Wellingtonians should lose 59 new buses and dozens of services.
Photo: RNZ / SAMUEL RILLSTONE
Wellingtonians will lose 59 new buses and dozens of services due to the lack of funding and the need to achieve the most ambitious revenue goals set by the government.
But passengers were saved from huge increases in tariffs, with regional counselors voting to adopt lower goals than requested by NZTA by private action – that is, money earned through tariffs and advertising – between now and 2027.
The board’s initial estimates put up to 70 % tariff increases over the next three years to meet the goals that NZTA first presented.
The need for public transport authorities to increase their revenue was established in the government’s latest statement of policy (GPS), which NZTA was accused of implementing in its name.
“This GPS expects greater recovery from Third Party Tariff and Revenue Boxes by public transport authorities (PTAs) to help support the increase in public transportation costs and reduce pressure on taxpayers and taxpayers,” he said.
Great Wellington Regional Council President Daran Ponter said he was committed to the growing private revenue as needed.
“But fulfilling the initial goals would have led to inaccessible increases and services of tariffs being cut, which is counterproductive.”
Instead, the counselors voted on Thursday to put tariffs from July by just 2.2 %. In addition, the off -peak travel discount would fall from 50 % to 30.
But the council said that even more cuts in services and projects would still need to be made.
The number of new buses planned for purchase over the next three years would have to fall from 106 to 47, and Metlink would use 30 diesel buses in this member to reduce investment costs in infrastructure for electric vehicles.
Fifty bus services would be cut or mixed, including 10 services after midnight and 11 school bus services.
Plans for three on -demand service launches, including Tawa, would be abandoned, and updates to technology systems that approached obsolescence would not go on, saving $ 11 million.
Transport Committee President Thomas Nash said that the board’s ability to meet NZTA’s initial goals was impossible for the government’s funding for Metlink projects worth $ 134 million at the end of last year.
The advice had worked hard to provide a “pragmatic image of public transportation operations,” said Nash.
“The value of public transport needs to be better communicated and better understood.”
It would be to investigate new methods to make money through advertising, despite Metlink’s view that the market was approaching saturation and fighting an economic crisis.
The internal goals agreed on Thursday are 23.9 % in the year 2024/25, 25.1 % in 2025/26 and 25.7 % for 2026/27.
The counselors also voted for some stretch goals for years beyond 2027, which will see private revenue rising to 33 % by 2034.
But this would be conditioned on government funding for projects, including the reconstruction of Waterloo station, new long -range services as part of Baixo North Island Rail’s integrated mobility project and the infrastructure to obtain a 15 -minute peak peak schedule.
The goals would be presented to NZTA for approval by their board by the end of May and then incorporated into the annual plan proposed by the Great Wellington 2025/26.
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