Australia, Bus Industry News, Public Transport News

Auckland public transport fares jump up in price, zones set to change

Fares on Auckland's buses, trains and ferries will go up from early next month, with Auckland Transport also outlining changes to zones
auckland, fares

Some commuters on Auckland’s buses, trains and ferries will see a small increase to their public transport fares as the New Zealand government simplifies its zone systems and fare structures.

In Auckland, public transport fares are calculated by how many zones a passenger passes through during their trip, with these new zone changes set to change how much they will be charged.

  • Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to receive the latest news and classifieds from Australasia’s bus and coach industry
  • Don’t miss a second and subscribe to our monthly ABC magazine

Some passengers will see an overall decreased fare, particularly if they live further from the city, while others will see an increase ranging from 15 cents to $1,40, or a weighted average 5.2 per cent.

These changes are set to kick off on February 2, with AT public transport and active modes director Stacey van der Putten saying the review of fares is needed to offset substantial increases in operating costs.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic we had two years when we didn’t increase Auckland’s public transport fares despite a sharp increase in operating costs and we’re now effectively playing catch-up,” van der Putten says.

She says AT aims to strike a “fair balance” between the share of public transport costs paid by passengers compared to ratepayers and taxpayers.

“Alongside this annual fare adjustment, we will continue to investigate options to increase public transport income from commercial sources other than fares.

“Increasing non-fare revenue is something the government expects from public transport authorities like Auckland Transport, along with a gradual increase of the share passengers pay towards overall public transport operating costs.”

Zone changes in Auckland will see fare zones consolidated from 14 to nine, with eight zones combines into three new zones.

East Coast/South Rodney zone is created by merging Helensville, Huapai, Hibiscus Coast and Upper North Shore zones.

Northern Manukau zone is created by merging Manukau North and Beachlands zone while Southern Manukau zone is created by merging Manukau South and Franklin zones.

Bus and train customers will also only be charged for travelling a maximum of four zones, even if they travel across five or more zones.

“Since 2016 a number of factors have motivated us to consider a new fare strategy that addresses today’s unique challenges – from changes in work-from-home habits following COVID-19 and increased cost of living pressures through to changing expectations about what customers should pay,” van der Putten says.

“Earlier this year AT commissioned an independent review of its fare structure, benchmarking against public transport systems around the world.

“The review considered initiatives to make Auckland’s fares simpler and easier for everyone to understand, more equitable for those travelling longer distance, and to ultimately make public transport an easy choice, particularly as our city grows.

“These structural changes themselves, when applied as a whole, are revenue neutral. Our key driver for these changes is to bring the most value to people who use our services.”

Read more:

  1. Australian Truck Radio Listen Live
Send this to a friend