A "farebox recovery" policy devised by the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) aiming to make public transport more self-sustainable and efficient will hit commuters in the pocket, the Green Party says.
Released on Friday, the policy says the NZTA will work with regional councils to achieve a national farebox recovery ratio of no less than 50 percent in the medium term.
It says regional councils should aim to achieve the farebox recovery ratio target within three years from the date it has been set, or as otherwise agreed with the NZTA, and calls for regular fare price reviews.
Green Party transport spokesman Gareth Hughes said the policy was short-sighted and would put commuters off public transport.
"The goal of the farebox recovery policy, which the minister of transport pushed NZTA to develop, is simply to get more money out of bus and rail passengers," he said.
"This is a damaging, short-sighted approach that fails to recognise the wider economic, health and environmental benefits that buses and trains bring to our communities -- like less congestion on our roads, cleaner air, and lower greenhouse emissions."
Mr Hughes said only a few cities worldwide had farebox recovery ratios set at 50 percent or above.
"The average ratio for US cities with basic transit systems is 21 percent. In US cities with modern, high-quality buses and trains, the ratio is 39 percent."
"To ask that our current buses and trains get 50 percent of costs back from users is unrealistic, particularly after decades of government policies that have reduced the effectiveness of public transport networks."
NZTA said the policy was based on affordability and public transport users paying an "equitable share".
"We are not advocating short term measures that would have major impacts on patronage. An aggregated national target of 50 percent is considered appropriate to address the NZTA's concerns and set a positive platform to aim for as we improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public transport in New Zealand," a spokesman said.
