5
BUDGET SENSITIVE
DRAFT
Template 1: Budget Initiative template
There are five sections of this template agencies need to fill out:
Overview and context
Detail on the investment proposal
Wellbeing impacts and analysis
Cost understanding and options
Collaboration
Overview and context
Key Question/area
Comment/answer
Agency to complete
Portfolio of lead Minister
Hon Julie Anne Genter, Associate Minister of Transport
Portfolio(s) of other Ministers
Hon Phil Twyford, Minister of Transport
involved (if this is a joint initiative)
Votes impacted
Vote Transport
Initiative title
Green Transport Card to reduce public transport costs for low-income households
Initiative description
This initiative will establish a Green Transport Card to provide free public transport during
off-peak travel periods for Community Services cardholders, their dependent children and
full-time tertiary students. This will make transport more affordable for low-income
individuals and households. Free travel will give these people greater access to social and
economic opportunities while reducing household costs. It will also contribute to a
sustainable and low-emissions economy by encouraging people to use low-carbon
transport modes instead of private cars. The initiative supports the Government’s desired
outcomes for both social development and
transport.
Type of initiative
Priority aligning
If this initiative relates to a priority, This bid will support the following priorities:
please outline the specific
Reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing, including addressing
priority/ies it contributes to
family violence
Creating opportunities for productive businesses, regions, iwi and others to
transition to a sustainable and low-emissions economy
Lifting Māori and Pacific incomes, skills and opportunities
Does this initiative relate to a
Yes – the following commitments in the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the
commitment in the Coalition
New Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party.
Agreement, Confidence and
Investigate a Green Transport Card as part of work to reduce the cost of public
Supply Agreement, or the Speech
transport, prioritising people in low-income households and people on a benefit.
from the Throne?
Make tertiary education more affordable for students and reduce the number of
students living in financial hardship.
Agency contact
Richard Cross, Manager Strategic Policy and Innovation, Ministry of Transport
[email address]
Responsible Vote Analyst
Please provide the name of your Vote Analyst
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Funding
Funding Sought ($m)
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
2022/23 & outyears1
TOTAL
Operating
$5million
$102million
$102million
-
$209million
Funding
Sought
2018/19
2019/20
2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 2027/28 TOTAL
($m)
Capital2
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
0
Notes.
Budget funding for this initiative would be for three years initially. After this time, ongoing funding could potentially
be allocated from the National Land Transport Fund (subject to future Government policies and funding settings).
Funding for 2020/21 and 2021/22 is contingent on detailed policy work being completed by mid-2019, and
implementation systems being established in 2019/20.
1. Executive Summary
1.1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. Short summary of the
Aims of this initiative
proposed initiative and
This initiative aims to improve the wealth and well-being of people in low-income
expected outcomes.
households, and encourage travel by low-carbon transport modes, by reducing the costs
of public transport for Community Services cardholders (and their dependent children) and
full-time tertiary education students.
Eligible people will be entitled to a Green Transport Card, which enables them to travel
free on public transport during off-peak travel periods.
Funding will be spent on public transport subsidies, with additional funding to implement
and administer the system for providing Green Transport Cards.
Why it is required
Transport provides people with access to social and economic opportunities, such as
education, healthcare, work, and community services. Travel costs can be a barrier for
low-income households, limiting their access to these opportunities.
Many New Zealanders are highly dependent on private cars for transport, which leads to
high household transport costs. This initiative will make public transport a cheaper
alternative for many low-income households, and buffer them against the effects of volatile
fuel prices and rising transport costs in the future.
If no funding is provided, travel costs will continue to be a barrier for many low-income
households to access opportunities and to participate fully in society.
Further information
This initiative has not been considered previously.
It is based on commitments in the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the New
Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party.
1 If funding is time-limited and does not carry on into out-years please delete the reference to “& outyears”
2 The first 10 years of capital investment is counted against the multi-year capital allowance. Please reflect the ful 10 year profile in the
table.
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2. The Investment Proposal
This section asks you to outline your overall investment proposal and intervention logic. It should be
supplemented with a one page intervention logic map showing the progression from outputs, outcomes and
impacts of the initiative. See template 5 for an example of an intervention logic map that you can use as a
template or guide.
