NSW election: Greens to announce free transport plan across state network

One political party is promising to make public transport free for all – commuters and their pets – if elected at the upcoming state election. Find out how the policy would be funded.

The Greens would, if elected, make NSW’s public transport network free.

One political party is promising to make public transport free for all – commuters and their pets – if elected at the upcoming state election.

The NSW Greens will unveil its transport plan on Friday, which will include priorities of free travel, unwinding privatisation, fast tracking accessibility upgrades, and allowing pets to join their owners when they travel.

Greens MP and transport spokesman Abigail Boyd said free public transport was not just achievable, but essential for “well functioning communities and economies”.

“It’s time we followed the lead of other cities around the world and delivered a public transport people run for people not profit,” she said.

Luxembourg has scrapped fares on public transport, Germany is considering it, while some cities in Belgium, Estonia and France have had free public systems for years.

The Greens would get rid of tickets and Opal cards, citing costs to be saved. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Ms Boyd said free travel would not come with a considerable cost to ratepayers.

“The state government already subsidises about 80 per cent of the total cost of the public transport system, getting to 100 per cent is not actually a big stretch, especially if you look at the benefits,” she said. “In the long term, if you make transport free, the benefit it gives to the economy far outweighs the cost.”

MP, Greens transport spokeswoman Abigail Boyd. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Ms Boyd revealed making the network free would eliminate the costs associated with ticketing, including: staff employed as ticket collectors, those associated with fine collection and resulting court proceedings.

“You can also look at the social benefits – the state government introduced free transport on some weekends in Sydney after Covid,” she said.

“They did this because of the benefits to the economy, encouraging people to go to the city and spend money at local businesses.

Public buses, trains and ferries would be free for the NSW public. Picture: Gaye Gerard.

Further initiatives included in the party’s transport strategy include bringing back train manufacturing to Newcastle and the Hunter, fast-tracking the transition to a zero-emissions bus fleet, scrapping the Transport Asset Holding Entity (TAHE), among others.

Ms Boyd said the party would detail further before the election on how the strategy would be funded, with industries that are “more than able to afford it” being targeted.

“We have detailed plans for how we are going to get more money from the biggest profit takers in our state: property developers, fossil fuel companies, and the gambling industry, as well as the big banks,” she said.

The party will unveil the full plan, titled Rebooting our Public Transport, today.

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