With the government's $50/week tax credit, if a family uses all that money for fuel, at current prices around $3.33/litre and a fuel economy of 8L/100km, they could drive 187.5 km. Or just under 27 km a week.

How much further could families travel with free public transport?

March 24, 2026 - 03:28 UTC

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Should that be “Or just under 27km a day”?
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Ha, yes. Thanks!
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And if just one person needs to do all the travelling, then the fare cap at $50 would make it unlimited travel (excluding outer ferries)
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Watch Fullers increase the Waiheke fare in line (and a bit more) with diesel prices.
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That seems to assume they were paying nothing for fuel, before the tax credit.

If one assumes paying, even $2 per litre for fuel before, the $50/week covers the fuel price increase up to over 450km per week at current prices (== (50/(3.33-2.00))*(100/8) )
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In practice I assume the $50/week is mostly intended to cover inflation in the cost of other goods and services, caused by the embedded fuel cost component(s) going up.

(Which is going to affect everyone, so the targetted assistance to maybe 20% of the population is surprising.)
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