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Auckland Mayor Phil Goff has announced that bus, train and ferry fares will be reduced to school children in the City from the next term of the Auckland Council.
In a Statement issued this morning, he said that the new fares for children will be about 50% of those charged for adults.
He issued the following Statement:
Reducing child fares is the best way to make public transport more affordable for young people all across Auckland. The more we make public transport affordable for children and their families, the more they will use it.
Reducing congestion
If we get more school children using buses, trains and ferries, particularly during rush hour school traffic, we will reduce congestion for everyone in the city.
For a child traveling across two zones, over the year, the savings will be $114 and over three zones that will increase to $171 – and this is just on school travel.
The savings will be more if they use public transport at other times too.
This will help families particularly where there is more than one child in the family.
Increasing patronage
This policy, if implemented fully, will increase public transport patronage by about 355,000 trips a year. It will sit along side the fare free weekends for under 16-year olds and the work Council is doing with Government on increasing affordability of public transport for those with a Community Services Card.
This is another step forward that we are taking in making public transport more accessible and cheaper. That is all part of being an international city that caters to an ever-growing population.
The policy will cost $4.13 million dollars annually in increased operational expenditure and lost revenue.
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Photo Caption:
Auckland Mayoral Candidate Phil Goff (File Picture)
