“Kia ora Naomii, Great news for those under 25!” reads the email from Auckland Transport. Oh great, I think to myself. Then, seconds later: oh s….
As most will be painfully aware, fuel and public transport subsidies from the Government ended on July 1. But public transport is still being subsidised to half-price for certain groups. For those under 13, it will be completely free.
That means for school-aged children, most university students, low-income households and people with accessibility needs, the cost-barrier to public transport is significantly lowered. That’s fabulous news. But what about the rest of us?
I’m turning 25 in a matter of months. Now, in addition to a quarter-life crisis, I can also look forward to my transport costs doubling.
I understand that the age cut-off is part of a budgeting decision. But the implication is that by 25, you’ve aged out of needing public transport, you should own a car – preferably electric – and you should earn a good enough wage that the occasional bus trip is but spare change. But that’s the sort of assumption that betrays New Zealand’s deeply held car culture.
Overseas, many people will never own a car because they simply don’t need one. In urban areas, public transport services are fast, frequent and reliable. Most amenities are within walking distance. It’s possible to raise a family, travel to work, access healthcare, and more without needing a private vehicle. Imagine: no parking costs, no insurance, no fuel and no WOF. Just cheap, reliable, efficient public transport and the good old wai-wai express.
It’s a dream that I’m determined to live as much as possible, even if the reality in Auckland doesn’t quite match up.
Although I do own a car, I try to take public transport where possible. As a writer and freelancer, I often take a bus into the city to sit in a cafe to work on my latest story. When I turn 25, that trip will cost me $4.20 one way, or $8.40 for both. If I take five roundtrips a week, that means I’m paying a whopping $42 per week for public transport. It’s as much as my grocery budget.
In comparison, it cost me just SG$17.54 (NZ$21) per week to travel the same distance in Singapore, where it’s unusual to own a car.
Compare that figure to the cost of driving. Without the fuel subsidy, a litre of gas is around $2.60 as a national average. A trip to the city and back would cost me about $5.20 in fuel – totalling $26 per week.
Factoring in parking costs and paying annual costs for a car, it’s still cheaper for me to take the bus. But for people in other circumstances – those with an electric car, parking spots in the city, or are time-poor and can’t afford the extended commute, the cost of public transport remains a barrier. For some people, it may actually be cheaper to drive.
But having more cars on the roads comes with its own costs. The NZ Institute of Economic Research found that Auckland’s congestion costs the city between 1.5 – 2% of its GDP, or between $1.4 and $1.9 billion.
One suggested measure is the introduction of congestion charging, which has worked to reduce traffic by 10-30% and reduced emissions in cities such as London and Singapore.
During the half-price fares period, around 200,000 people moved onto public transport, without any other structural incentive in place. Imagine if all 200,000 of those people went back to driving given the price increase.
But also imagine how many cars we could get off the roads should we encourage mode-shift in both the short and long term, say with, congestion charges and building more homes around transport hubs. With all that extra money from cars off the roads, we could even subsidise public transport.
Currently, there’s a Catch-22 with public transport in the national conversation. Because we underfund public transport, it’s inefficient, slow and expensive, so people don’t use it. And because people don’t use it, we don’t fund public transport.
But I dare to hope for a future where public transport is cheap, convenient and reliable right here in Aotearoa. And if we put the right policies in place, there’s no reason we can’t make our public transport system appealing and accessible – for everyone.
