Half-price fares are not enough to encourage more people onto public transport, according to a report by Waka Kotahi New zealand Transport Agency.
The report, *Impact of Half-Price Public Transport Fares – A Research Note*, published in February 2022, showed bus patronage in Wellington and Christchurch matched 2019 rates, but largely remained below pre-Covid-19 levels even since the introduction of half price fares.
On Auckland trains, patronage had not yet rebounded to pre-Covid-19 levels in 2019, or during the same period in 2021.
People who already relied on public transport, like city-dwellers, people with disabilities, and those without cars, were benefiting from cheaper fares by saving money and choosing to travel more often.
But for others, low fares were not enough to make the switch – even if it meant the journey would cost less than taking the car.
Many considered the bus an “unrealistic alternative”, as it was not close by or the journey would take too long.
