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

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