Transport subsidy for elderly and disabled Kiwis cut by 10% in Canterbury, as ECan addresses ‘fraud’ allegations

Thursday, 26 March 2026

Two taxi drivers in Christchurch have been suspended in the past eighteen months over suspected misuse of Total Mobility cards, with more accused of “rorting” the system.

Disability and elderly advocates say the few examples of bad actors pale in comparison to the good the scheme achieves.

Total Mobility, a government and council-funded discounted taxi scheme for people with no other transport options, is in the midst of a review which will increase costs for users and likely make it harder to access.

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At a council meeting on Wednesday, Environment Canterbury agreed to cut the 75% subsidy and $70 fare caps by 10%, at the direction of central government. The added cost - an average of $3.75 extra per trip - was estimated to result in a 20% reduction in trips, according to a staff report.

Chris Davis, chief executive of Aspire Canterbury, told councillors about a suspected “rorting” of the system.* He had heard clients say drivers would would waive their contribution, and get around the $70 cap by turning off the engine, then starting a new journey. He described this as “fraud”.

Davis told The Press he raised it because although it benefited clients, there was only so much funding available for the scheme and people needed to follow the rules.

According to ECan’s fraud register, two taxi drivers from First Direct have been suspended from the Total Mobility programme since August 2024. One was suspected of misusing client cards, while the other related to a customer’s misuse of a card (drivers are required to verify the identity of a card user).

In 2016, ECan went to the Serious Fraud Office over alleged fraud by taxi drivers across multiple taxi companies. The estimated loss was $420,000.

ECan later reached a confidential settlement with First Direct, with ECan saying there was no evidence the organisation itself sought to commit fraud.

In late 2024, multiple drivers from an unnamed taxi company were suspected of fraud for offering free rides in return for using their Total Mobility card, according to ECan’s fraud register.

Gold Band Taxis was named in a 2025 report of multiple clients suspected of misusing cards. An ECan investigation could not substantiate the loss, and it was noted Ecan instead would focus on improving the system.

Those improvements would kick in when contracts were renewed in April. Total Mobility providers would no longer be able to do sequential trips - or the cap-stop-cap issue Davis identified - Gibbon said.

Gibbon said this behaviour was not illegal under the current contracts, but it did not align with the intention of a cap. There could also be legitimate explanations for the sequential trips, he said.

Preliminary findings from ECan’s investigation in to this behaviour suggested the cost was less than 1% of Total Mobility costs.

First Direct and Gold Band Taxis were approached for comment.

Greta Bond, chief executive of Age Concern Canterbury, said focusing on fraud was a distraction to the massive and concerning overhaul of Total Mobility, as only a tiny minority of drivers and clients were involved.

“It’s really hard to overstate how very important this [subsidy] is in terms of maintaining the wellbeing and dignity of older people,” she said.

She said the council and government should see the popularity of the card as a success, rather than a risk to their bottom line. An elderly client might use the card three times in one day for various appointments, then not use the card for the rest of the week.

ECan estimated cutting the subsidy would lead to annual Crown savings of $2.3 million across Canterbury. The regional council, expected to spend $4m on the scheme in the coming financial year, could save as much as $1.3m.

Councillor Joe Davies, the only vote against the cuts, told colleagues “this is the face of austerity”.

“Total Mobility exists because some of our residents cannot catch a bus … the Government solution to funding pressure is to shift costs on to the people least able to pay,” he said.

He said a 20% reduction in trips reflected missed appointments and lost independence.

Stewart Gibbon, ECan’s head of public transport, said the Government wanted the service to be more financially sustainable, describing the scheme as “regularly exceeding budgets”.

The subsidy was only 50% per trip until 2022, he said, while the Wednesday vote made it 65%.

Chris Davis, chief executive of Aspire Canterbury, an organisation which issued Total Mobility cards, told councillors last month funding cut decisions should wait until after the government review.

The Government wanted the cuts effective from July 1, but around that time were expected to introduce new restrictions on the scheme, he said. That could look like a limit on trips taken, and also tighter eligibility, resulting in cost savings Davis believed could offset the need for dropping the subsidy.

Davis said he was happy with how ECan responded to his concerns about misuse and the improvements they were making.

“My main point is that the disabled community are a community who have the least money and the least options for transport, so maybe sort out some of the other stuff before you pinch them,” he said.

* CORRECTION: During the editing process, this story was changed to incorrectly attribute this quote to Cr Joe Davies. It has been corrected and The Press apologises for the error. (Updated 9.40am, March 26, 2026)