Simeon Brown: Transport Minister says councils have other options to boost their revenue

The Transport Minister says councils have other options to increase revenue, not just through higher fares.  

NZTA's ordering councils take a higher revenue share and agree to new targets by December 19th. 

Public transport authorities have requested an urgent meeting, saying the targets would see bus, train, and ferry prices surge.  

But Simeon Brown told Mike Hosking it's a lazy approach to just increase fares.   

He says councils have a range of tools including increased advertising, sponsorships, corporate fare schemes, and renting out space at train stations. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I got some public transport ink too inks this morning.
By the way, Thanksgiving in America. We'll go to Richard
Dalald shortly. So Public Transport Incs MZTA have asked councils
to up the share they pay for public transport indication
for example, the bus ticket and the capital could go
from ten bucks a day to seventeen. So an urgent
meeting is required. Transport Mian is to Simon Browns with
this morning to.

Speaker 2 (00:19):
You, good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:21):
Is this under your instruction that MZTA are doing what
they're doing well.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
The problem that we have asked them to solve is
the fact that over the last six years, the amount
that you used to pay for public transport or through
has gone down from forty percent down to ten percent. Yes,
it's started to increase again. However, what we're saying to
public transport authorities is that we need to increase the

(00:46):
amount that we're achieving through private share, which includes fears
and also third party revenues, and we're asking them to
have clear targets around how they're going to achieve that. So, yes,
we've set clear t we set targets and we are
sitting targets. But there's a conversation that's underway around what
those targets will be, and that's what HISATA is leading
out up.

Speaker 1 (01:05):
So this is a little bit trump Esko on the tariff.
So we'll open up with a little something, they'll come back,
we'll meet in the middle, and that's how that works.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
Well, I think they've I mean, i'd put it this way.
It's a very lazy approach to just say we have
to increase fears as the only measure. There's a range
of tools that councils have, for instance, increased advertising, increased sponsorship,
corporate fear schemes, renting out space at train stations. There's
lots of different things. And at the moment of the
one point four billion dollars a year at costs to

(01:34):
run out public transport system in New Zealand, less than
one percent is coming from third party revenue. So there
is a huge opportunity to look at all of those
other opportunities to find third party revenue. And by the way,
that keeps pressure down on fears, it keeps pressure down
on rates, and it keeps pressure down on taxpayers who
have to heavily subsidize our public trip.

Speaker 1 (01:54):
It's a third party Is that just them being slack,
or is it them saying I've tried it, but it's
a tight market, there is no money, or they going
oh yeah, that's a good idea.

Speaker 3 (02:02):
I hadn't even thought about it.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
Well, to be honest, I don't think they've tried, and
I think it's a very lazy approach to just say, well,
the only thing we've got year is we have to
increase fear is actually there's a range of tools at
the disposal of public transport authorities. You go around and
you look at the number of buses going down the
road with no advertising on them, right across the country,
and you actually have to ask the question, have they
looked at all those legers Are they utilizing them? Because

(02:25):
the more money that's raised from where's egon keeps pressure
down on rates and keeps pressure down on taxes. So
that's what that's the conversation we're having with public transport authorities,
and we're asking them to think more commercially. The other
thing that they need to be looking at is one
is a really good operation, an efficient service which is
attractive to customers because the more people that actually use

(02:46):
the service are the more revenue they're able to make.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Okay, very good. But I've got you. This is out
of left field. Just bear with me. I've got you
in your early thirty So am all right correct? Okay?
Could you do fifty to sixty star jumps?

Speaker 2 (03:01):
Probably not? I could try. Would you let me to
try for you right now?

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah? I would.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
What I'm going to do if you can, we'll go
to a break and you do as many as you can,
and when I come back from the break, we'll see
what you got to. Okay, okay, okay, okay, put your
phone down and go to it. Simming and Brown Transport minister.
This is why we are number one.

Speaker 2 (03:23):
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