Media Release; Dunedin Free Bus Service

Today OPSA presented its case-study for a fare-free citywide bus service at DCC and ORC draft annual plan hearings.

“OPSA sees effective public transport as a key to keeping Dunedin a healthy and vibrant city, and a solution to parking and congestion problems. The convenience of simply being able to hop-on and hop-off buses wherever and whenever you liked without a pocket full of coins would make bus usage far more desirable.” said OPSA president, Richard Mitchell.

As long as the cost of public transport is anything close to private transport, users are always going opt for the vastly greater flexibility of private transport. While more suitable routes and timetables are always needed, fares are one dimension to bus usage than could be addressed immediately.

In the North Island Horizons District Council found making it bus service free around its congested campus area increased usage by over 100%. This is supported overseas by other cities that have free bus services; especially in the US where many tertiary institutions and local authorities arrange free buses for students.

A free bus service is affordable. There are a number of ways it could be charged, but if distributed over DCC/ORC rates OPSA calculates it would mean totally free bus transport to all residents for the cost of less than $2 per week per household - about half the price of a new stadium - and an amenity that would be used every day by many more residents.

The DFBS discussion-paper can be obtained from OPSA, or can be downloaded as a Word document from http://www.opsa.org.nz/downloads/FREE_BUS.doc