Auckland's free buses and trains has released a genie out of the bottle

Wednesday, 19 December 2018

Auckland Transport hopes more commuters will use trains and buses when fares are suspended on Friday, December 21.

OPINION: The biggest surprise was not that Aucklanders could ride public transport on Friday evening for free for the first time.

The surprise was that the initiative will cost only $120,000 in lost fare revenue.

That could have consequences. An obvious and good question is: when's the next free ride?

The other is, could this become the new benchmark against which to measure the effectiveness of council spending.

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Fare-free public transport after 4pm on Friday wasn't even Auckland Transport's idea, but an optimistic lob from police.

The last real business day before Christmas is traditionally one of the worst for drink driving, and police thought offering free trips might persuade more people who drink not to get behind the wheel.

Auckland Transport liked the concept, and also the chance that it might lure more people to try public transport, one of Auckland's biggest investments.

It's taken just five weeks to get from bright idea, to free travel home on Friday, for nearly 70,000 commuters.

The idea is surprisingly easy to do, the electronic gates and ticket machines get turned off, and operators get paid a sum based on what they'd normally expect to take in fares.

No politicians needed to approve it, no strategy or business case worked up and run past consultants. Just a flick of the switch.

So how about doing it more often, not always as a road safety initiative, but as a public transport promotion, or even, perish the thought, just a feel-good gesture to Aucklanders.

The question of whether this can become a benchmark against which other spending is measured is more intriguing.

An annual programme of 'First-Friday Free public transport afternoons' would cost around $1.5 million.

That's not much more than was spent on two reports commissioned unilaterally by the mayor Phil Goff, and which now lie in filing cabinets.

One, paid for by council-owned Ports of Auckland, didn't tell the story which Goff wanted, on the value of the vehicle import trade to Auckland.

The other, costing nearly $1 million and paid for by the council's Regional Facilities Auckland agency, told us what we all knew, that a downtown stadium could be built, but that it would need public money and lots more reports.

Even within Auckland Transport's own spending you could ask whether there are a lot of $120,000 sums that deliver far less than 'no-fares-Fridays'

AT is running a 12-month trial costing around $1 million, of an Uber-style service around well-heeled Devonport to see whether it can cut vehicle drop-offs at the ferry terminal.

Latest figures show it carried 402 people in a week, a third of the target level, and people who might otherwise have walked or car pooled for all we know.

The budget for 'AT Local' would fund eight Fare Free Friday afternoons.

AT publishes lists of all of the contracts it awards worth more than $50,000.

I randomly check some, but it would be a full-time job to test what would happen if some of that spending didn't happen.

We don't yet know, and may never know, how many extra commuters will try out public transport for the first time this Friday afternoon, or whether a life will be saved, or injury spared.

Sometimes things just seem to be good ideas, like parks and playgrounds, libraries, or picnic areas at beaches.

Auckland Transport should take heart and be emboldened by the strong positive reaction on social media to the initiative.

The mayor Phil Goff jumped on board hailing the safety aspect of the move.

The Friday intiative isn't completely free of course, fares make up less than half the cost of running public transport. Ratepayers and taxpayers are still paying the subsidies that fund the rest.

This Friday afternoon could either be a flop or a breakthrough for bold but simple and affordable ideas to boost public transport awareness and use in Auckland.

Hopefully it won't be the last.