Student Amy Roper said she would definitely consider taking the bus to university if the scheme went ahead. Photo / George Novak
Student Amy Roper said she would definitely consider taking the bus to university if the scheme went ahead. Photo / George Novak
Students and low-income families could reap the benefits of a new Government plan to drop public transport prices.
Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter has announced that the Government's Wellbeing Budget would include new funding to investigate a scheme to make it cheaper for Community Services Card holders to usebuses and trains.
Community Services Card holders included people on low incomes, unemployed and recipients of a disability allowance.
It would also affect tertiary students as they received a student allowance.
Toi Ohomai student Amy Roper said she would definitely consider taking the bus to her courses in the city centre if the scheme went ahead.
After previously studying in Auckland, she said bus fares to university used to set her back and she would often be forced to miss classes to save the funds.
Now living in Pāpāmoa, she said it would save her a lot of time and money and the bus "could become a realistic option again".
Head of student support at Toi Ohomai, Dr Logan Bannister, said the cost of transport was an ongoing issue and stressor for students.
"Students often are living within financial constraints, and often will struggle with transport spends as they currently are."
She said it would allow students to get to course regularly, without incurring hardship.
Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust director Tommy Kapai Wilson. Photo / File
Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust director Tommy Kapai said everyone should have the right to get where they needed to go and that this would make a world of difference for Tauranga's struggling families.
He said cheaper bus fares would allow these people to get to the crucial support services they need, as right now a lot of them can't afford the travel.
"This would be a good thing for the whole community."
An exact timeframe for cheaper fares was not known, but Genter said she hoped to introduce them before the next election.
Transport officials would present several options for cheaper fares to her, which could include discounting each fare or giving low-income commuters a monthly allowance for public transport.
Manager at Tauranga Budget Advisory Service, Shirley McCombe, said anything that lowered the cost was helpful to people trying to get to vital places and services in their lives.
She said the scheme needed to be accompanied by improved public transport.
The scheme
$4.6 million in 2019/20 would be used to cover the cost of operational systems needed to implement the scheme, depending on the outcome of initial investigations.
