Fares on Marlborough’s publicly funded buses will rise this July for the first time since the service started twenty years ago.

Council’s Assets and Services Committee has approved a 20 per cent increase which will see the price for an adult one-way bus fare in Blenheim go from $2 to $2.40 and a child fare increase from $1 to $1.20. The Picton bus service one way fare will increase from $4 to $4.80 for an adult and from $2 to $2.40 for a child. This is subject to the approval of full Council on 3 April.

The new fares will take effect 1 July.

Marlborough Roads System Manager Wayne Oldfield said the increase was in response to increased operating expenses, the need to maintain the service and to meet the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) directive to the sector to increase the private share funding component which comes from ticket sales and advertising on the buses.

“The public transport system in Marlborough has seen an increase in operational costs like many other sectors due to inflation, wage increases, fuel price rises and maintenance expenses,” he said. “To date these have been absorbed by NZTA and Council however that is not sustainable in the long term. To maintain our current service and to meet the NZTA obligations, we need to adjust fares.”

“Our private share component is currently sitting at around 5 per cent and we need to increase that to 6.5 per cent by 2027. Super Gold Card holders, who travel for free, make up 70 per cent of passengers.”

Mr Oldfield said the new fares still represent great value for money and the public transport service continued to offer an excellent alternative to private vehicles as well as providing a social service for users. It also supports Council’s regional climate change mitigation efforts.

The Marlborough bus service began in 2005.

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