Imagine living in Tasmania where public transport is now free, or Queensland where public fares are only 50c or Victoria where fares have been slashed by half.
Imagine living in regional NSW and knowing you could get to work, school, the hospital or the shops when you needed it, without having to plan your whole day around an unreliable timetable or relying on a car.
Public transport connects us to work, study, healthcare and each other. It gives people a genuine alternative to driving, reduces traffic and pollution, and saves petrol for those who need it most.
But in NSW, commuters pay thousands each year for buses and trains that are unreliable, infrequent and poorly connected. Across regional NSW and outer Sydney, many communities have too few services. Some have no practical public transport at all.
Labor has had years to fix a broken transport system where people pay too much for a network that does too little. Instead, Labor keeps continuing to pour public money into toll roads and private transport contracts.
Private contractors profit while passengers pay the price.
In a state as wealthy as NSW, in this cost-of-living crisis, people should not have to pay thousands each year just to get where they need to go.
Together with communities across regional, metro and outer suburban NSW, the Greens are fighting to deliver a public transport system that is fast, frequent and free.
The Greens plan
With your support, the Greens will:
- Make buses, trains, metro, light rail and ferries free during the cost-of-living crisis, leaving more money in household budgets each week
- Deliver fast, frequent and reliable services across regional NSW, connecting people to work, education, healthcare and their communities without forcing them to rely on a car
- Expand capacity on overcrowded services and add direct cross-suburban connections across outer Sydney, so people can get where they need to go without long waits, multiple changes or another toll bill
- Require Transport for NSW to set minimum standards for frequency, reliability, operating hours and accessibility, so every community can count on services that arrive when promised, run when people need them and work for people of all ages and abilities
- Bring major bus and ferry services back into public hands as their private contracts expire, and run the network for passengers rather than private profit
Queensland’s 50-cent fares saved passengers $423 million
Queensland has shown what cheaper public transport can achieve.
When Translink cut all fares to 50 cents, regardless of the distance travelled:
- Queenslanders saved $423 million in the first year
- Public transport use increased by 21 per cent statewide
- Queenslanders took more than 200 million trips in just 12 months
- The policy also boosted public transport use within regional communities. Within six months, bus patronage had risen by 91 per cent in Townsville, 41 per cent in Cairns and 42 per cent in the Whitsundays.
This meant that a Caboolture family with one parent commuting to Brisbane and two children catching the bus to school saved more than $3,500 a year, or around $67 a week. A nurse travelling from the Gold Coast to Brisbane four days a week saved more than $4,200 a year, or more than $80 a week.
NSW can go further by making fares free and investing in the fast, frequent services communities need. The question is not whether we can afford it, but whether the government chooses to spend public money on passengers or private profits.
Free public transport has worked around the world
Many countries and cities around the world have successfully abolished public transport fares. Luxembourg has scrapped public transport fares, and Germany is considering introducing free public transport in order to reduce air pollution. Some cities in Belgium, France and Estonia have had free public transport for years.
Free bus services operate in several cities and local areas. Newcastle also had a free bus scheme in place between 2006 and 2019.
Free public transport increases usage
A 2020 IPART report, written before the impacts of Covid-19 were taken into account, found that the likely impact of free public transport in Sydney would be an increase in patronage of around 40%, with a particular increase in use by low income earners.
In Queensland, free public transport increased usage by 21 per cent statewide and up to 91% in regional communities.
How we will pay for it
People already pay for public transport through their taxes, then pay again every time they tap on. IPART found that fares covered only 18 per cent of public transport operating and shared costs in 2022–23. Taxpayers already fund most of the network because everyone benefits when people can get where they need to go and fewer cars clog our roads.
The Greens will replace fare revenue by increasing coal and gas royalties, massively increasing tax on pokies profits and making major developers contribute to new routes and services in growth areas.
Free fares will also reduce spending on ticketing administration, fare enforcement and court costs.
