Getting around should not cost more simply because you need support.
That was the message behind a recent Facebook post I shared about Auckland’s inconsistent companion travel rules. The response was immediate. Families, people with disabilities, carers, and advocates all shared the same frustration: why does needing support make everyday life more expensive?
In Auckland, people who use the Total Mobility scheme receive a 40% discount on buses, trains, and ferries. That same card also allows a support person to travel free on buses under the PlusOne policy. But on trains and ferries, companions still pay full fare, at least for now. Auckland Transport says PlusOne for trains and ferries is planned, but many families and people with disability are still carrying the cost in the meantime.
For our Finlay, that means a return ferry trip between Devonport and the city can cost around $27 a day because support is not optional. It is the only reason travel is possible.
New Zealand’s system: some progress, but still no consistent national companion support
New Zealand does have one emerging access initiative beyond transport: the Hāpai Access Card. Launched in 2020, the Hāpai card is a nationwide access card that helps people with disability communicate their support needs to participating businesses, venues, and attractions.
The card uses accessibility icons to indicate barriers such as needing extra time, quieter spaces, urgent access to a toilet, or an essential companion. At many participating venues, cardholders can access discounts, priority support, and free companion tickets where support is required. As of April 2026, more than 5,200 people hold the card, and around 294 businesses are participating nationwide.
That said, Hāpai is not a government-funded universal companion scheme, and it does not guarantee acceptance. It relies on participating businesses choosing to opt in. Importantly, it is not currently embedded into core public transport systems such as Auckland buses, trains, and ferries.
Instead, support is mostly delivered through the Total Mobility scheme, a transport subsidy for people who cannot use standard public transport independently. This currently covers 75% of taxi fares up to a regional cap, but from July 2026, the subsidy is due to reduce to 65%, with some regional caps also likely to fall. The Ministry of Transport is also consulting on wider changes, including a possible national public transport discount.
Total Mobility Scheme Strategy – Ministry of Transport
The problem is that this system focuses on the disabled person’s fare rather than recognising the unavoidable cost of support.
If someone physically cannot travel without assistance, then charging their support person separately is not equitable. It is a hidden disability tax.
How other countries do it better
Australia: a strong national Companion Card model
Australia has one of the clearest and most practical companion support systems in the world. Through the Companion Card programme, eligible people with significant and permanent disability who need lifelong attendant care support can bring a companion free of charge to participating venues, events, attractions, and many activities.
The person with disability pays for their own ticket, while the support person receives free entry. The card is not means-tested and is recognised across Australian states and territories, giving families far more certainty and consistency than we have in New Zealand.
Importantly, the scheme is based on the principle of fair ticketing: that people should not be charged extra simply because they need support to participate in everyday life. That is exactly the conversation New Zealand needs to be having.
This model recognises a simple truth: access often requires another person.
Canada: a practical national companion access card
Canada’s Access 2 Card is one of the strongest examples of a national companion support model. Run by Easter Seals Canada, it allows eligible people with permanent disabilities who need support to receive free or discounted admission for a support person at hundreds of participating entertainment, cultural, and recreation venues across the country.
The disabled person pays their own admission, while their support person receives free or reduced entry. The scheme is available to people of all ages and recognises a wide range of disabilities and support needs.
Some transport operators and regional services also recognise attendant support, although this is less consistent than the attractions system. Overall, Canada does a far better job than New Zealand at recognising that support is often essential, not optional.
United Kingdom and Northern Ireland: more recognition of carers’ and companions’ needs
The UK does not have a single government-run national companion card, but it has developed a much stronger culture of recognising carers and support needs than New Zealand.
One practical example is the National Carers Card, a widely used photo ID card that helps unpaid carers verify their role and access concessions, discounts, and smoother support at venues, events, airports, and activities. It is specifically designed to reduce the burden of constantly having to explain support needs in public.
The card also provides access to a growing network of partner discounts and concessions. While acceptance can vary between providers, the broader approach reflects a stronger understanding that support people are part of access, not an optional extra.
A fairer system would go further by recognising paid carers as well. When support is essential for a disabled person to travel safely or participate equally, charging extra because that support person is paid creates an unfair financial penalty for disability. This is particularly important for people who use disability funding to employ support workers, as they can otherwise face additional costs simply to access everyday life.
In Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK, people with disability also benefit from concessionary travel schemes and companion support in some settings. Overall, the UK is further ahead than New Zealand in recognising the real costs of care, access, and equal participation.
United States: stronger specialist transport support through paratransit
The United States takes a different approach to transport support by combining legal access protections with specialist door-to-door services.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), public transport agencies that run fixed-route buses must also provide complementary paratransit services for people who cannot independently use standard public transport because of disability. These services are usually origin-to-destination, wheelchair accessible, and designed to mirror the hours and service area of regular public transport.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Guidelines around Caregivers.
A key difference is that personal care attendants are commonly allowed to travel free on these services, because their support is recognised as essential rather than optional. In many areas, at least one support person can travel at no extra cost when booked with the disabled rider.
Compared with New Zealand, this is significant. While New Zealand’s Total Mobility scheme subsidises taxi fares, it still focuses primarily on the disabled person’s fare rather than consistently recognising the unavoidable cost of a support person. The US model is not perfect, but it does more clearly acknowledge that access often requires both transport and human support.
France: companion public transport support is built into the fare system
France offers a much more structured public transport approach for disabled passengers who need support. In the Paris and wider Île-de-France region, companions can receive free or half-price travel depending on the disabled person’s mobility card status.
Since April 2021, Île-de-France Mobilités has allowed:
- free travel for a companion when the person with disability holds a disability card or mobility inclusion card marked “need for accompaniment”
- 50% reduced fares for companions of disabled passengers with other qualifying disability cards
These concessions apply across the wider regional network, including Metro, RER, buses, trams, and trains. The companion can only use the concession when travelling with the person with disability, which keeps the system focused on access rather than abuse.
This is a useful comparison for New Zealand. France recognises that if someone needs support to travel, the fare system should reflect that reality. In New Zealand, support people are still too often treated as an extra cost rather than part of the access solution.
Why this matters
This is not about asking for special treatment.
It is about fairness.
A person who cannot physically travel independently should not face higher costs than someone who can. A companion is not a luxury add-on. They are often the bridge between isolation and participation.
Accessible transport is not just ramps, lifts, and wider doors. It is also about affordability, dignity, and consistency.
If Auckland Transport recognises the need for a PlusOne on buses, then that same recognition must extend across ferries and trains without delay.
And nationally, New Zealand needs to have a bigger conversation:
- Should we introduce a national companion card?
- Should support people travel free across all public transport modes?
- Should access to everyday life depend on postcode or regional budgets?
Because right now, people with disabilities and their families are too often paying more simply to participate.
That is not inclusion. That is inequity.
Totally agree to the extent that access to movies/shows should be carer free. My son can not go to either on his own and he is now 31yes old!