Waikato bus passengers can expect to pay higher fares – potentially double – as the Government pushes for public transport users to cover more of the cost of services.
And another change coming soon is a new national ticketing system that would replace the current Bee Card and allow contactless payments.
Both topics have come before Waikato’s regional transport committee, which is concerned at “the apparent disregard for the importance of public transport and its contribution to the wider economic growth and productivity agenda of the government”, a report said.
Waikato’s indicative NZTA target is for users to pay 27% of the service costs, the report says, though the regional council and NZTA are in ongoing discussions.
