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Auckland's public transport agency is holding off any subsidised fare rises until the New Year, despite increases of 50c and $1 on buses and trains in Wellington.
But an annual fare review in December may lead to increases in January, after diesel and other cost rises.
Although Waiheke
Island commuters are upset at fare rises of up to 14.7 per cent imposed by Fullers Ferries - which yesterday received a delegation carrying a protest coffin and petition forms with 670 signatures - those are for services unsubsidised by rates or taxes.
The company, owned by bus operator Infratil, says hefty diesel and maintenance cost rises have forced it to increase average Waiheke fares by 12.7 per cent and those for Devonport and Stanley Bay by 9.8 per cent.
Wellington's regional council says fare rises imposed yesterday in the capital were the first general increases to hit rail passengers since 2002, or bus users since 2000.
But the Auckland Regional Transport Authority says it will hold out until its next annual fare review in December before deciding whether to approve increases in maximum allowances for subsidised services.
The authority decided last December not to allow any general fare rises by subsidised public transport operators this year, to coax more Aucklanders out of their cars, although it allowed some increases in June by West Harbour's Belaire Ferries towards the cost of a new vessel.
That means no general rises since January last year, when rail fares rose an average of 15 per cent and bus tickets by 7.8 per cent.
Passengers are unlikely to enjoy such leniency next year, however.
The northern chief of Infratil subsidiary NZ Bus, Warren Fowler, said significant extra costs would "form part of our discussion with Arta [the transport authority] when we discuss fare reviews."
Fellow Infratil subsidiary Fullers will resist a call from Waiheke Island commuters to open its books to justify yesterday's fare rises.
Chief executive Douglas Hudson said he understood some Waiheke passengers were "disappointed" with the higher fares and Fullers was willing to listen to their concerns.
"It is important to point out, however, that we are a commercial organisation," he said.
"We have seen the cost of fuel increase by over 70 per cent in the last year alone - labour and maintenance costs have also increased."
Waiheke commuter Cathy Urquhart said Mr Hudson and the transport authority would be invited to a meeting on the island in three weeks to discuss a case for a subsidy to ease financial hardship suffered by many families.
She said a subsidised adult fare between Half Moon Bay and Auckland was just $13.40c for a return trip taking almost as long as the journey from Waiheke and back, now costing $32 after rising from $28.50c.
Auckland City's Waiheke-based councillor, Denise Roche, said it was a question of fairness and she knew of several families planning to move from the island for financial survival reasons.
Auckland Regional Council chairman and former Waiheke resident Mike Lee said the fare rises seemed excessive and left an impression Fullers was operating in monopolistic fashion.
Although any subsidies would entail significant rates rises for Waiheke, he was asking the transport authority to look into the ferry fares, given that Infratil gained tens of millions of dollars of public money annually for bus and ferry services elsewhere in Auckland.
He was also keen for the authority, a regional council subsidiary, to investigate a controversial levy of 51c a trip which Fullers imposes on Waiheke passengers and which it says it is holding in trust towards a new wharf access agreement under negotiation with Auckland City.
