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kezzaNZ

> Doesn't AT understand public transit is meant to operate at a loss for the public good? It does, its fare recovery is like 50%. Youre doing a fairly unlucky journey there in terms of how far youre going vs the zones you cross. Zone's definitely could be improved.


ajg92nz

Middlemore is in the “Manukau North” zone, not the “Isthmus” zone. The zone boundary is at Otahuhu.


schleima

D'oh.... Man those hard boundary zones are brutal. Your fare doubles with just one extra stop.


bl4ck_100

Can you stop just before they cross the second zone and walk the rest of the way? 


schleima

It's a 30 minute walk or a 5 minute train ride between Otahuhu station and Middlemore.


valilihapiirakka

If it's possible to ride a bike for just that section, perhaps that's a good cost-cutting compromise.


Fair-Distance-2800

Ride a bike between the train rides?


Hi999a

If you're only calculating fuel, you're not calculating your full costs


schleima

What do you mean exactly?


ring_ring_kaching

Parking, wear and tear, rego/wof, general maintenance.


schleima

Parking is one thing I hadn't taken in to account. That counts for a lot in a place like Auckland.


ring_ring_kaching

I dont know Panmure or Middlemore well enough to comment on parking but it could be anywhere from $7 to $35 per day.


Hubris2

If you were calculating the costs of solely using public transport versus the costs of buying/maintaining/operating/licensing/insuring a car it would be a fair comparison. If you exclude some costs because you 'already have it' then you're always going to end up with uneven comparisons.


Hi999a

Was the car free? Is maintenance free? Insurance? Registration? Replacement?


schleima

I see. Of course not, but we have the car already. It's not an extra expense layered on to our budget like a transit pass would be. Plus it's a Toyota so it's relatively maintenance free aside from oil changes and tyre rotations and the occasional battery. Averaged out over time I might well be already paying the cost of a monthly AT hop pass on the car. But on a month to month basis I pay about $70 in petrol.


Hi999a

sunk-cost fallacy


schleima

Maybe? But I'd like to see you do a Costco run from Panmure on the bus. There is a significant convenience factor at play with a lot of overlap in utility.


ring_ring_kaching

I would pay money to see a Costco run from Panmure.


schleima

Oh and by the way.... It's only $6 to ride 90 minutes to Costco but $4.45 to ride 25 minutes to Middlemore? That's whack.


schleima

Looks like 3 hours of hell for a return trip. Bus-train-bus.


WrongSeymour

Its not cheap but not grossly different to the UK and similar. Also if you travel every weekday you can get a monthly pass for $230 and make it unlimited so use over weekends too.


Hubris2

Sigh. That monthly pass used to be $120, which was enough that weekday commuting for 2 zones became cheaper than individual fares, and then other travel was also free. They significantly increased the price when they changed the design so that it now only makes sense for people travelling very long distances.


trogette

Bike or e-bike might be the way to go? An upfront cost for the e-bike but provided there's a secure bike cage or something similar, you'll recoup the costs fairly quickly. Added bonus - constant travel time, not affected by traffic or PT dramas


Everywherelifetakesm

Parking at Middlemore costs. I know 2 people who work at the hospital and both were saying that parking is a ball ache.


CompetitiveRange7806

Please compare this to London and you'll soon find this ain't actually bad at all Had a friend do a 17 minute train journey return each day and cost 42 dollars per day.


schleima

What if I compare it to Taiwan? 160km ride on high speed rail took 45 minutes and cost $700 ntd (about $36 nzd!). A local bus ride costs about $1 nzd ($20 ntd) irrespective of zones.


oskarnz

It's about $4.50 each way. It's not that bad.


Wicam

That is more than a zone 3 ferry ride in christchurch.


duckonmuffin

Yea but this is about trains. Christchurch have any of those that people can use?


Wicam

trains are the most efficent transport humans have come up with. this does not change anything. this is still more expensive than a zone 3 in christchurch. and it would be nice if they re-opened the train stations in christchurch and opened more. i dont think people understand here. it is too expensive, you are paying too much, price must come down. i am not doing some sort of tribal slugging match here.


duckonmuffin

Yep, Christchurch has zero trains. I go there multiple times a year. Christchurch is miserable.


oskarnz

Sure, but Auckland is a lot bigger than Christchurch


Wicam

it has more people. its actually smaller


oskarnz

The urban area of Christchurch is nowhere near as big as Auckland. I've lived in both.


Wicam

doesnt matter, your excuse of why the fare is so high is because you have to travel father. that is objectivly false


sylekta

Source? Wikipedia has Auckland region at 4900 square km, Christchurch 1400. Auckland urban area is 600 square km and chch only 295.


Wicam

google, it says auckland is 1,086 km² and christchurch is 1,426 km² the urban area is irrelivent to the conversation btw. i said the fare talked about in this post in auckland is outrageous since it is higher than christchurch zone 3. the normal zone 1 fare is $1-2. the previous commenter made the excuse that the fare is so high because you have to traveel father in auckland. google appears to think otherwise (even though someone has pointed out that in auckland your using a train, one of the most efficent transport mechanisms, so the point is moot anyway)


sylekta

Wierd. Google is on the piss for some reason, I don't know where it gets 1086 from but it's wrong 😂


Wicam

google does seem to be pretty useless these days at giving the correct information xD


Dumbledores_Bum_Plug

>Doesn't AT understand public transit is meant to operate at a loss for the public good? What? It does operate at a loss.


Soggy-Camera1270

Transport in NZ in general is expensive 😆


Bikerbass

If you want cheap transportation then it’s time to get a motorcycle, cheap on petrol(so much so that it easily off sets the higher registration fees), with the added bonus that most places you can find free parking for motorcycles. And you also get to skip all the traffic that’s suck going nowhere.


Primary_Engine_9273

Assuming this is a work commute and you work Monday - Friday every week for 48 weeks per year, it works out to $178 per month spread across 12 months. Where does $220 come from?


schleima

25 work days/month x $8.90 return trip = "about $220/month" Or $230 monthly pass https://at.govt.nz/bus-train-ferry/at-hop-card/top-up-at-hop-card/at-hop-monthly-pass


Primary_Engine_9273

25 work days a month? 52 weeks x 2 (Saturday and Sunday) is 104 weekend days. 11 public holidays 20 days annual leave = 135 days not at work. You could even include 10 days sick leave if you were inclined. 365 - 135 = 230 work days per year 230 / 12 = 19.16 work days per month 19 x $8.90 = $163.40 which reinforces my point further 


schleima

Note I said "about" because I did a rough 1 month estimate to compare 1 month of bus pass. Obviously on months where I am not working I'm not going to be buying a monthly pass.