Fares victory for rail rebels | Wairarapa News | Local News in Wairarapa

Rail rebels have won a council backtrack on price increases for train fares to Wellington.
Cash ticket prices will still increase from $15 to $18 but Greater Wellington has trimmed rises for 10-trip tickets to $130, monthly tickets to $390, and school trip tickets to $487.50.
Masterton District Council member Lyn Patterson, who started a 420-strong petition protesting about the increases to Greater Wellington, hailed it as a win for commuters.
''It's a bit of a victory. They listened to us, they took our concerns on board and worked with their operators to see whether they could address their fare increases, which they have done, which is excellent,'' she said.
It had been an uphill battle for Ms Patterson, a regular commuter, after rail staff blocked a petition that was signed by 260 signatures on its first day. ''They made it difficult. We had to work covertly around train managers but the first morning was a good indiction of how people felt about it.''
The proposed increases for Masterton had been knocked back from 13.3 per cent to 8.3 per cent, and for Carterton from by 14.3 per cent to 8.9 per cent.
Production editor Peter Woodcock, who takes the train three times a week from Carterton to Wellington, said it was a pity the new $18 cash fares hadn't changed but he was pleased his monthly ticket was going up only $30 instead of $48.
''You can never be happy with a fare rise but I'm happy they bought it back and listened to the paying customers.
''If you're going to fly to Australia you have got options, Pacific Blue, Air NZ, Jetstar, but with rail you have only got one option _ you can drive but basically you're at the mercy of whatever price they charge.''
Commercial manager Murray Houston, who rides the train most weekdays, said the previous price rises were unfair on commuters suffering daily delays while KiwiRail upgraded the network.
Brian Baxter, Greater Wellington's public transport design and development manager, said the charges were reviewed after negative feedback.
Greater Wellington chief executive Dave Benham said all that was needed were final discussions with KiwiRail and councillors before the price changes took effect on October 1.