Wellingtonians say increases to public transport fares of more than 70 percent would be "ludicrous", and would lead to them working from home more often, or taking the car rather than the bus.
Waka Kotahi NZTA has sent letters to local councils and public transport authorities asking them to increase their "private share" - that is, the proportion of the total cost of providing public transport that comes from things other than rates or government funding.
Greater Wellington Regional Council transport chairperson Thomas Nash said meeting the targets set for Greater Wellington would require fare increases of 71 percent next year.
In Auckland, the proposed private share target set by NZTA was 42 percent by 2027, and in Canterbury, it was 28 percent.
It is not yet known what kind of fare adjustments these and others would have to make in order to reach their targets.
Public servant Karley Skinner regularly caught the train between Wellington and her home in Masterton, which cost her about $35 a day.
With these kinds of increases, that cost would climb to almost $60, and she would have to have a conversation with her workplace about increasing the number of days she worked from home.
In September, the government issued a directive for public servants to increase the amount of time they spent working from the office, rather than home.
"One of the reasons that [the government] will cite about having workers, especially public servants, which I am, come into the city a lot more often is to support businesses," she said. "But I couldn't afford to go out for dinner anymore, I can't afford to buy new clothes."
She said it would work out cheaper to drive into town. "It's just ludicrous, it shouldn't be that much cheaper, even considering parking, to drive all that way."
Others on the streets of Wellington agreed. "Bollocks," one said. And another; "Bit s***, isn't it?"
One woman eating her lunch in Midlands Park said she would have to weigh up whether it was a better option to drive. "And I feel sad about that, because I get the bus partly because I want to avoid cluttering up the city with my car."
A nearby man said fares were already "pretty much at the upper limit of what I think is acceptable".
And another woman: "Everything already just feels really expensive, especially if they're asking us to come into the office more." Would it change how much she worked from home? "Probably. I would definitely take it into account."
Transport minister Simeon Brown said he expected councils to keep public transport costs under control, while making sure it was those who used public transport who paid for its upkeep.
But the Green Party's transport spokesperson, and MP for Rongotai, Julie-Anne Genter, accused the government pulling money away from public transport in order to fund its highways, and said it would be a disaster.
"When we make public transport more expensive, some people will choose to drive instead. That contributes to more congestion in our cities, and certainly higher emissions."
The government removed its subsidy for half-price fares in May.
And in Wellington, fares had separately gone up twice in the past two years, by 6 percent and then 10, to keep up with rising costs and inflation.
Greater Wellington regional councillor Thomas Nash said another increase was "the opposite of what's needed in a cost of living crisis".
But NZTA's Vanessa Browne said increases were necessary, alongside the money invested by central government, to meet the ever-growing costs of public transport.
She said increasing revenue could be done by other methods, not just raising fares - advertising, sponsorship, rental income and corporate schemes or commercial opportunities.
Nash said the council was already pulling those levers, but he hoped these increases would not be necessary.
