Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says those struggling with soaring petrol prices should be taking public transport, not getting an extra $50 a week.
By Jessica Hopkins of rnz.co.nz
Almost 150,000 workers with children are set to receive financial support as part of the Government's fuel crisis package.
But Brown believes the Government should put that money towards promoting public transport.
"There's a crisis at the moment with fuel. It's a golden opportunity, in one form or another, to encourage more use of public transport.
"Fifty dollars isn't going to buy them [workers] enough petrol or diesel to go in every day [of the work week]. This shows you how expensive it is to drive your car into the city, it's slow, it's annoying.
"Catching the bus for $50 a week is bloody cheap. We should be advertising that. That's where they should put some money."
Aucklanders pay a maximum of $50 a week for buses and trains. Brown suggested the Government could lower the Auckland Transport HOP card fare cap to $40 while petrol prices are high.
"Subsidising it a bit more would've been a better spend, and it would've been cheaper and got a better result."
Speaking to Breakfast's Tova O'Brien, the Prime Minister said the Government was considering changes to tax settings and potentially further "targeted" support for New Zealanders. (Source: Breakfast)
He said getting people out of their cars would also help reduce congestion in busy metropolitan centres like Auckland.
"To pay people to carry on doing exactly what they did before, when we know it's not a good idea to have everyone driving into the city, strikes me as dumb, really."
He said Time of Use Charging to get people off motorways during peak hours would be a reality for motorists in the city very soon.
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