Metlink to lift fares in Wellington from July 1
Monday, 1 July 2024
Expenses in the capital continue to rise with public transport fares increasing by up to $1.60, alongside a double-digit increase kicking in for ratepayers.
Bus, train, and ferry fares will increase by 10% today, a Metlink spokesperson said, with a peak adult fare costing between an additional 18 cents to $1.60 across Metlink’s 14 zones.
The largest cost jump will be for someone travelling across 14 zones, from Masterton to Wellington, with an additional $3.20 adding to a round journey for an adult travelling in peak times.
Adding to the rising pressure on household wallets, Wellington City Council has locked in a rate rise of 18.5%, with $700 adding to the rates bill of the average household from the start of July.
From Monday, the cost of a two-zone bus journey for an adult Snapper card user rises from $3.02 to $3.32 at peak times. During off-peak times the fare is now $1.66, a 15c increase.
A five-zone rail journey for an adult Snapper card user increases by 15c, from $5.52 to $6.07, during peak times. The same journey will cost $3.04 off-peaks, a 28c increase.
Greater Wellington Regional Council agreed to the increase in public transport prices earlier in the year to keep up with inflationary pressures and the increasing cost of running the network.
On its website, Metlink said inflation and interest rates had reached unanticipated levels, also affecting Metlink’s public transport operators.
“These costs, along with driver wage increases (to remedy the shortage of drivers), have added to operating costs.”
The Metlink spokesperson encouraged travellers to apply for discounts available to them, and make the most of half-price off peak fares.
However, families in Wellington may be in for some luck in July. The maximum rate of paid parental leave will increase from $712.17 to $754.87 per week from the start of the month.
Families earning below $140,000 will also be able to receive up to $75 a week in early childhood education tax credits from July 1.
On the other side of the coin, from today there will be a $5 charge for each new prescribed medicine, unless you fall into specified groups. It comes a year after the standard $5 co-payment was removed, on July 1, 2023.
*CORRECTION: Greater Wellington Regional Council set the Metlink fare increase, not the Wellington City Council as an earlier version of this story reported. (Amended July 1, 2024, 957am)