Public transport users in Wellington pay a higher proportion of the costs of public transport than those in other New Zealand cities.

Public transport fares in Wellington have increased rapidly in the past decade, but how do they compare to the cost of public transport in other New Zealand cities?

Figures from the Green Party show that bus and train fares in the capital have increased by more than 30 per cent since 2006.

They also show that public transport commuters in Wellington cover 56 per cent of the cost, compared to 44 per cent in Auckland and 38 per cent in Canterbury.

Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Dunedin all use a zone or stage system to calculate fare prices - whereby the more zones or stages you pass through the higher the fare.

On the face of it all of our major cities charge similar prices for a journey of a similar number of zones.

For example, a three-zone journey in Wellington costs $3.63 for an adult using a concession card, compared to $4 in Auckland and $4.55 in Christchurch.

However, not all zones (or stages as they are called in Auckland) are created equal. In Auckland a three-zone journey will take you approximately 12km from Otahuhu to the central city. While in Wellington a three-zone journey from Lyall Bay central city is about 5km.

In Christchurch a three-zone journey could take you a distance of 23km from Woodend to the central city or 10km from Lyttleton.

Hamilton doesn't operate a zone system, instead offering a flat rate of $2.40 for an adult to travel by bus in the city using a concession card.