“..as the cost of the scheme mounts.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce said the travel subsidy under the SuperGold card was set to exceed its $18 million-a-year budget, with the Wairarapa to Wellington train service and the Waiheke Island ferry singled out.
“The highest priority of the review process is to consider how to keep the scheme within the available budget of $18 million a year, while continuing to provide improved mobility for older people,” Mr Joyce said.
The Waiheke ferry cost $2 million and the operator was paid $13 a ticket.
Officials are also considering the level of reimbursement to operators and councils, and what services are eligible.
The review is also looking at how “off peak” is defined.
A discussion document notes that after the first 12 months “it has become clear that in its present form, the scheme is not financially sustainable with the funding available”.
But the card’s architect, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters, said yesterday the changes could hit the elderly hard ..
.. and would be a breach of National’s assurances in 2008 that the elderly would not lose what they had..”
go to source/story>>Budget bust hits free rides for elderly | Stuff.co.nz
