Giving all Australians access to free public transport for one year would cost the federal budget $2.2bn, according to an independent costing of the Greens’ proposal.
The Greens’ transport spokeswoman, Elizabeth Watson-Brown, said a 12-month trial of free fares would provide cost-of-living relief while significantly reducing carbon emissions.
“This is not just a cost-of-living measure, it has social and environmental benefits as well – helping get cars off the road, cutting down on traffic congestion and transport emissions, which are the fastest growing source of carbon pollution in the country,” she said.
Costings by the Parliamentary Budget Office predict the policy would likely increase the number of people using public transport and leaving their car at home, but didn’t factor that into the $2.2bn figure.
The 12-month trial is not government policy and is being proposed as ministers warn of budget constraints and significant expenditure, including on the National Disability Insurance Scheme and the estimated $368bn acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.
But Watson-Brown said the $2.2bn bill for free public transport was one-seventh of the projected $17.1bn cost of stage-three tax cuts in their first year.
The Greens MP said Opec’s decision to cut oil production by about 1.15m barrels a day, in addition to earlier cuts, highlighted the need for governments to make transport cheaper.
“We’re in a cost-of-living crisis, and with petrol prices set to spike again in May, the cost of getting from A to B is putting more and more pressure on already struggling households,” Watson-Brown said.
“Long-term, we need to invest in a major expansion of our public transport networks, but a trial of free public transport can be implemented immediately by the federal government and help people right now.”
There is international precedent for the policy. In 2018, the French city of Dunkirk made public transport free for its 200,000 residents. Malta and the Estonian capital of Tallinn have announced similar schemes.
Light vehicles account for about 11% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to federal government analysis.
Last week, fares on regional Victorian train lines were slashed from more than $40 for a return ticket to a cap of $9.20, with concessional fares reduced to $4.60. The state opposition proposed cutting fares to $2 a day, claiming that could cost $1.3bn over four years.
Watson-Brown said a 12-month national trial would shift attitudes towards public transport and start treating it as “a collective right, much like public schools and hospitals”.
“We don’t expect public schools and hospitals to raise their own revenue from users, so why should we expect differently of public transport? In many ways public transport fares are a regressive tax for what should be a social right,” Watson-Brown said.
