Perspective with Andrew Dickens: Which roading measures could Labour plan to cut?

So here we go - some policy, ladies and gentlemen. Labour’s promising cheaper public transport.

They want to cap weekly fares at $20 in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch and $10 everywhere else.

Under the plan, once you hit the cap, the rest of the trips you take that week could be free. Labour says it would save regular users about $25 a week. They reckon it would save you about $1200 a year.

The policy would begin from July next year, of course depending on whether they’re elected on November 7. They say it will cost $65 million a year, funded through the National Land Transport Fund.


Not all services will be included, though. Inter-regional trains like Te Huia and the Capital Connection miss out, along with some longer ferries like Waiheke and cash-only bus services.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says the policy is aimed at easing cost-of-living pressures and transport spokesperson Tangi Utikere says too many families are being priced out of public transport.

What they didn’t really say is that it might also help reduce congestion on our roads. But, you know, it’s still a spending policy at a time when we’re trying to reduce spending and the national debt.

Now, the money will come from the transport fund, which National says is already oversubscribed, so presumably, to fund this, Labour will have to cut some of National’s road projects.

It is a cost-of-living policy and many people will welcome a $20-a-week commute. Their social media shows a lot of people saying this is good. But it will only appeal to those who aren’t already sorted.

If you’ve got a car - if you can afford a car, if you can afford car parking in urban areas - you won’t care about this; you might not like it.

But I’m surrounded in the newsroom by low-paid young people who cannot afford cars and certainly can’t afford parking, and they use public transport every day. So they’ll love it - but will young voters even bother to vote?

And meanwhile, that cost - $65 million - does it seem low to you? It seems low to me because there are already some caps in place.

And with the money coming from the National Land Transport Fund, the question is: which roading measures will be cut? Potholes, anybody?

Andrew Dickens is a broadcaster with Newstalk ZB. - where this article was sourced.