Bus fares to rise up to 10%
The fate of Wellington bus fares is to be decided this week, with an increase of up to 10% on the cards.
Ahead of the Greater Wellington Regional Council transport committee’s meeting today, official meeting notes indicate members will decide between a rise in bus fares of 3%, 6% or 10%.
Inflationary pressures have led to a 13% increase in service costs for the public transport service and the council is now looking to recoup revenue with a fare hike likely to be applied from April 1.
The three options have been analysed in terms of their predicted impact on GWRC revenue:
A 3% rise would result in a $2.6 million increase in revenue. A 6% rise would see a $4.1m increase, and a 10% rise would result in a $6.5m increase in revenue.
This comes as Wellington’s bus network struggles with a driver shortage which has caused mass cancellations and consistent late arrivals.
The last increase to Wellington’s bus fares was a 1.5% hike in February 2021.
In June 2022, the regional council committed to increasing bus fares by a minimum of 3% from March 2023. However, increasing inflationary pressure meant the calculations this was based on were now considered to be out of date.
With inflation rising at 7.2% annually the regional council said bus fares were now 12% cheaper ‘‘in real terms’’ than they were two years ago.
GWRC transport committee chairperson Thomas Nash said the regional council was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
‘‘I don’t want to put up fares, but I can’t see a way to get around this,’’ he said. ‘‘I want public transport to be more attractive than driving on price and convenience. We’re not doing both of those for everyone yet.’’
The committee is also set to confirm the implementation of an initiative which will allow children to travel free on non-premium buses and trains on weekends and public holidays from April 1. The off-peak discount for all bus users will also increase from 25% to 50%.