The fact is that the State government already subsidises 82% of every single trip on buses, trains and ferries across - given the massive social and economic benefits of free public transport, it makes sense to just make it 100% instead.
How The Greens will improve services across Regional NSW
Free fares are not enough if the bus never comes. In many regional communities, not having a car can mean not being able to get to work, a medical appointment, education or the supermarket.
We will work with Transport for NSW and local communities to publish a clear expansion plan, starting with outer suburbs, regional communities and areas where services are overcrowded or poorly connected.
The Greens will deliver new and expanded regional services, including reliable evening and weekend connections to hospitals, TAFE and university campuses, railway stations, employment centres and town centres.
Fast, frequent and reliable public transport would give people a genuine alternative to costly car dependence and give regional communities more opportunity to connect and grow.
Western Sydney
Across Sydney’s outer suburbs, overcrowded services and poor cross-suburban connections leave many people choosing between an unreliable bus and another toll bill.
The Greens will expand capacity and add frequent cross-suburban services connecting homes with jobs, schools, hospitals, universities, railway stations, major centres and Western Sydney International Airport. People should not have to drive simply because public transport does not take them where they need to go.
A public transport service guarantee
The NSW Government already has the power to set fares and enforce service standards. It chooses not to.
Instead, the NSW Labor government has left service improvements to vary by postcode. The Greens will establish an enforceable NSW Public Transport Service Guarantee covering frequency, first and last services, reliability, accessibility and connections.
This means every community can expect a minimum level of service and plan around public transport with greater confidence, wherever they live.
Public transport in public hands
Labor has left essential bus and ferry services in private hands. The Greens will rebuild a state-owned operator capable of taking over bus and ferry services as private contracts expire.
This avoids unnecessary contract break fees and replaces private operators focused on profit margins with a public operator focused on reliable, accessible services. We will run the network for passengers, not private profit.
Accessible public transport
Public transport is not genuinely public if some people cannot use it.
Almost 100 of NSW’s 354 suburban, intercity, metro and regional train stations are still not independently accessible. That can leave people with disability, older people, carers and parents with prams unable to use the same services as everyone else.
The Greens will fast-track planned accessibility upgrades, strengthen accessibility standards and make accessibility a core part of the Public Transport Service Guarantee. Everyone should be able to use public transport safely and independently, regardless of their age or mobility needs.
How our plan will save millions in administrative costs
A 2020 IPART report found that fare revenue in 2019 was around $1.6bn (approximately one-quarter of the cost of providing transport services), and highlights that this is offset by administrative costs from ticketing and associated staffing. The IPART report does not, however, mention that there is a cost to government of policing fare invasion, including court costs.
The original contract for the Opal card system in NSW with Cubic Transportation Systems was worth $1.2bn over its 15 year life from 2010. At least $600m has been spent in additional infrastructure and upgrades since then.
Transport for NSW states that there are over 800 authorised officers and police checking tickets across the public transport network. In 2021-22, there were 95,026 transport-related fines issued in NSW, including 24,068 fines issued to young people under 25 for travelling or attempting to travel without a valid ticket.
The disproportionate social costs of fare enforcement
If a young person can’t afford to pay a fine, they will be subjected to additional fines and enforcement costs and potentially a debt collection process. If they want to dispute the fine, they will need to go to court. In addition to the stress and cost this places on a young person, the process of issuing and enforcing fines, including within the court system, is costing government authorities a significant amount of money every year, and only a small percentage of that is recovered once fines are collected.
With the cost of ticketing and enforcement offset against the lost fare revenue from making public transport free, and with consideration given to the societal and economic benefits that public transport will create, the hit to our budget bottom line in the long-term will be more than tolerable.
Support fast > frequent > free public transport, across NSW
The choice is clear: keep paying more for a network that does too little, or fight for public transport that gives people more freedom, wherever they live.
Sign our petition to tell the Labor Government it is time for fast, frequent, and free public transport.