Metlink passengers will be protected from significant fare increases by interim Private Share targets adopted today by Greater Wellington, as directed by the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024.

The interim targets are 23.9% in financial year (FY) 2024/25 and 25.1% in FY 2025/26, and include an indicative target of 25.7% for FY 2026/27.

The Private Share is the proportion of public transport operating costs funded from private sources, including passenger fares and advertising revenue. The remainder is the Public Share, derived from rates, taxes and nationally funded schemes including SuperGold and Community Connect.

Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter says initial targets for the Wellington region proposed by NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) in 2024, including a goal of 42% in FY2026/27, had to be revised.

“The interim targets are consistent with our long term and annual plans as well as the realities of Metlink service contracts and operating environments,” Cr Ponter says.

“Greater Wellington is committed to increasing the Private Share as required by the government. But meeting the initial targets would have led to unaffordable fare hikes and services being slashed, which ultimately is counterproductive to growing patronage and Private Share income.”

Regional council Transport Committee chair Thomas Nash says Metlink has worked constructively with NZTA to shape the interim targets.

“Our ability to achieve the initial targets was hamstrung by the government declining funding for Metlink projects worth $134 million that would have increased Private Share revenue,” Cr Nash says.

“This lack of funding support coupled with the unachievable initial targets, showed us we needed to do more to provide NZTA with a pragmatic picture of public transport operations.

“That meant taking NZTA through our fare setting processes, the fixed cost nature of our service contracts, costs associated with previous government directives, and the realistic potential of advertising markets and other revenue sources.”

To meet the interim targets, Metlink has identified achievable service reductions and cost savings, including:

• Fare increases agreed in February, which reduce the off-peak travel discount from 50% to 30% and raise all fares by 2.2% from 1 July 2025,

· Reducing the number of new buses planned for purchase over the next three years from 106 to 47,

· Using 30 interim diesel buses to reduce infrastructure investment costs for electric vehicles,

• Withdrawing or merging 50 bus services, including 10 After Midnight services, 11 school bus services, and 28 low-use, high-cost services,
• Cancelling three planned on-demand service rollouts, including in Tawa,
• Limiting planned network and back-office technology upgrades to systems that are business-critical and nearing obsolescence, achieving $11 million in savings ($13.6 million to $2.5 million),
• Investigating new methods to increase advertising revenue despite Metlink’s view that the market is nearing saturation and facing headwinds from an economic downturn.

Greater Wellington also agreed to adopt stretch targets for years beyond FY2026/27, which include the Private Share rising to 33% by FY 2033/34. The stretch targets are conditional on government funding for:

• The redevelopment of Waterloo Station,
• New long distance commuter services as part of the Lower North Island Rail Integrated Mobility project,
• 40% more bus services than FY 2024/25,
• Substantive support for bus prioritization as per the 2025 Bus Priority Action Plan,
• Infrastructure investment to achieve a 15-minute peak rail timetable,
• Integrated fares, fare capping and EMV ticketing abilities through the National Ticketing Solution.

The interim targets will be presented to NZTA for approval and then incorporated into Greater Wellington’s proposed Annual Plan 2025/26.

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