Residents Question Why Eastbourne Ferry Included In Labour’s Transport Cap

Sammy
Carter, Reporter

Eastbourne commuters say
Labour’s subsidised public transport policy should not
include their own pricey ferry.

The Labour Party announced
the policy last week, which would see public transport
spending capped at $20 a week for Wellington, Auckland, and
Christchurch.

While Labour says people will save
an average of $25 per week, those catching the
East-by-West ferry daily from Eastbourne, Wellington would
save $90 on a $110 concession.

Daily commuter Callum
Sleigh said the ferry subsidy seemed unfair.

“It seems
like a lot, it seems like a pretty big subsidy for people
living in Eastbourne, which is a pretty high socio-economic
region.”

Eastbourne is a seaside suburb in Lower Hutt,
where the average house price is above $1 million, according
to Opes Partners’ April figures.

Sleigh believed the
discount was targeted to those taking the train or bus, and
the ferry fell within the policy as an edge case. He said
another option could be different subsidies for different
areas.

Andrew,
who worked in the public sector, said a subsidy on the ferry
specifically would not be a good use of taxpayer
dollars.

“It doesn’t seem right that we’d spend a lot
of taxpayer money on giving an easier life to Eastbourne
people when they probably don’t need it at this
point.”

Andrew said he would pay to use the ferry
regardless of how expensive it was.

“Even if it was
four times the price to catch this, I would still catch it
rather than a bus probably, just because it’s easy to access
and quicker.”

The
policy did not affect Andrew’s voting decision however,
saying he was already leaning towards Labour. He would have
preferred Labour’s first election policy to have a more
national focus, saying those in rural areas did not use
public transport as frequently as those in big
cities.

The policy provided a $10 cap on public
transport for those in areas outside the main
centres.

Ian Blixt, who caught the ferry to work each
day, was excited about the policy. He believed the subsidy
should be given out fairly, regardless of what mode of
public transport was used and where.

“If you started
trying to draw lines around different areas based on income,
I think that would start getting really technical and messy
really quickly.”

Blixt said the discount would make a
big difference for him.

Passenger Scott was a big
supporter of public transport subsidies – but thought
including the ferry was a step too far. He believed those in
Eastbourne could afford to pay for more expensive public
transport.

Scott, who caught the ferry twice a week,
said the cap was too low, and particularly needed to be
reassessed for the ferry.

Dominique Bray said the
discount would give her more budget to spend on essentials.
She said it was a good use of tax dollars, saying public
transport was essential.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins
defended the policy’s costings in
an interview on Morning Report on Tuesday
morning.

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