Auckland public transport fare rises an early test of climate change commitment
OPINION: The juggling act between taking genuine action towards Aucklands climate change goals and nursing the councils coronavirus-hit Emergency Budget should become clearer in the coming months. The annual process of setting the regions public transport fares will be a real test for councillors on a crucial piece which they control (almost) alone of the climate change puzzle. Aucklands freshly-agreed Climate Action Plan set a daunting interim target of halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, with transport needing to deliver 68 per cent of the cuts. Part of making that happen, according to the plan, is trebling public transports share of trips made. READ MORE: * AT HOP: Auckland ferries join integrated fare system * Auckland residents to choose between controversial public rideshare or buses * Climate change: Could fareless public transport boost passenger numbers and cut emissions? The price of hopping on a bus, train or ferry is not the only thing that drives up patronage, but it counts. Last year's relatively modest increase of 5-10 cents a trip on about half of the more commonly-taken shorter journeys was estimated by Auckland Transport to slow patronage growth by 555,000 trips. So with only 10 more annual fare decisions to be made before the 2030 emission reduction deadline is reached, each will be critical if such a dramatic increase in public transport use is to be achieved. Auckland Transport will pitch scenarios around fares to councillors in a couple of months at the start of the 2021 budget-setting process. It will do so in a scenario of a reduced budget for operating costs and softer patronage, running perhaps 10 per cent below a year ago, thought largely to be due to more people working from home. One trial carried out during the post-lockdown period was cutting off-peak fares by 30 per cent, taking the pressure off peak services while people were wary of close contact. Auckland Transport said it achieved a 10 per cent shift from peak to off-peak travel, a change which caught the attention of director Paula Rebstock at its June board meeting. If brought back permanently, it is a shift that would come at a cost either through lost revenue or higher fares imposed on peak travellers to balance it out. Like most things, the cost might be easy to quantify, but the benefit slowing the need to add additional buses to the citys fleet will be harder to promise. Additional buses will need to be the more costly electric ones if the city is to achieve its other goal of the bus fleet being entirely zero-emission by 2030. Patronage-boosting incentives have been rolling out thanks to decisions made before Covid-19 blew a forecast half billion dollar hole in council revenue. The most recent, from July 26, makes one-zone bus or train trips that connect with a ferry journey fare-free. The next, slightly increasing the discount for child fares, fell victim to the budget squeeze. These are just a few of the fiscal dilemmas both the governors of Auckland Transport and their political masters will have to grapple with before the wraps come off the fare decision in the new year. The other dilemma is an obvious one. Any patronage-boosting decision put off for another year will require a bigger commitment later. On major climate change curbing policy, such as tax rebates for buyers of electric vehicles, the council can point the finger at the government to make the big calls. While the government does co-fund the cost of public transport, taking full responsibility if needed for making fares cheaper is within the councils power and ability fiscally painful though that might be. A commitment to the bold goal of halving GHG emissions in a decade is one thing. Committing the money to do it is the next and real test.