Dunedin buses pricey but Wellington worse

Dunedin bus users might be paying some of the highest fares in the country, but they can be grateful that they are not in Wellington.

In response to several online complaints about the price of Dunedin buses, the Star compared the prices of Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland.

Overall, Wellington appeared to be the most expensive, followed by Dunedin. Auckland was the cheapest for travel over short distances but was comparable to the others for long-distance bus travel.

The Christchurch buses were the cheapest overall.

An adult travelling from Dunedin Central to South Dunedin or the Northeast Valley would pay for three zones, which would cost them $3.40, or $2.99 with a GoCard.

A Wellingtonian travelling the same number of zones would pay $5, or $3.98 with a Snapper card.

An Aucklander would pay $4.50 to go three zones, although if they were only travelling within the central city area they could pay as little as 50c for the ride.

Christchurch bus fares depend on which route is being taken.

Travelling within the central city and surrounding suburbs costs from $2.30 to $3.20 depending on the route, while travelling to an outlying area such as Rangiora costs $4.20.

In Dunedin, a trip to Mosgiel costs $6.70 for an adult.

A Wellingtonian would pay $5.50 to get to the suburb of Lower Hutt, while reaching Upper Hutt could cost $9.

Overseas, bus travel is even easier on the pocket. In London it costs just 1.40 (NZ $2.63) for an adult to use any bus in the city, no matter how far they are travelling.

Environment Canterbury manager of passenger services David Stenhouse said one of the reasons Christchurch public transport was cheaper was because there was a more competitive transport market. There are three bus operators in the city. Property to build a new bus depot was more easily available than in other centres, he said.

In 2010, there had been plans to begin increasing bus fares by 5% every year but this had not happened due to the Christchurch earthquakes.

''We haven't had any price increases since the earthquake,'' Mr Stenhouse said.

Environment Canterbury was currently reviewing its fares and it was possible there would be changes to fares in the near future, he said.

The Otago Regional Council, which runs GoBus, could not be contacted for comment.