“And one of them, and probably the best and fastest, is public transport. And the best way to get people to use that is to lower the cost, the barriers to using public transport, for those that can and are able to use it.”Two states in Australia have implemented free public transport to combat the fuel crisis – should New Zealand follow suit? “Even one of our biggest suppliers of fuel, South Korea, is reducing the cost of public transport, reducing sales of fuel, reducing the amount people can purchase. Victoria says public transport would be free for one month from March 31 to April 30, while Tasmania plans free buses and ferries for three months until July 1. Most countries in South America have been slower to adopt measures, but Chile has frozen public transport fares for the rest of the year.

Source: New Zealand Herald April 03, 2026 21:21 UTC