The New Zealand Transport Agency says it wants to make the funding of public transport fairer.
The agency is introducing a new policy under which government and local body subsidies will cover half the cost of providing services and fare-paying passengers the other half.
It says that the proportion of operating costs covered by passenger fares nationally declined from 58% 10 years ago to 46% last year, and that to bring it back up to 50% operators in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch will have to to increase patronage, simplify fare structures and improve reliability.
The new policy takes effect in 2012.