2.1 Description of the initiative and problem definition
What is this initiative
This initiative will establish and fund a Green Transport Card that entitles Community Services
seeking funding for?
cardholders and tertiary students to travel free on public transport during off-peak periods. This is a
new investment.
It will support the following priorities:
Reducing child poverty and improving child wellbeing, including addressing family
violence: by reducing household travel expenses for low-income families (i.e. Community
Services cardholders). Eligible children in these households who do not have access to
a car (for financial reasons, or because they are too young to drive) will benefit from
cheaper access to social and economic opportunities via public transport.
Creating opportunities for productive businesses, regions, iwi and others to transition to
a sustainable and low-emissions economy: by encouraging greater use of public transport
(a low emissions transport mode) as an alternative to using private motorised vehicles.
Lifting Maori and Pacific incomes, skills, and opportunities: by making it more affordable
for low-income Maori and Pacific households to access social/economic opportunities,
including tertiary education, via public transport. It will increase disposable income by
reducing household travel costs. Approximately 27 percent of Maori and 16 percent of
Pacific peoples have a Community Services card.
Why is it required?
This initiative is based on a commitment in the Confidence and Supply Agreement between the New
Zealand Labour Party and the Green Party to investigate a Green Transport Card to reduce the cost
of public transport, prioritising people in low-income households and people on a benefit.
Transport allows people to access social and economic opportunities such as education, healthcare,
and jobs (which affect human capital) and community connections (i.e. social capital). High travel
costs often have a disproportionate impact on low-income households, as travel is usually a non-
discretionary activity to access places for learning, earning, and participating in society.
Many New Zealanders are highly dependent on private cars for transport, which leads to high
household transport costs. This initiative will make public transport a cheaper alternative for many
low-income households, and buffer them against the effects of volatile fuel prices.
Future policy interventions to decarbonise New Zealand’s transport may also increase the costs of
car travel for low-income households using old non-efficient vehicles. This initiative will help to
counter rising travels cost for many low-income people, and enable them to continue accessing
social and economic opportunities, by making it more affordable to reach destinations by public
transport. It will, therefore, allow many low-income people to be more resilient to rising transport
costs (from policy interventions and/or rising fuel costs) in the future.
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2.2 Options analysis and fit with existing activity
What other options were
To meet the aim of reducing public transport costs for low-income households and people on a
considered in addressing benefit, we generated options by considering three key scope questions:
the problem or
1. Who should be entitled to a Green Transport Card?
opportunity?
2. When should cards be valid for travel?
3. How large should the discount be?
Pros and cons for each option are discussed below.
1. Who should be entitled to a Green Transport Card?
We considered three main options: Community Services cardholders, full-time tertiary students,
and full-time school students.
We assessed these options according to how well they meet the ‘low-income households’ target
population, and how easy it would be to implement a card for each group.
Community Services cardholders are already recognised by government as low-income
households. It would also be straightforward to provide a Green Transport Card to these people.
This option was included.
Full-time tertiary students are on low incomes while they are studying. Many tertiary students
use public transport to travel to/from educational institutes. Making public transport cheaper
would make tertiary education more affordable for students. This option was included.
Primary and secondary students live in households with a wide range of wealth. They also
receive a 50 percent discount on public transport in most regions. There are over 850,000
school students in New Zealand, so it would also be more difficult and expensive to make a
Green Transport Card available to all students. This option was excluded.
2. When should cards be valid for travel?
We considered two options: during off-peak travel periods only (weekdays 9am-3pm and after
6:30pm, and all day on weekends) or any time.
Off-peak travel periods align with the public transport travel entitlements for SuperGold
cardholders in most regions. This would allow existing local trains, buses and ferries to be used
efficiently throughout the day, avoiding major new capital investments. It could also help to
spread travel peaks, reducing traffic congestion. This option was selected.
Travel any time would provide the greatest accessibility benefits. However, this would also
come at a greater cost. It would also be likely to generate increased crowding on some bus and
train services in Auckland and Wellington that are already facing capacity limits at peak periods.
This would adversely affect service quality, reliability, and journey times. This option was
excluded.
3. How large should the discount be?
We considered two options: fully funded travel (i.e. free public transport) or partially-funded
travel (e.g. a 50% discount).
Fully funded travel aligns with the free public transport entitlements of SuperGold cardholders
during off-peak travel periods. This option would be simpler for regional councils and public
transport operators to implement compared with developing another new fare structure just for
Green Transport cardholders. Public transport costs also vary across regions, so it would be
more equitable to make services free for eligible cardholders throughout New Zealand. The
fully funded option was selected.
