Open Letter Calls On Govt To Make Public Transport Free For Every Child & Student As Fuel Crisis Hits School Attendance

Alicia Hall, Executive Director of Parents for Climate Aotearoa, has today launched an open letter calling on the New Zealand Government to immediately make public transport free for all school-age children and half-price or free for all young people under 25 in tertiary education; citing the Government’s own promise that no child will be kept out of the classroom by the ongoing fuel crisis.

The letter, which is open for public signatures, comes as school attendance data shows signs of early pressure, rural schools struggling to retain relief teachers, and communities already stripped of their bus routes face an additional blow of petrol at up to $4 a litre.

“I just want to be clear: kids are going to school, they are not sitting at home.” - Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, 27 March 2026.

The open letter argues that this commitment is meaningless without action. “Free public transport, a policy New Zealand ran successfully as recently as 2023, is the most direct and proven way to honour it” says Alicia Hall.

The letter also shines a light on the compounding transport crisis facing rural families, who were already reeling from the Ministry of Education’s cancellation of 39 school bus routes in 2024, before the fuel crisis arrived. Northland, Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and Manawatū are some of the regions families have been left to drive up to an hour each way to get children to school. Diesel costs now not only threaten the viability of routes that survived the cuts but families who have to drive there too.

Hall describes it as an equity issue, “The fuel crisis does not impact all New Zealanders equally. Low-income families are the least able to absorb rising transport costs. The Government’s own fuel relief package leaves out half of the children living in material hardship. Both urban and rural families face similar challenges - being able to afford to get their kids to school.”

“New Zealand has long held the view that education is a right not a privilege. That principle is meaningless if young people cannot afford to get to where their education takes place.” Hall continues, “The Government has said, in its own words, that it will take ‘every step necessary’ to keep children in the classroom. We want to see Ministers take the most obvious and proven steps available to them: restore free and subsidised fares, restore cancelled bus routes, and fund the school buses that rural children depend on.”

What the Open Letter calls for:

Immediately reinstate free public transport for all children and young people aged 5-18 on buses, trains and ferries across Aotearoa for the duration of the fuel crisis and beyond.

Immediately reinstate free or half-price public transport for all young people aged 19-25 enrolled in tertiary education (university, polytechnic or any other approved provider of higher education).

Restore all rural school bus routes that were cancelled or amended in the 2024 Ministry of Education reviews and impose a permanent moratorium on further cancellations until a full community-led review of rural transport is completed.

Lower the eligibility threshold for government funded rural bus services from eight students to four, as recommended by Federated Farmers, to better reflect the realities of rural communities.

Guarantee that school bus operators are resourced to continue running rural routes despite rising diesel costs, by classifying school transport as an essential service and ensuring diesel fuel is prioritised for school buses in any future fuel rationing phases.

Work with NZTA and regional councils to rapidly implement free urban fare changes.

Commit to making free fares for under 18s permanent policy beyond the immediate crisis, as long-term investment in the education and well-being of New Zealand’s children and young people.

“There is a better tool, one we have already used, that is cheaper and more equitable, and actually reduces fuel consumption. Make public transport free. No new legislation needed.” - University of Auckland, 27 March 2026 (Newsroom).

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has already stated publicly that public transport subsidies “may need to increase in the future” and that a targeted approach was under consideration. Alicia Hall says “children and students are exactly the right target.”

NOTES:

Alicia Hall is the Executive Director and Founder of Parents for Climate Aotearoa, and a member of the Free Fares coalition. She wrote the open letter out of direct concern for what families across the country are experiencing right now, including her own. She lives in semi-rural Wellington so has lived experience of both urban and rural transport. She quoted in a Free Fares media release:

“For families, this current fuel crisis and the rising cost of living is making essential daily activities, like getting children and young people to school, a major burden. Free Fares for school children would not only alleviate pressure at the fuel pump but reduce financial stress on hard-hit households. We call on the Government to prioritise Free Fares to ensure all young people can get to school without the barrier of cost.”

The sentiment is echoed by many parents directly. One member of Parents for Climate Aotearoa said, “I’m having to choose between putting food on the table or putting money on my high schoolers bus card.”

Background

The previous government introduced free fares for children under 13 and half-price fares for all under-25s in Budget 2023, benefitting an estimated 774,000 young New Zealanders and reaching 200,000 registered HOP card users in Auckland alone. The current government removed these concessions in May 2024 (although kept the half-price concessions for Community Service Card holders). $327 million had been budgeted across four years; the scheme was scrapped after just one. It is also noted that from April 7, 140,000 families will receive targeted support at an additional $50 weekly through in-work tax credits. This support for one year will cost the Government $364 million.

The open letter is available to read and sign here: https://pfca.substack.com/p/3643ae5e-4af0-4277-9fb5-e592aa0000b1

• RNZ reported on 29 March 2026 that senior Ministers announced the Government’s fuel crisis rationing plan with the explicit commitments to keep children in school.
• The Ministry of Education paused further rural bus route reviews on 18 March 2026 but confirmed changes would not be reversed.
• The University of Auckland analysis cited was published by Newsroom on 27 March 2026.
• All quotes attributed to public figures are drawn from media published sources listed in the full open letter.

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