Government to keep funding free pensioner travel

Viviane Drury travels free throughout Auckland with her SuperGold card. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The Government will continue to fund free off-peak travel for pensioners regardless of how many use it, Prime Minister John Key said yesterday.

The SuperGold Card entitlement take-up is steadily increasing and could exceed the amount budgeted for it. But Mr Key said it was a successful programme "and we will be funding the increase".

Figures released by the NZ Transport Agency for the four months until the end of January show patronage under the scheme increased from 585,842 in October to 667,594 in January. It equated to monthly expenditure growing from $1.242 million to $1.524 million over four months - or $5.549 million in total.

A 2008 Government budget allocation of $18 million a year over four years was made to fund the scheme, which was created by NZ First and enacted as part of its support deal with the Labour Government. While the figure is under budget for the first four months, a continued increase in uptake could see it stretch beyond $18 million in the first 12 months.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce said the budget was on track, but it was difficult to predict how public transport usage among cardholders would play out during the winter months.

"We're just keeping a watching brief on it to see how it evolves."

Labour Party transport spokesman Darren Hughes said Mr Joyce's comments about monitoring it would worry those who used it.

"It's crucial the scheme is not put in jeopardy just because it is so very successful," Mr Hughes said.

Mr Joyce said the scheme was serving its purpose well and there were no indications it would be changed.

"The commitment is there for four years and at this stage we're not concerned it will exceed that."

Meanwhile, Green Party transport spokeswoman Jeanette Fitzsimons is pushing for the introduction of reduced fares all-round for off-peak travel to try to lift patronage during those times and get people out of cars.

Ms Fitzsimons said an initiative of introducing $1 off-peak fares would only help fill seats that would otherwise be empty and such a scheme was unlikely to require a public subsidy. At peak times, public transport was running at capacity, but cheaper fares may entice commuters to travel later and help spread the load.

"The more people use public transport, the more congestion eases, relieving the costs on the business and the wider economy from congestion."

Mr Joyce said such an initiative was "not on the table".

- NZPA