30 June 2008

Greater Wellington has announced new fares for trains, buses and ferries on Metlink - Greater Wellington’s public transport network - from 1 September 2008.

Some fares, including those for the city section and one-zone fares, will not change, others will increase by 50c per full adult fare, and others will increase by $1 per full adult fare. A schedule of new fares  (20KB,PDF) is on the right-hand side of this page.

Fran Wilde, chair of Greater Wellington, said fares were being increased to help meet the rising costs of public transport.

“Our bus operating contract has cost us $2.4 million in the lats year, due largely to oil prices, and is estimated to increase a lot more next year for the same reason. Our rail operating contract is estimated to cost us $2.5 million more this financial year, largely because of higher labour-related costs. We’re also paying more to maintain our infrastructure such as bus shelters, car parks and trolley bus overhead wires.”

She said Greater Wellington was not alone in its difficult decision to raise fares. “Regional councils from Northland to Otago are all increasing their fares. Around the country, the day to day costs of running public transport services are soaring just to maintain the status quo without any improvements.”

Peter Glensor, chair of Greater Wellington’s Transport and Access Committee, said revenue from the fare increase would be about $1.7m.

“Our rounding policy means we have to adjust fares to the nearest 50 cents, rather than by an overall percentage. This makes cash handling much easier for passengers, train guards and bus drivers and our operators are strongly prefer it, at least until electronic ticketing arrives in a few years time”, he said.

“Unfortunately the rounding policy creates impacts unevenly across zones. In addition, some zones have historically had relatively lower fares than others, so we also need to address that situation.”

Fran Wilde said even with the fare increase, taking public transport was still far cheaper than taking a car for most journeys around the greater Wellington region.

“Based on running costs, including petrol prices, using a 10-trip ticket from Wellington to Upper Hutt will be $2.50 cheaper per trip than taking your car. And taking a train from Paraparaumu to Wellington will still be $5.60 cheaper than driving, while catching a train to Masterton from Wellington, will be nearly $15 cheaper.”

ENDS

For more information, please contact:
Fran Wilde, ph: 04 802 0346 or Peter Glensor, ph: 027 241 5152