Busin’ like a bus

Busin’ like a bus

The Otago Regional Council (ORC) has been lobbied by several student bodies to discount Dunedin’s bus fares for both University and Polytechnic students.

OUSA, OPSA and Generation Zero all submitted material supporting Dunedin bus reforms at a Council meeting held on 15 May. OPSA spokesman Mark Baxter predominantly cited the financial strain that catching a bus to and from Polytech inflicts on students, claiming that for a low-income student, a bus fare can represent as much as 20% of expenses. He then expressed his belief that “a lot more [students] would use it if they could afford to.”

NZ Bus services in Auckland have introduced a tertiary discount, exclusively supported by Auckland Transport “Hop” Cards. With the card, verified students can save 38-42% on bus fares, depending on the distance travelled. In contrast, the Otago Regional Council’s current “GoCard” saves roughly 10% per trip, an obviously insufficient reduction for lobbyists.

Generation Zero’s submission for reform largely focused on increased patronage. Harriet Leadbetter of Generation Zero told Critic, “the ORC should be encouraging patronage numbers through a number of measures, such as increased services on the weekends and more accessible timetables.”

Generation Zero is also supportive of reduced fares, with Leadbetter stating that reductions are “a good way to encourage increased public transport use, which in turn helps to lower New Zealand’s transport emissions.”
This article first appeared in Issue 13, 2013.
Posted 3:03pm Sunday 26th May 2013 by Thomas Raethel.