Will cheaper ticket prices attract more public transport use or better bus routes?

Monday, 21 January 2019

Should travelling on public transport be free?

In a push to get more people out of cars and into public transport, there are calls to scrap public transport fares and make buses and trains completely free.

Some overseas cities are trialling free fares. Should New Zealand do the same?

An MP from each side of the house shares their opinion.

**Priyanca Radhakrishnan

Labour List MP based in Auckland's Maungakiekie**

In July 2018, Auckland Transport cut the 312 bus route that, for over 30 years, connected the communities of Oranga and Onehunga to central Auckland. It was cut because of low patronage figures and in a bid to ease congestion in Auckland central but local communities were outraged.

* Wellingtonians pay more than anywhere else in NZ for their public transport

* The Southern Link - a long and winding road of controversy**

A petition started by local youth hub – the 312 hub – and award-winning rap group SWIDT was signed by 2500 people in just two weeks. Some signed it because for them the change meant longer wait times and more inconvenience. For others the 312 bus was a significant cultural symbol that had become synonymous with the identity of Onehunga.

Mobility is crucial and people have different needs. That makes transport planning complex. How we get around is important and it's essential that we feel safe doing it. We must also have transport options that are reliable and affordable. Transport networks have the power to shape and grow communities.

Over the last nine years, the previous government focused transport investment on a series of expressway extensions that were mostly at the edges of the major cities and cost several billion dollars. As a result, funding fell for most regional roads, safety, and maintenance were deprioritised as was investment in public transport. Congestion in cities like Auckland worsened and the road death toll increased by 50 per cent since 2013.

In addition, the previous government left a multi-billion dollar funding gap in Auckland's transport budget, despite increasing petrol excise six times by a total of 17 cents a litre.

The coalition government's focus is on improving road safety and transport connections. Mechanisms will be incorporated into roading design to prevent crashes and make our highways and local roads safer. Investment will be targeted to ensure that we have a network of roads, rail, public transport and walking and cycling routes – real transport choices – that are safe, efficient and affordable. Reliable, connected and convenient public transport options benefit everyone – it gets those who choose to use them off the roads and eases congestion for those who choose to drive.

Should public transport be free?

Matt Lowry from Greater Auckland says in his article 'Thinking about free fares': 'It's also worth remembering that in many public surveys, by far the most commonly mentioned thing people would like to see done to improve public transport is not cheaper or free fares but improved frequencies. Make the system more useful and more people will use it.'

I tend to agree.

**Stuart Smith

National MP for Kaikoura**

Encouraging people out of their cars and onto a bus or train has a number of real benefits but, in reality, many provincial centres would struggle to support an efficient public transport system.

Arguably, most of New Zealand's cities, except Wellington, lack the density required for truly well-used, and therefore sustainable, public transport infrastructure.

That's not to say our regions don't have any access to public transport: Many towns and cities do, even if it's just one bus that circles every hour, like here in my home town of Blenheim.

About 25,000 trips are taken on the bus each year. It has two circuits and provides a very valuable service to residents who cannot, or choose not to, drive.

However, that bus exists only because it is sponsored by a business and subsidised by council and government funding. Fares are very reasonable to ensure its use, but even if they were raised, the service could never exist on fares alone.

Despite this, the bus is now expanding its route and timetable slightly to capture some commuters. This is great, but the commuter market is limited because many people work outside of Blenheim in the wine and other industries, while others work hours outside of the bus schedule.

Over the hill in larger Nelson and Tasman, the bus system is more expansive but that, too, requires funding beyond fares just to exist.

These examples are why I do not consider that making public transport free will create a significant difference to public transport use in smaller centres.

It also comes down to practicalities, lifestyle and, to some degree, our culture. Realistically, many Kiwis would need a very compelling reason to give up the flexibility, freedom and reliability that a car provides, and replace it with a bus that only comes infrequently.

This is unlikely to happen, particularly given the number of public transport strikes that our cities have had to endure in the last year. Any public transport system needs to be reliable in order for its users to have enough confidence that it will get them to work and back each day.

I support investment in public transport in areas where it works. Unfortunately, the cost and logistics of establishing an efficient, well-used and above all sustainable public transport system in our regions may simply be beyond our means.