‘Insane’: Warning of $8 bus fares for Cantabrians

Tuesday, 3 December 2024

Bus prices in Canterbury could increase four-fold, warns a regional councillor.

Canterbury’s $2 bus fares will become $8 if the Government’s latest transport request is followed to the letter, a regional councillor says.

The NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) asked transport authorities last week to boost private revenue in a bid to reduce central and local government funding of public transport. .

Private revenue comes from bus fares, advertising and other avenues such as subsidy arrangements with organisations.

Private revenue made up 11.7% of Environment Canterbury (ECan) operational expenditure for buses for 2023/24, a drop from 28.2% in 2018. The rest is made up of public subsidies from both ratepayers and taxpayers.

NZTA wants the private revenue proportion to rise to 38% in the next three years.

This graph shows the local government share, private share, National Land Transport Fund and Crown share of public transport funding from 2009-10 to 2022-23. Since 2016 the private share of public transport funding has declined while the proportion of government funding has soared.

ECan councillor Deon Swiggs said following NZTA’s request to the letter would mean the average bus user would have to pay $8 per trip by 2027, a four-fold increase.

“That [increase] obviously is not really going to wash with the community, especially coming off the back of $2 flat fares.”

ECan introduced $2 Metro bus fares in July 2023, making the region the second lowest earner from passengers after Marlborough. Services earn 85 cents from every trip after taking into account subsidies such as for students and and seniors.

Swiggs said bus prices were kept low to encourage people to use public transport, and it was working.

ECan councillor Deon Swiggs says the public won’t accept a four-fold increase in bus fares.

Greater Christchurch was on track to complete 14 million trips this year after a 33% increase in patronage from last year. However, Swiggs said an increase to $8 could deter people from using the bus.

Swiggs said ECan could increase advertising on buses (which currently contributes 0.9% of operational costs), but as the regional council did not own bus stops or the Bus Exchange in Christchurch the majority of the boost would come down to cutting running costs and increasing fares.

NZTA’s policy in 2010 was for private revenue nationally to make up no less than 50% by 2016, but that was discarded in 2018 following a change in government.

Inflation, buying electric buses, increasing wages for drivers and safety improvements had increased running costs .

ECan chairman Craig Pauling said if NZTA’s proposed targets were confirmed, it would cause “significant disruption”. He said the council would talk to NZTA to develop more realistic targets.

“We have to be realistic about what we can deliver as the proposed targets would be extremely challenging.”

Spreydon student Lucilyn Ongcoy, 20, takes buses to the University of Canterbury campus every day during semester. A student subsidy means this costs $10 a week, but a rise to $40 would cut significantly into her funds.

Press reporters line up for a race to the office from Papanui, Christchurch, using different modes of transport - which way is fastest?

“I think $8 is too much. I feel like a reasonable price would be $3.50.

“It’s not reasonable above that. Especially for people who take the bus every day, that’s insane.”

Software engineer Caleb McNabb, 45, said he used buses for about half of his commutes and believed public transport should be free.

“We need to do everything we can to encourage people to take public transport. I think $2 is a reasonable amount, I think the rest should be coming out of rates and taxes.

“If we increase the price of public transport more people are going to take a car.

“It comes down to priorities and where the Government wants to spend their money … clearly the Government doesn’t want to spend on public transport.”

Retired lecturer Gerrard Liddell, 76, takes the bus for free using his Gold Card. This would not change if the price was increased, but he felt for those without vehicles, who would be hit the hardest by any changes.

“It will be damaging, because if you have more cars, you have more congestion.”

This would mean more public subsidies to “ build motorways and jam the city up.”

Transport Minister Simeon Brown said Canterbury had received a record $358 million in public transport investment by the Government for 2024-27, an increase of $112m compared to under the previous government.

“Taxpayers and ratepayers have been increasingly subsidising public transport in recent years. It is a lazy approach to think that increasing fares is the only solution to increase the private share of funding,” he said.

“Councils need to find efficiencies and look to other sources of revenue such as advertising, partnering with businesses to fund targeted concessions, and leasing retail space at transport hubs.

New private revenue targets will be set by December 19.