The Alliance says the Labour Party’s proposed
Public Transport cap papers over structural issues, and
ultimately fails to deliver for Kiwis.
The
Alliance rejects the notion that Labour’s Public Transport
fare cap is unaffordable, a “lolly scramble”, or any of
the other accusations coming from the Coalition
government.
Alliance Party transport spokesperson Kyle
Turnbull identifies several weaknesses, however.
“On
the surface, capping fares on public transport (PT) seems
like a good idea. It will provide small relief for some
working families, but overall it misses the point. It bakes
in the assumption that without the revenue collected via
fares, we could not operate these services”, Mr Turnbull
says.
Currently, fares bring in about $342 million a
year. The rest of the cost of running public transport is
met by the public. Over the 2024-27 period the National Land
Transport Fund has committed $1.86 billion to operating
services, raised through fuel taxes and road user charges,
and councils add more again through rates. Total public
investment comes to approximately $3.7
billion.
“Fares cover only about a fifth of the cost
of running the network. If fares are only a fifth of the
bill, what are they actually for? Not paying for the system.
The public already does that. What the fare really does is
decide who gets to use the bus.”
Mr Turnbull says
price points are used to manage demand, particularly of the
inadequate public provision of goods and
services.
Advertisement – scroll to continue reading
“A person who thinks twice about the $3
fare is never the person who can comfortably afford it. It
is the kid choosing between the bus and the walk in the
dark, the gig worker figuring out if they can get to a
shift, the parent counting coins before payday. We have
built a system that is overwhelmingly public, then bolted a
tollbooth onto the front of it whose main job is keeping the
people who need it most from getting on,” says Mr
Turnbull.
He says managing demand comes at a
cost.
“The government has agreed to spend up to $1.3
billion on Motu Move, a new national ticketing system. It is
expected to cost around $95 million a year across its
operational life, against the $342 million it collects in
revenue.”
“We are spending a fortune on the
apparatus of saying no, and the best the Labour Party can
offer is a bit of a subsidy on an inadequate
system?”
The Alliance Party proposes that rather
than subsidising faltering infrastructure we should be
investing in and improving public services for ordinary
Kiwis, says Mr Turnbull.
“A transport network that
is reliable, fast, effective, and environmentally sound is
something worth fighting for.”
“Fare free PT has
been studied extensively, and we know it means increased
users. That brings benefits to people from all walks of
life: young adults can access more employment opportunities,
grandparents can get around the city with their grandkids,
local businesses benefit from better access to commercial
areas, and those using personal vehicles or working in
industries that require them compete with fewer other
motorists on our roads,” says Mr Turnbull.
“We
could do this tomorrow and eradicate the wasteful cost of
compliance and fee-gathering entirely.”
The Alliance
Party rejects managed decline as the only way forward,
whether the grinning corporate version that says we’ll
flog it off to the private sector and you’ll pay more for it
(National), or the charitable but unambitious promise to
make unreliable public goods cheaper for some consumers
(Labour).
“The Alliance is committed to bold policy
and investment in our future. Our policy to establish
KiwiWorks – a Ministry of Works for the 21st century –
would invest significantly in public transport
infrastructure while leveraging that investment to work
towards full
employment.”
