PRESS RELEASE
MANA Regional Council Candidate Calls for Reverse in Fare Rises
Bus and train fare rises in Wellington are unnecessary says MANA candidate for Wellington Regional Council, Ariana
Paretutanganui-Tamati. Firstly, the Regional Council has spent almost five million dollars less than it budgeted for
last year in subsidies so it does not need to increase fares by an average of 2.5%.
Secondly, the Regional Council often claims that its fare increases are due to the rising price of oil but the Council
should be encouraging greater use of trolleybuses to reduce dependence on oil and to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Instead of looking at cutting some trolleybus routes. it should be ensuring that there are enough trolleybuses to run
all the time on the existing trolleybus routes. Then it should, in collaboration with Wellington Cable Car Limited,
extend the trolleybus network, purchasing sufficient trolleybuses to run on that extended network she believes.
She says that the Regional Council should do its utmost to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases so when it funds
public transport schemes it should specify electric propulsion.
With regard to fares it is MANA Wellington policy to aim for free public transport funded by a fraction of the money
that would otherwise be spent on building highways. In the meantime MANA supports free transport for children and young
adults aged 17 and below, free off-peak transport for Community Services Card holders, free transport all day for Gold
Card holders and half fares for public transport for tertiary students.. There should be no increase in fares.
Ms Paretutanganui-Tamati calls on the Wellington Regional Council to reverse the fare increases that occurred on 1
October and place a freeze on fare rises in subsequent annual plans.
Loss of revenue from these measures should be offset with increased patronage of public transport.
ENDS