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We have not considered these options against other interventions that could achieve similar
outcomes, but do not involve free or subsidised public transport (for example, funding community-
based transport schemes).
What other similar
The SuperGold card provides free off-peak travel on public transport for approximately 750,000 New
initiatives or services are
Zealanders aged 65+, at an annual cost of $28million. Approximately 285,000 of the 830,000
currently being
Community Services cardholders have a SuperGold card. People 65 years and older will continue
delivered?
to receive a SuperGold card instead of a Green Transport Card. This will help to avoid confusion for
cardholders (as SuperGold cards offer additional entitlements) and will reduce administration costs.
There are no other initiatives targeted at making transport more affordable for Community Services
cardholders.
Tertiary education students in some regions currently receive discounts on public transport. In
Palmerston North, full-time tertiary students can travel for free. In Auckland and Wellington, they
receive a 25% discount on fares. Local councils pay for these discounts, funded via ratepayers and
higher fares paid by other commuters.
What other, non-spending None.
arrangements in pursuit
of the same objective are
also in place, or have
been proposed?
Strategic alignment and
This initiative contributes to the following outcomes of the transport outcomes framework, which has
Government’s
been adopted by the Ministry of Transport (as recognised in our Statement of Intent) and by other
priorities/direction
transport agencies:
Inclusive access - enabling all New Zealanders to access social and economic
opportunities such as work, education, and healthcare: it will make it easier for low-income
people to access opportunities that improve their wellbeing, by reducing/removing the cost
barriers to travel.
Environmental sustainability –
transitioning to net zero carbon emissions, and
maintaining or improving biodiversity, water quality, and air quality: it will encourage people
to travel by public transport, which is a lower carbon form of travel than using a private
car.
It also aligns with the direction of the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2018/19-
2027/28, which includes two key strategic priorities to improve access and safety. It will encourage
greater use of public transport, supporting the Government’s aims to encourage transport mode shift
towards public transport, walking, and cycling. Public transport is also the safest form of travel in
New Zealand.
2.3 Outcomes
Overall outcomes
The main outcomes of this initiative are:
expected from this
more affordable access to social and economic opportunities, and reduced financial
initiative
hardship, for low-income households and people on a benefit in urban areas;
more affordable access to tertiary education institutes, and reduced financial hardship, for
full-time tertiary students in urban areas;
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more efficient use of existing public transport infrastructure, by utilising spare capacity at
off-peak travel periods; and
improved environmental and health outcomes, and reduced congestion, by supporting a
transport mode shift from private vehicles to public transport.
Public transport services are most developed in large urban areas. This means that low-income
households in cities with regular public transport services will benefit more from this initiative,
compared to those living in small towns and rural areas.
2.4 Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation3
How will the initiative be
This initiative will be contingent on completing detailed policy advice and more accurate cost
delivered?
estimates by mid-2019.
The Ministry of Transport and Ministry of Social Development will draw on past experiences in
successfully implementing and administering free public transport entitlements for SuperGold
cardholders, as the processes will be similar. Key steps for delivery will include the following:
Establishing a governance group with representatives from central government
departments, the New Zealand Transport Agency and regional councils to address
implementation issues.
Verifying public transport service capacities during off-peak periods, particularly in
Auckland and Wellington.
Considering any implications for existing contracts between regional councils and public
transport operators under the Public Transport Operating Model.
Working with the Ministry of Social Development and Ministry of Health to establish
processes for providing Transport Green Card entitlements to Community Services
cardholders.
Working with regional councils to establish processes for providing Green Transport Card
entitlements to full-time tertiary students.
Key implementation risks or uncertainties are highlighted below:
We do not know how much demand for public transport services will grow, and associated
cost implications, as a result of making travel free at off-peak periods. We will mitigate this
risk by investigating the travel impacts of making public transport free for SuperGold
cardholders during off-peak periods, and modelling likely impacts. We anticipate using the
‘capped’ funding model which is already used for the Super Gold Card to reduce the
financial risk to the Crown.
We need to ensure that public transport networks have sufficient capacity at off-peak
periods to meet demand without adversely affecting network performance. We will mitigate
this risk by working with regional councils to verify network capacities.
