coastal parts of the Bay of Plenty such as Tauranga and Whakatane.
Superannuitants in some areas such as Whangarei and Taranaki may have to wait until November 1 for the scheme to start, and Environment Bay of Plenty is working to get free travel in Rotorua before the end of the year.
That will leave only the West Coast outside the scheme, because of what officials say is a lack of suitable public transport services there to tie into it.
Although free travel in most regions will run from 9am until 3pm on weekdays, and then from 6.30pm until transport services stop running, senior citizens in Auckland need not worry about any afternoon cut-off.
That is because of an extra deal by which Auckland Regional Council and the Government's Transport Agency will split the cost of travel by senior citizens between 3pm and 6.30pm.
All other costs will be carried by the Government under a four-year budget provision of $72 million, at the prompting of New Zealand First and its leader, Winston Peters.
Prime Minister Helen Clark announced at Britomart Station in Auckland, to a cheering audience of about 50 seniors and war veterans, that even ferries to Waiheke Island were in the deal after last-minute negotiations with Fullers.
That means SuperGold cardholders can travel free to Waiheke by ferry, and then throughout the island on Fullers' buses, as well as anywhere else between Pukekohe and Orewa.
"That makes my day - I didn't think they'd throw the Waiheke trip in," said George Morgan of Westmere.
"I've ridden the trains for years, but to be able to catch a boat to Waiheke will change my life."
Freemans Bay resident Diane Percy said she would take buses to the waterfront to catch ferries to visit her daughter on Waiheke, saving a return fare of $28.60.
Transport Minister Annette King said offering up to 530,000 SuperGold card holders free off-peak travel would improve their quality of life and take more cars off the roads.
"It's ... hugely important for our senior citizens because with greater mobility you can ... get out for social occasions, and that is good for your health."
Neither Ms King nor Helen Clark mentioned New Zealand First's role in their speeches, although they noted later that the creation of the SuperGold card was part of the confidence and supply agreement signed after the last election by that party and Labour.
