The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) has called for community comment on the degree to which public transport fares should pay for the public transport service and how much of it should be paid by the broader taxpayer.
IPART is reviewing maximum fares across all rail, bus, ferry and light rail services on which the Opal card can be used in Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Hunter.
Chair of IPART, Paul Paterson said public transport benefitted the whole community, but it cost money to provide.
“Fares have fallen in real terms over the last 10 years and currently pay for less than a quarter of the costs of providing public transport,” Dr Paterson said.
“Taxpayers are now paying more to operate public transport in NSW and with the significant investment in new services that is being made, this contribution is forecast to keep rising.”
He invited input from everyone on how much of the costs should be paid through fares and how much should be funded by the rest of the community.
“IPART is seeking comment on a range of fare options, including possible changes to how fares are calculated for different distances, including the number and range of fare bands and maximum fares,” Dr Paterson said.
He said other possibilities included setting new mode-specific fares for light rail and metro trips and-or adjusting the fare discounts for journeys that used more than one mode (e.g., a bus trip and a train trip), and the extension of off-peak fares to buses, ferries, and light rail (these currently apply only to trains).
He said another option was discounted fares for users of contactless payments such as bank cards or mobile devices that do not currently attract the same discounts as the Opal card.
Dr Paterson said it was too early to say what the impact on fares would be.
He said proposed fares will be released for public comment in November before the final determination on maximum fares is delivered to the NSW Government in February 2020.
A 53-page issues paper released by IPART for its review can be accessed at this PS News link.