From April 1 to June 1, public transport fares have been halved - and the Government isn't ruling out an extension on the discounts.
Auckland Transport Minister Michael Wood jumped on the Airportlink today in Auckland, outlining what the savings could look like for Kiwis using public transport.
"For an average person who might take two $5 trips a day to go to work and then come home from work, they're going to save $25 a week."
The Government's pumping up to $40 million into the scheme to help ease rise in living costs and to encourage more people out of their cars and onto buses and trains.
The super city's passenger numbers are around 45 percent of what they were before COVID-19.
Auckland Transport hopes the discount will lead to a 25 percent increase in numbers, but encouraging people to use public transport during an Omicron outbreak carries some risk.
"There are a lot of things around people working from home, different travel patterns, different behaviours, people are maybe a little bit reluctant to get back onto public transport," Auckland Transport integrated networks executive general manager Mark Lambert said.
But Aucklanders Newshub spoke to say it's not COVID-19 putting them off from using public transport.
"It takes so long, it takes a long time, and I think it should be free."
"For me, just no buses out my way," another said.
But for those who did take advantage of the 50 percent discount, they say it made a difference.
"I'm very pleased, it will certainly make me take the bus a little bit more."
The discounted fares are set to last three months, but it could take up to two months to see the impact of passenger numbers.
Public transport is expected to feature in this year's Budget.
