Perfect storm ahead for Wairarapa commuters

Congestion charging, a crackdown on public servants working from home, and an unreliable public transport system could create a perfect storm for Wairarapa commuters.

It currently costs $526.50 for a monthly train pass to travel between Masterton and Wellington, cheaper than the estimated $700 in petrol if travelling by car.

Cheaper again is the option of working from home, which would soon be off the cards for public servants, except by arrangement, following a government announcement on Monday.

Public Service Minister Nicola Willis said the government wanted to see more staff at their places of work each day and that updated guidance for the public service would make clear that working from home was not an entitlement and must be agreed and monitored.

Concerns about the personal cost of the move have been expressed on social media by Wairarapa commuters.

These costs included childcare before and after school while parents were commuting.

Commuting from Masterton to Wellington and back totals 3.5 hours each day.

Add in an 8-hour shift with a half hour break, and that consumes 12 hours of the day.

Commuter AJ Johnson said his work from home days were awarded to his team for exceeding KPIs and maintaining productivity.

"If our performance stalls, we're back in the office five days.

"And on top of this, my team has reduced from 10 to six but the KPIs haven't changed as a result, so we're picking up more work.

"It's nonsense what Luxon and Willis are saying about poor performance."

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the primary focus was on building culture in the workforce.

The direction to work from the office was one of many changes which would result in costly transport for Wairarapa commuters.

The transport minister has confirmed the government would introduce "time of use" schemes - also known as congestion charging - to reduce travel times on the busiest roads and boost economic growth.

Greater Wellington Regional Council said congestion charging would place a "small fee" on people travelling into or out of the Wellington CBD at peak hours.

Its Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway document earmarked 2026 as when the congestion charging scheme would be designed for peak traffic times and routes.

Full implementation of "dynamic road user pricing throughout region" would roll out by 2030.

The regional council also outlined low-cost fares from 2028 to "ensure that public transport offers an attractive and competitive option to private car use, especially as the cost of private car use increases with the introduction of increased road-user charges, [and] congestion charging".

A recent report to Masterton District Council said the New Zealand Transport Agency would lead the design of the schemes in partnership with councils and all schemes would require government approval.

Funds raised would be reinvested into transport infrastructure in the region it was raised.

The Masterton council report said the schemes would likely result in more people taking public and active transport.

"It is worth noting that if such a scheme were to take place in the Wellington region, the Wairarapa rail line continues to fall short of Metlink's expected targets for reliability and punctuality," the report said.

Reliability of trains on the Wairarapa Line was at 88.9 percent in July, and punctuality was at 14.6 percent due to a high level of speed restrictions on the network.

Monthly boardings on the Wairarapa line dropped from 71,000 in July 2019, pre-covid, to about 59,000 in July 2020.

As at July 2024, there were 53,000 boardings on the Wairarapa line.

Some of this drop could be attributed to flexible working from home policies.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.