Canterbury bus fares unlikely to jump to $8 to meet 'unreasonable' NZTA target

Wednesday, 26 March 2025

Ever wondered what happens in the control room at Christchurch's Bus Interchange? We take you on a tour.

An “unreasonable” government request which could quadruple the cost of a bus trip to help increase income will not be followed to the letter, but the Canterbury regional council plans to raise revenue in other ways.

Instead of upping the cost of bus fares to make public transport less reliant on public funding, Environment Canterbury (ECan) wants to try “more aggressive” advertising campaigns.

It may also pause efforts to transition to zero-emission buses.

On Wednesday, regional councillors will decide between setting a private revenue target of 14% or 15% for public transport services. But both options are only about half of what Waka Kotahi - NZ Transport Agency proposed late last year.

In November, it told public transport authorities to be less reliant on public funding and to significantly increase how much the service is funded by private revenue, such as ticket prices.

NZTA proposed targets of between 35% and 40% by June 2027, almost twice the national average and more than three times the 11.7% of private share ECan had in the 2023/24 financial year.

ECan was confronted with a proposal to increase private share to 38%, but even a target of 14% would be challenging, according to a recent council report. That would require $62 million to be slashed from operating costs, as well as a revenue boost of $2.9m.

Waka Kotahi - NZ Transport Agency has told public transport authorities around the country to make their services less reliant on public funding.

Regional councillors will decide between an increased private revenue target of 14% or 15% by June 2027 on Wednesday.

In a report published ahead of the meeting, staff said the increase might be achieved through more aggressive advertising and by pausing plans to transition to zero-emission buses.

Councillor Deon Swiggs said the targets would not directly affect bus fares. ECan already planned to increase fares from $2 to $3 around mid-year, or when it transitioned to the national ticketing service, he said, and any further increases would be subject to a vote.

Councillor Deon Swiggs says the targets would not directly affect bus fares.

Swiggs spoke against the 38% target proposed by NZTA late last year, telling The Press at the time it could result in a four-fold increase to fares, or $8 per trip.

He said bus prices were kept low to encourage people to use public transport. It was working and he did not want patronage to start slipping.

He was not opposed to increasing the private revenue ratio and setting targets, he said, but it had to be achievable.

Whichever target councillors agree on will need to be accepted by NZTA.

According to the council report, the transport authority told council staff in January a 14% target may not be acceptable, and asked them to be “more aggressive” with its goals.

Any public transport authority which did not actively try to meet an agreed upon private revenue target would put their future funding requests at risk, NZTA reportedly told ECan staff.

The national average private share is at 20.5%, down from 33% in the 2018/19 financial year. NZTA wants targets across the country of between 35-40%.

NZTA was approached for comment to elaborate on the consequences of not setting a 38% target, and if a target of 15% would be acceptable.