We will need to ensure that people who are not entitled to a Green Transport Card do not
use others’ cards. We will mitigate this risk by investigating photo ID options, and linking
the card to existing forms of ID (e.g. tertiary student ID cards).
How will the
Monitoring arrangements will be established when detailed policy work for this initiative is completed
implementation of the
in 2019.
initiative be monitored?
3 This doesn’t necessarily have to include a full implementation and evaluation plan, however the information
provided must provide confidence that the proposal will be successfully delivered and there is a plan to ensure
that the outcomes described are actually achieved.
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Describe how the
Evaluation arrangements will be established when detailed policy work for this initiative is completed
initiative will be evaluated in 2019.
3. Wellbeing Impacts and Analysis
This section builds on the information provided in section 2 above and goes into further detail on the impacts,
evidence and assumptions underpinning the intervention logic. It also asks that you demonstrate how your
initiative will impact on wellbeing domains, the four capitals and risk and resilience.
The focus is on showing a strong narrative underpinned by evidence rather than monetisation of benefits and
showing a positive return on investment. However, the use of the CBAx tool and monetisation is encouraged for
key impacts with good evidence where it will strengthen the case for intervention.
Completion of this section is strictly limited to a maximum of three pages. This section helps the Treasury to
assess and advise how the proposed initiative will impact the wellbeing of New Zealanders relative to the
counterfactual. It may be provided to Ministers to support Budget prioritisation.
Impact summaries need to be framed against the three components of the Living Standards Framework, with
supporting evidence where available:
Wellbeing domains – identify the value to New Zealand, magnitude and timeframe (up to 50 years) for
impacts on the primary and (up to three) secondary domains targeted.
Four capitals – identify the draw-downs, build-ups and/or transfers across the four capitals (physical,
social, natural, human) resulting from funding the initiative.
Risk and resilience – linking to the counterfactual and intervention logic, explain how the initiative
adapts to or absorbs risk and/or how it maintains or builds resilience
Please be aware that impacts or evidence are not mutually exclusive between wellbeing domains, capitals, and
risk and resilience. They are interrelated cuts of the same information, we would expect that some answers may
be duplicated.
3.1 Wellbeing domains – People’s experience of wellbeing over time
Identify and quantify how
Please fill in Table 3.1 below. Impacts need to be grouped under the relevant domains, as
the initiative impacts on
provided in the key below. Use the relevant domains, ordering them from top to bottom according
wellbeing domains
to which domain your initiative achieves the greatest impact in. This analysis must also capture
any negative impacts.
The wellbeing domains are outlined here for you to use in your table:
Civic engagement and governance
Jobs and earnings
Cultural identity
Knowledge and skills
Environment
Safety
Health
Social connections
Housing
Subjective wellbeing
Income and consumption
Time-use
Other
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3.1 Wellbeing domains – People’s experience of wellbeing over time
Domains
Impact(s) description
Who are affected?
Magnitude of impact
How big?
Realised in
Evidence base
Evidence
quality
High/
<5 / 5-10 /
Nature of evidence and key references
Moderate/
10+ years
High/
Low
Medium/
Low
Social connections
Increased access and
Low income households and full-
To be assessed after further policy work
Moderate
Ongoing
connectivity between people,
time tertiary students in urban areas
their family/whanau, and
served by public transport
community services
Income and
Increased household
Low income households and full-
To be assessed after further policy work
Moderate
Ongoing
consumption
disposable income
time tertiary students in urban areas
served by public transport
Subjective wellbeing
Improved access for low-
Low income households and tertiary
To be assessed after further policy work
Moderate
Ongoing
income earners to participate
students in urban areas served by
in, and feel included in, society
public transport
Knowledge and skills
Improved opportunities /
Full-time tertiary students
To be assessed after further policy work
Low
Ongoing
cheaper access to tertiary
education
Environment
Lower greenhouse gas
All New Zealanders
This depends on how much of a mode-shift this
Low
Ongoing
emissions from transport
initiative causes from travel by cars to public
transport, and is difficult to estimate
Better local air quality, due to
New Zealanders living in dense
This depends on how much of a mode-shift this
Low
Ongoing
less vehicle pollution
urban areas where transport
initiative causes from travel by cars to public
emissions affect air quality the most
transport, and is difficult to estimate
Safety
Reduced injuries caused by
People in urban areas
This depends on how much of a mode-shift this
Low
Ongoing
Public transport is the safest form of
High
people driving light passenger
initiative causes from travel by cars to public
travel in New Zealand (NZ Transport
vehicles
transport, and is difficult to estimate
Outlook)
Health
Improved physical and mental
Low income households and tertiary
This depends on how much of a mode-shift this
Low
Ongoing
People who use public transport tend
High
wellbeing of people travelling
students in urban areas served by
initiative causes from travel by cars to public
to be more physically active than
public transport
transport, and is difficult to estimate
those who travel by car
Reduced health impacts and
People living in dense urban areas
This depends on how much of a mode-shift this
Low
Ongoing
Public transport vehicles with high
High
costs due to improved local air
initiative causes from travel by cars to public
occupancy levels produce less local
quality
transport, and is difficult to estimate
air pollution than many low occupancy
cars
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3.2 Wellbeing capitals – Sustainability for future wellbeing
Capitals
Describe the impact and its magnitude
Realised in <5 /
5-10 / 10+ years
Financial/Physical
Decrease. This initiative draws down financial capital to fund free <5 years as the
public transport services.
