Buses: The case for more subsidies
We spend hundreds of millions on making car trips convenient, so Suraya Sidhu Singh says why not spend the same on making other transport options just as easy.
I’m a car driver who’s decided to take a bus each week, to find out why Taranaki’s public transport system is little used.
Last week I jumped through hoops to get the information to start using buses, and now I’m ready.
My one-bus-a-week must replace a journey I’d do by car. And with buses only going into the CBD (transfer waits are often over an hour,) they don’t suit most of my journeys.
But finally, I take the bus into town, and it’s excellent in every way: A nice short walk, an ontime bus, a helpful driver who waits for me to sit before driving off, a fast trip and I get off feeling happy.
I was, however, the only one on the bus. To be fair, it’s offpeak and my route isn’t one of Taranaki’s most used. But if we’re going to have these services, I’m curious why we’re not trying to get more people using them.
Used or not, we still pay for them. Public transport is subsidised. In a normal year in Taranaki, for every $3 we invest in public transport, we get $1 back in fares.
Public transport investment must reach a minimum threshold to get bang for buck. Wellington invests more per resident and gets higher return: $2 for every $3 invested. In London, public transport fares and other income exceed costs.
But why subsidise at all? Why does the user just not pay the full cost?
User pays makes sense when the buyer is the most significant or only benefactor, like tickets to a sports game. Or when people buy things that cause damage to wider society, like alcohol or tobacco. When this happens, we add a margin to the price to cover those costs.
We try to make it cheap or free to use services that improve society for all, like education and healthcare. Public transport falls in this category: When one person uses it, everyone benefits.
What do I mean? At New Zealand’s average car occupancy of 1.5 people per journey, a bus with just 7 passengers reduces congestion and increases parking.
Associate Professor Caroline Shaw of University of Otago’s Department of Public Health said both local and international studies show public transport brings increased levels of physical activity, reduced risks of injury from accidents, greater independence for young people and better mental health in older people
As well as that, one large UK study found people who cycled, walked or took public transport to work reported significantly better psychological wellbeing than those who drove.
People who make their journey by cycling, walking or public transport even spend more in local businesses.
Private vehicles bring some of the same benefits when they’re the best thing for the trip, like when carrying heavy stuff or when the driver can’t use other forms of transport because of disability.
It’s worth noting that as a society we also subsidise cars.
The current government pledged to balance public transport, rail, walking and cycling infrastructure spending with what it spends on roads.
But the National Land Transport Programme 2021-2024 sees fuel tax, road user charges and rego covering just 80 per cent of road spend.
In the past, roads received even more taxpayer subsidies. As drivers, we don’t pay for the impact of air pollution from our vehicles, an estimated $935 million a year.
Up until 2019 we subsidised the fossil fuel industry an estimated $88 million a year.
Someone else funds our parking spaces too: councils force businesses to build astonishing numbers of car parks, which is why there are (largely unused) concrete football fields in front of some premises.
New Plymouth’s CBD now has 63 hectares of car parks or 49 per cent of its area.
What cost all that concrete has for stormwater management is anyone’s guess. Would we drive so much, if we had to pay its full cost? Would we drive so much, if we’d invested in public transport what we invest in making driving easy and convenient?
In 2021/22 our spend on different transport modes in Taranaki will be $111 million for roads, $5.8m on public transport and $2.6m on walking and cycling.
With this sharp imbalance favouring the car, it’s hard to argue we freely choose how we travel. You’re free to cycle, as long as you don’t mind a giant lorry shaving your arm. You’re free to take the bus, as long as you don’t mind waiting and waiting for a transfer.
I’m not suggesting we stop driving or cancel all roading projects. But when everyone benefits when more people use public transport, walk and cycle, investing in making that change accessible to everyone makes sense.
We know how to do this: we invested in a high-quality, wellmaintained walkway on New Plymouth’s foreshore, and people flocked to it. Give people high-quality, well-designed, healthy options for going somewhere, and they’ll use them.
In the meantime, try the One Bus A Week challenge and share your findings at I love Public Transport Taranaki on Facebook or ilovepublictransport.com.