Travelling on Wellington’s public transport is set to become more expensive later this year after the Greater Wellington Regional Council voted on Thursday to increase Metlink’s base fare by 3.1% and reduce the off-peak discount from 30% to 20%. However, the changes will only take effect once contactless debit and credit card payments are fully activated on the Snapper system.
According to a report by Local Democracy Reporting (LDR), both the rollout date for contactless payments and the subsequent fare increase are yet to be confirmed. Metlink officials said at Thursday’s council meeting that contactless payments are expected to begin "mid to early April," with fares likely to rise up to six weeks afterwards.
For commuters travelling from suburbs such as Karori, Khandallah, or Lyall Bay to the city centre, rush-hour fares will increase from $4.53 to $4.67, while off-peak fares will jump from $3.17 to $3.74. Passengers using contactless payments will also incur an additional 1.5% card fee, as reported by LDR.
Council papers highlighted that Metlink’s fare revenue this financial year was projected to fall about $3 million short of the budget, though officials noted the figure could change. The decline has been attributed to decreasing train patronage, as well as “socio-economic changes” such as flexible work arrangements, slower economic recovery, and rising unemployment affecting bus passenger numbers.
Councillors were divided over both the size of the base fare increase and the timing of the rise, initially slated for July. Council chairperson Daran Ponter moved to bring the increase forward by a few months, citing the need to maintain a financial buffer.
“We could exhaust all of our transport reserves as a consequence of stuff that is happening on the network right now,” he said. “It means we’ve got no buffer in the next financial year when many of these things could still continue to play out,” LDR has quoted.
Ros Connelly, chairperson of the regional council’s public transport committee, supported the 3.1% increase as a balance between responsible economic management and public affordability, but she preferred the hike to take place in July.
Councillor Adrienne Staples advocated for a larger 4.1% increase to ease pressure on ratepayers. "While my personal preference in an ideal world would be to have free public transport across our whole region. It’s not where we work at the moment. We cannot afford to keep going out the back door," as quoted by LDR.
Last year, Metlink raised fares by 2.2% and reduced the off-peak discount from 50% to 30%. Thursday’s council papers also revealed that fare and advertising revenue would likely comprise less than the targeted 25.1% of Metlink’s total revenue this year, with next year’s target set at 25.7%, as reported by LDR.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) recently set new expectations for all public transport providers in 2024, requiring fares and advertising income to make up a specified proportion of revenue. Councillors noted that Metlink’s previous target of 42% would have required fare hikes of up to 70% to meet, LDR has reported..
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