cost is
immediate
Human
Increase. Transport costs can be a barrier for low-income people <5 years as
to access health services, education, and work. This initiative will access to
improve access to social and economic opportunities, which could opportunities
lead to improved outcomes for people’s health, knowledge, and will improve as
skills.
soon as card is
implemented
Natural
Maintain. This initiative will reduce environmental pressures. It will 5-10 years
support the transition to lower-carbon transport modes. Higher
public transport use will reduce the need for private vehicles (and
associated parking and road infrastructure), which will encourage
more efficient resource and energy use.
Social
Increase. Transport costs can be a barrier for low-income people <5 years as
to travel to meet whanau/family and reach places in their access to
community. This initiative will enable people to grow their social opportunities
connections and participate more fully in society.
will improve as
soon as card is
implemented
3.3 Risk and resilience narrative
Does the initiative
Making public transport more affordable for low-income people will allow them to be more resilient
respond to or build
to the effects of rising transport costs in the future (e.g. increasing fuel prices, increasing transport
resilience?
levies, increasing vehicle costs). It will make public transport more affordable (where these services
exist), so that low-income people are less reliant on using private motorised vehicles.
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4. Costing understanding and options
This section will provide further information on the costs of delivering the initiative and options for scaling and
phasing to support assessment, prioritisation and decision-making.
4.1 Detailed funding breakdown
Please provide a
Cost estimates are provided below.
breakdown of the costs of this initiative
($m)
2019/20 2019/20
2021/22
Operating: Implementation funding
$5million X
X
Operating: Administrative costs
$100,000
$100,000
Operating: Public transport subsidies for X
$48million
$48million
Community Services cardholders and
their dependent children
Operating: Public transport subsidies for X
$54million
$54million
full-time tertiary students
These estimates are based on the following:
Estimating the number of trips that each group would take by public transport (averaged across
New Zealand), based on historical data gathered from the Household Travel Survey 2009-
2014.
545,000 Community Services cardholders under 65, and their dependent children, taking an
average of 30 trips per year.
348,000 full-time tertiary students who do not have a Community Services card taking an
average of 65 trips per year.
An average fare of $2.40 per adult and $1.20 per child. This is the New Zealand Transport
Agency’s (NZTA) average fare per boarding.
Total costs could be higher, as people will use public transport more if it is free. We have not
yet been able to estimate how much public transport use could grow.
As a comparison, the SuperGold scheme provides free off peak travel on public transport for 750,000
seniors at an annual cost of $28 million.
The implementation cost of approximately $5 million and administration cost of approximately
$100,000 per year are based on the costs to establish and administer the Super Gold Card.
We are planning to complete more detailed and accurate cost estimates in 2019, before
implementation.
4.2 Options for scaling and phasing
Scaling, phasing or
Options to phase this initiative:
deferring - including 75%
1.
Make the Green Transport Card available for Community Services cardholders in 2020,
and 50% scenarios
followed by full-time tertiary students in 2021+. This may enable quicker implementation of
the Green Transport Card, and allow us to monitor the impacts of the card (including travel
demand and costs, and impacts on local public transport networks) before it is extended to
students. This would achieve the benefits for Community Services cardholders, but it would
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delay the benefits for students (except the 16 percent of tertiary students who have a
Community Services card).
