Bus Fare Concession Misuse To Stop

Hawke’s Bay Regional Council today resolved the issue of the beneficiary concession misuse on the GoBay bus service.

Regional Councillors have agreed to replace the concessionary fare category for beneficiaries and disabled persons.  There will still be a concessionary fare but passengers will have to show bus drivers a Community Services card to get the reduced fare.

This should stop the abuse of the system which has been distressing to drivers and has taken concessions from people who genuinely qualify.

The change of policy will come into action from 1 June. New timetables are due to come out at this time, so Council decided the timing was appropriate to change the fare policy.

The tertiary or high school student concessions remain unchanged and a student ID card can still be presented for a concessionary fare.

The SuperGold Card scheme is also unaffected and still operates between the hours of 9am to 3pm off-peak and during the weekend period.