Metlink to roll out discounts for community services card holders in September

Following a Greater Wellington Regional Council meeting today, Metlink has been given the go ahead to implement the Government’s Community Connect Scheme which will see discounted fares for Community Services Card (CSC) holders in place from 1 September.

The Community Connect Scheme was announced by the Government during the Budget in May.

Councillor Roger Blakeley, chair of Greater Wellington’s Transport Committee and a strong supporter of the Community Connect Scheme at the Council meeting, said it was fantastic to see the Government actively support community members most in need across the region.

“Council were unanimous in their support of this initiative and pleased with the progress Metlink and its partners have made to get this up and running in such a short timeframe.

“This is fantastic news for many people in our communities that rely on public transport and don’t have alternative travel arrangements,” says Cr Blakeley.

The scheme will apply across the majority of Metlink’s bus, rail and ferry services, including the soon to be launched Airport Express service, with the only exception being its app based on-demand trial service in Tawa.

Samantha Gain, General Manager for Metlink, says an online portal is being developed so CSC holders can register their Snapper cards before the discounts go live in September.

“Once a passenger has registered the CSC discount to their Snapper card the discounts will be automatically applied any time they travel using their Snapper card on any Metlink buses and on the Johnsonville rail line.

“In the lead up to the September launch our Metlink teams will be working with communities to ensure there is easy access to the discounts. It is very important to our team to reduce any barriers CSC holders might have to accessing public transport in our region,” says Samantha Gain.

While Johnsonville line rail passengers will be able to use Snapper for their discounts, a paper based alternative will be in place for all other rail lines until Metlink completes the roll out of Snapper across the rest of its rail network – expected by December. Similarly, in-harbour ferry passengers will not be able to access the discounts using Snapper and will instead have the discount applied through the usual available payment methods.

“While not as seamless as Snapper, passengers travelling on our other rail lines or on the ferry, can simply show their Community Services Card to access the discount from September,” adds Samantha Gain.

Metlink is working closely with Waka Kotahi and the Ministry of Transport to ensure it implements the scheme as the Government intended it to apply. More details about the discounted fares for CSC holders will be available on the Metlink website and app ahead of the launch in September.