The Free Fares campaign is calling on the National, ACT, and New Zealand First Parties to protect public transport affordability for those most in need of cost of living support and maintain greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Free public transport fares for under 13’s and half price for under 25’s, community service card holders, and total mobility card holders are important enablers for people to access affordable transport. The Aotearoa Collective for Public Transport Equity, the coalition running the Free Fares campaign, is calling for existing discounts to be maintained and refined as detailed below:

“Total mobility card holders have limited transport choices and deserve affordable transport that meets their needs. In addition to the current total mobility (taxi) service discounts we call for total mobility card holders to be included in half price public transport for all modes.

Community service card holders are the most likely to have their opportunities limited by transport costs, including transportation to and from work, childcare, and healthcare services. Half price fares remain an important targeted cost of living support for these people that has been factored into household budgets and decision-making.

Young people have limited transport options, especially tamariki, and should continue to be supported with affordable public transportation. Young people are often the first to be hit by challenging economic circumstances, but affordable transport removes one barrier to young people being engaged in work, education, and community activities. We call for students of all ages to be made eligible for this discount in recognition of student’s low incomes and transport needs.” Says the Aotearoa Collective for Public Transport Equity.

“The Aotearoa Collective for Public Transport Equity remains committed to free public transport for community service card holders, young people, tertiary students, and total mobility card holders and their support people. Expanding half price discounts would provide further cost of living support and facilitate greater mode shift for emission reductions. We therefore urge the new Government to prioritise public transport affordability in their first budget and request that they give New Zealanders certainty by committing to this.” Says spokesperson Henry Lockhart.

“Governments are obliged to meet detailed emission reduction targets not just by 2050 but also 2030. Discounted public transport fares is a uniquely quick-impact policy for reducing emissions. A 2023 report by Waka Kotahi found around 166,000 New Zealanders chose to shift from a car to pubic transport because of the discounts, despite a fuel tax cut, service unreliability at the time, and the newness of the discounts. We believe that benefits from discounts will compound over time as people factor in the relative affordability of public transport in their accommodation and vehicle purchase decisions. Public transport discounts therefore remain an important policy for meeting our emissions reduction. The new discounts are also immensely popular, with two polls from November 2022 showing overwhelming support for fare reductions.” Says Mika Hervel, spokesperson for the campaign.

“Half-price fares are a cost effective way to make change in the transport sector. Half-price public transport cost roughly one-tenth of the Government’s cut to fuel excise tax and road user charges, and yielded good results. Making fares free for more people allows for these positive trends to continue, allowing us to tackle cost of living and reduce emissions at the same time.” Says Mika.

“As a non-partisan coalition organisation representing a hundred organisationsover seventy organisations across Aotearoa, including Local GovernmentCouncils, we look forward to engaging constructively with the new Government, building on pre-existing relationships and prior discussions. We note the National Party’s commitment to policies that support those with the most need with important services as evident from their prior policy of free GP visits for under 14 year olds and ongoing support for gold card discounts, communities service card holder prescription fee removal, early childhood education discounts, and targeted student allowances. We also note New Zealand First’s support for many of these policies and more. We hope to see parties prioritising certainty around the protection of public transport discounts in Government support agreements and subsequent statements.” Says Henry.

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