Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.

Nothing in life is free. Everyone knows that. But for a blissful eight months, my commute was. After closing Mount Eden station nearly a decade ago to redevelop it, Auckland Transport eventually opened a new, frequent bus route (64) to connect the stations on either side through Mount Eden. Because it was technically replacing the train, it didn’t have a charge..

“For the duration of the construction period, we’re also making the 64 service free, recognising the inconvenience of the station closure to residents and commuters in the area,” said an AT spokesperson in 2020 when the route opened.

So because the 64 bus is free, I take it.

I grew up in a household where it was considered the height of rudeness to ask for anything. In fact, the quickest way to guarantee you wouldn’t get something was to outright ask for it (rather than wait and hope for it to be offered). It was also considered mildly rude to accept offers from other people. This approach is common in Pacific households and while it is not the cause for any systemic issues, it’s helpful to keep in mind alongside the fact that Pacific women are the most underpaid demographic in New Zealand.

All this is to say that these days I am a lot more comfortable asking for things but still prefer an offer. So when something looks even remotely like one, I take it. That means embarrassing my partner with how quickly I will take the free chocolate at an open home, and now, catching the 64 bus every day even though I’m only on it for five stops.

As the cost of everything just goes up and up and it feels like every purchase has a fee that has a surcharge, riding the free* 64 bus felt like a genuine gift every day. It was a vision of fees-free public transport, where buses were frequented by people just travelling down the road or escaping the heat. It didn’t make me resent paying for the other, longer routes but was a lovely bonus when I needed to stop halfway home for some groceries and didn’t want to pay double the fare.

Last week, despite the ongoing inconvenience of the train station still being closed, Auckland Transport announced that from April 27, the 64 bus would charge a standard fare. Why? Presumably because of a request to councils from NZTA late last year to increase the user fees on public transport.

Someone must have crunched the tag-on numbers and calculated how much extra revenue they could generate by charging for every trip. But what they perhaps haven’t factored in is how many people chose public transport because the 64 was free. I considered it a loss leader for AT and the two malls (Newmarket and St Luke’s) that bookended the route. Did anyone ask Westfield if it wanted to subsidise the 64? Whatever the thinking, I will miss one of the few free gifts in Auckland, and suspect the 64 route is about to get a whole lot emptier.

Come April 28, I will be enjoying a crisp Autumn walk to work.

* Even the bus that is free isn’t truly free. It costs one cent per trip.

This week on Behind the Story

What does broadcast TV in NZ look like now?

As the premier local TV writer at The Spinoff, Tara Ward spends a good chunk of her time thinking about what’s on our screens and why. This year has gotten off to a roaring start, with the big hitters of television returning, like Severance, White Lotus and Handmaid’s Tale, as well as new trendsetters like Adolescence. Tara joins me on Behind the Story to talk old favourites and the current state of broadcast television in New Zealand.

The stories Spinoff readers spent the most time with this week

• On the Benjamin Doyle ‘bussy’ saga, I argue Peters is being vile and the Greens should’ve seen it coming
• Can Auckland Council finally do the impossible and get rid of one (1) golf course? Hayden Donnell investigates.
• My report on two Jewish community groups accusing the chief human rights commissioner of Islamophic comments
• Henry Cooke reviews a new political book and asks who gets to embrace ‘abundance’ in New Zealand politics?
• Liam Rātana ranks every chocolate milk in New Zealand, from worst to best

Comments of the week

• On Can Auckland Council finally do the impossible and get rid of one (1) golf course?“My dad and uncles are now all in their seventies and still play weekly, it contributes massively to their physical, mental and social wellbeing. It is a huge part of our identity, in our case there would be genuine suffering and grief if it was taken away. I acknowledge that the situation in this case may differ slightly but as I say, allow for some nuance and complexity in the framing of the activity and the people who enjoy it.”
• On Help Me Hera: Nobody is ever good enough for me“Every friend of mine who had a checklist for appropriate male partners, ended up in a Be Careful What You Wish For situation. Good on paper means nothing. Another friend started dating an artist living in near squalor, and he ended up with an incredible job in the gaming industry and now they’re rich as hell.”