The Auckland Ratepayers’ Alliance is urging Mayor Wayne Brown to reject official advice that says Auckland Transport must put up public transport fares by 6% and reduce services by 20% to find savings.

Earlier this week, Auckland Council staff released advice provided to Mayor Brown in support of his Annual Budget 2023/24 proposal. The advice claims that Auckland Transport will need to increase public transport fares by 6% to meet a savings target of $25 million, with a further $25 million of savings dependent on reducing public transport services by around 20%.

The Ratepayers’ Alliance is urging Mayor Brown to reject this advice when he meets with Auckland Transport leadership on Monday. In the 2022 financial year, Auckland Transport spent $18 million on marketing alone, with a further $5 million on ‘communications and engagement’. That includes the salaries of 114 staff and more than $2 million in consultant fees. Despite this expenditure, public satisfaction with AT has never been lower.

Ratepayers’ Alliance spokesman Josh Van Veen said, “It is an insult to the Mayor and ratepayers for AT to claim that the only way to save money is to increase fares or reduce services. A better place to start would be AT’s corporate PR machine, which is bloated, ineffective, and a massive drain on the public transport system.”

The Ratepayers’ Alliance is also concerned by $42 million of operating expenditure that went to consultants in the last financial year. This figure excludes on-site contract staff and maintenance contractors. Of the $42 million, only $7 million went to ‘Service delivery’.

“These figures suggest that there is plenty of room for cuts in spending at AT’s corporate office without the need to pass costs on to struggling Auckland commuters,” Mr. Van Veen said.

“We suggest that rather than giving $42 million to the big end of town to crunch numbers and write vapid reports, Auckland Transport could use some of that money to address the bus driver shortage. Forty-two million dollars would pay for 776 full-time bus drivers on an hourly rate of $26 per hour.”

The Ratepayers’ Alliance has written to Mayor Brown and interim AT Chief Executive Mark Lambert requesting that AT come up with an alternative savings package to include in the Mayor’s budget proposal. A copy of the letter is available here.

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