NSW Govt Is Seriously Considering a Major Hike in Public Transport Fares in Sydney - Review Closes This Friday, 12pm Feb 5th!

Extract from the email:

Dear xxxxxxx,

My name is Kurt Iveson. I'm a public transport user and an Associate Professor of Urban Geography at the University of Sydney. I've also been studying and organising for fair fares and accessible public transport as part of the Sydney Alliance Transport Team for the last five years.

I'm writing to you because right now, the NSW Government is seriously considering a major hike in public transport fares in Sydney.

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) periodically reviews transport fares for the NSW Government. Just before Christmas last year, the IPART released a report into transport fares in Sydney, and made a series of recommendations to the NSW Government that would dramatically increase the cost of public transport for many thousands of people across the city.

The review closes this Friday!

This is crazy - with all the social, economic and environmental benefits of public transport, we should be making it easier to use for everyone, not more difficult!

IPART's recommendations are open for public comment until this Friday, February 5th. We need to send a powerful message to IPART and to the Transport Minister that Sydneysiders demand affordable public transport.

Take 2 minutes now to share your story about why you don't want these changes to Opal fares and how you will be effected. This can be as a short as sentence or two! http://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/ipart_transport_submission?e=59acf5eae15c3122e769d0a6ff9d1829&n=2

We need to challenge the assumption that affordable public transport is optional for a global city like Sydney. Here are some of their recommendations:

1. Fare increase of 8% in real terms over three years - this compares to its last determination in 2012, which recommended price increases of 4% in real terms over three years;
2. Changes to Opal Gold card eligibility arrangements, which would see older people who are not pensioners forced to pay full fares for travel (rather than the $2.50 cap that all seniors currently pay);
3. Increases to the Opal Gold card cap - from $2.50 up to $4.00 by 2018;
4. Increase the daily fare cap - which is currently $15 for full fare travel - to $18 in 2016, with further cap increases of $1 per year thereafter. This will see the cap go up to $20 by 2020. This has flow-on effects for concession card holders.
5. Abolish the current Sunday daily fare cap of $2.50 for everyone and replace it with a weekend cap of $7.20 in 2016, increasing to $8.00 in 2018. This would increase the cost of taking a family of four out for the day from $10 to a potential $32 in 2018.
6. Instead of getting free travel for the rest of the week from the first 8 trips, IPART recommends it be after the 10 most expensive trips in a week. What does that mean? If you commute every weekday you lose the "free Friday" discount (and therefore much of the incentive to travel via public transport every day).
7. Rejection of proposal to extend off-peak travel concessions to bus commuters.

Which of these will effect you or your family? Let us know. http://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/ipart_transport_submission?e=59acf5eae15c3122e769d0a6ff9d1829&n=3

Thanks to our friends at NCOSS who helped us go through the report with a fine toothed comb. Please send through your story before 12pm this Friday February 5th. http://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/ipart_transport_submission?e=59acf5eae15c3122e769d0a6ff9d1829&n=4

Looking forward to hearing your stories,

Assoc Professor Kurt Iveson

Sydney Alliance advocates for a world-class public transport system that is regular, reliable, clean, safe and easy to use for the people of Sydney regardless of health, wealth, age & mobility. It is planned, integrated and connected to where people live, work and play.