Options to scale this initiative:
1.
75% option: Make public transport 75% cheaper for Green Transport cardholders,
instead of free. This would deliver less than 75% of the benefits (but more than 50%), as cost
would still be a barrier for many people using public transport. Regional councils and public
transport operators may resist implementing another fare structure that is not aligned with other
concessions that they offer.
2.
50% option: Make public transport half-price for Green Transport cardholders, instead
of free. This would be aligned with child concessions in most regions. It would deliver less than
50% of the benefits, as cost would still be a barrier for many people using public transport.
Cardholders would be more discerning about using public transport, so there would be less
impact on the capacity of local public transport networks.
3.
50% option: Only make the Green Transport Card available for Community Services
cardholders and their dependent children (not tertiary students). This would achieve the
benefits for Community Services cardholders, but would not achieve benefits for most students.
It may create perceived equity issues among tertiary students that those with a Community
Services card (approximately 16% of students) will be entitled to a Green Transport Card, while
most students will not get this benefit.
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5. Collaboration
This section provides information on how agencies have engaged both within and outside of
their own departments in the development of this initiative. Cross-agency and cross-portfolio
collaboration are both important in this context. Please ensure this section is clear and
succinct, and no longer than one page.
5.1 Collaboration and evidence
What type of cross-
This is a cross-portfolio and cross-agency initiative.
agency and/or cross-
The Ministry of Transport will lead the policy development, working closely with the
portfolio initiative is this?
Ministry of Social Development (MSD). It is anticipated that the Ministry of Social
Development will implement and administer the card.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and Regional Councils will have joint responsibility for
delivery, similar to the arrangements for the SuperGold scheme that provides free off-peak travel for
seniors.
Agencies and Ministers
The following Ministers have been closely engaged in developing the scope of this initiative:
that have been engaged
Hon James Shaw, Acting Associate Minister of Transport; and
in initiative development
Hon Phil Twyford, Minister of Transport.
On 2 November 2018, there was a meeting between Hon Shaw, Hon Sepuloni (Minister of Social
Development) and Hon Martin (Seniors Minister) to discuss the relationship between the Green
Transport Card and the SuperGold card. The proposed entitlements between the two cards overlap,
so we have clarified the relationship between the two cards to avoid implementation difficulties.
We have shared briefings on this budget initiative with MSD and NZTA.
We have also initiated engagement with the Ministry of Health, which administers the Community
Services card.
Impact of cross-agency
We have collaborated with MSD to address concerns about potential overlaps between the public
collaboration
transport entitlements of the SuperGold card and the Green Transport Card. They have advised us
of implementation challenges we may face, based on their experience with SuperGold cards. We
are working with MSD to make administration processes as simple as possible, to manage costs.
NZTA advised us early in the development of the Green Transport Card initiative that there is
currently no capacity for funding this initiative from the National Land Transport Fund, as funding is
fully allocated.
The Ministry of Health noted that it is supportive of the initiative to reduce travel costs for Community
Services cardholders because transport is a barrier to access to health services. We are working
with the Ministry of Health to confirm updated statistics for the number of Community Services
cardholders, as we have been advised that there will be an increase in the number of people who
are eligible for a Community Services card from 1 December 2018. We will factor this in to our cost
estimates.
Risks and challenges
We are aiming to align the free off-peak travel period for public transport with the same off-peak
period used by the SuperGold card in most regions (except Auckland, where entitlements are
greater). MSD has raised the option of extending off-peak travel entitlements for SuperGold
cardholders, as the Coalition Agreement between New Zealand First and the Labour Party includes
an agreement to introduce a new generation SuperGold smartcard containing entitlements and
concessions. MSD is not currently pursuing budget funding for this initiative, but have signalled that
it intends to explore this option further. If SuperGold travel entitlements are extended, Green Travel
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cardholders may develop expectations for similar entitlements. We will continue to work with MSD
to manage the relationship between the two cards.
We expect regional councils to raise concerns about the costs of implementing the Green Travel
card, and impacts on the capacity of local public transport networks. We are intentionally aiming to
limit free travel to off-peak periods, when excess capacity usually exists. We will establish a
governance group with representatives from regional councils and NZTA to ensure that all
implementation issues can be adequately addressed.
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