How people in the Wellington region will be able to travel by public transport in 2030 and pay using new fares and technologies being developed now.

The call for cheaper public transport fares across the Wellington region is growing louder as new figures reveal some commuters have had to swallow price hikes of more than 50 per cent over the past decade.

Figures complied by the Green Party show the average bus and train fare has risen by more than 30 per cent since 2006.

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GREATER WELLINGTON REGIONAL COUNCIL Wellington may have an impressive new fleet of Matangi trains, but commuters are paying more for the privilege of using them.

Even when adjusted for inflation fares have still gone up across the board, with the hardest hit being passengers who cross between one and five zones – the equivalent of a trip between Wellington and Lower Hutt or Porirua.

Public transport advocates have described the situation in Wellington city as "crazy" and pointed out that driving is actually cheaper than taking the bus into the CBD from the outer suburbs like Johnsonville, Karori and Island Bay.

The most striking fare increase has been to the cost of a monthly train ticket that crosses five zones, which cost $108 back in 2006 and costs $169.40 today – a 57 per cent increase, or 29 per cent once adjusted for inflation.

ROBERT KITCHIN/FAIRFAX NZ It may actually be cheaper for some Wellingtonains to drive in from the city's outer suburbs than to take the bus.

Greater Wellington Regional Council has frozen fares the past two years, with improved train patronage off-setting the need. But this year's fare freeze came after pressure from Wellington City Council to make buses cheaper.

Wellington public transport advocate Tony Randle said his own analysis showed it was actually cheaper to drive than to bus across three zones in Wellington, which is what those in the outer suburbs have to do.

"I don't have an issue with public transport users paying their fair share, because they're the main benefactors. But certainly the objective must be to keep fares competitive [compared to driving]."

The operating costs of public transport is this country are funded through a combination of fares, local rates and taxpayer subsidies. The Government aims for half the operating costs to be funded through fares.

But passengers in the Wellington region contribute more than those elsewhere. In 2013/14, Wellington public transport users covered 56 per cent of the total cost, while Auckland users paid 44 per cent, Canterbury users contributed 38 per cent and those in the Waikato coughed up 36 per cent.

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Green Party transport spokeswoman Julie Anne Genter said the Government should be coming to the party with more money to subsidise public transport across the country, which would allow councils to bring fares down.

The Government's preference was to have public transport users cover as much of their own costs as possible, even though greater uptake of buses, trains and ferries provided benefits to others in the form of less congested, more efficient roads and a cleaner environment, she said.

Paul Swain, the regional council's transport portfolio leader, said that while public transport fares had gone up over the past decade, Wellingtonians had also received a better level of service through the introduction of new Matangi trains, new Park 'n' Ride facilities, electronic real-time displays and better infrastructure.

While Wellingtonians wanted affordable public transport, they also wanted a reliable service, and the regional council felt a passenger contribution of about 50 per cent was "fair" to achieve this, he said.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges said the best way to keep fares down was to increase patronage by making public transport a more desirable travel choice, rather than pumping more money into a subsidy.

That is why the Government increased funding for public transport service by 19 per cent this year and currently invests almost $700 million per year into services and infrastructure, in conjunction with local government, he said.

Andy Foster, Wellington City Council's transport and urban development committee chairman, said the city council felt fares had risen in Wellington to the point where the public was starting to resist.

"We've said to the region council 'Yeah, we think there's an issue there'."

The council was keen to see Greater Wellington bring in an off-peak fare discount earlier than its signalled introduction of mid-2017, he said.