Lower public transport fares possible as NZTA reviews policy behind Auckland price hikes

Friday, 19 April 2019

The farebox recovery policy pushes Auckland Transport to increase passenger fares in order to recover 50 per cent of operating costs.

A policy behind rising public transport fares in Auckland could be scrapped by the New Zealand Transport Agency, paving the way for fare-free weekends and greater discounts for young people.

The farebox recovery policy, adopted in 2010, requires fares to cover half of all public transport operating costs.

A NZTA spokesperson said a 50 per cent target was no longer appropriate for Auckland.

'The policy implemented in 2010 set a national target for farebox recovery, but demands on public transport have changed considerably since then,' he said.

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'The Transport Agency is keen to support regional councils in planning and providing public transport specific to their region, which includes developing their own revenue, fares and patronage policies.'

Leroy Beckett, the Auckland director of the youth lobby Generation Zero, said the the farebox recovery policy was holding the city back from creating pricing schemes to 'actually encourage public transport use'.

'The policy has been the driving reason behind recent fare hikes, which actively discourage people from taking buses and trains,' he said.

'Getting rid of the policy will allow Auckland to implement ideas like free weekends, daily fare caps and greater discounts for young people which we have recommended in our Freeze the Fares policy.'

Auckland Transport increased bus, train and ferry fares by an average of 2 per cent in February.

Auckland Transport chief executive Shane Ellison said the farebox recovery policy was responsible for the fare hikes.

“Our preference is not to increase fares and we have absorbed as much of the costs as we can,” he said.

“But it is government policy that subsidised public transport will recover no less than 50 per cent of its costs through fares.“

Ellison said Auckland Transport was currently stretching the permissible limit by recovering 'about 44-45 per cent“ in passenger fares.

The transport service reviewed fares each year to ensure they covered half of operating costs as the policy required.

Planning Committee chairman Chris Darby said reviewing the farebox recovery system was a step in the right direction.

The system was a left-over of the previous government's transport policies, he said.

Darby met with Auckland mayor Phil Goff and Minister of Transport Phil Twyford last week to begin developing a “mode shift strategy” to encourage people to shift out of private vehicles and onto public transport.

Figures released by Auckland Transport last month showed an 10.8 per cent monthly increase in public transport trips in February.

That equated to nearly 98 million trips for the year to February, an increase of 6.3 per cent.