‘Things will get worse’: Public transport business case ditched by ORC

Sue Wards / Wānaka App

Otago Regional Council (ORC) has ditched a public transport business case for the Upper Clutha in its draft annual plan, blaming central government policies.

The business case was promised in ORC’s Long Term Plan (LTP) last year after the council’s proposal for yet another Upper Clutha public transport trial was rejected during consultation.

This week ORC said “funding constraints” mean a Wānaka/Upper Clutha public transport business case won’t go ahead.

“Planned public transport improvements for Dunedin, Oamaru, Balclutha, Central Otago and Wānaka have changed due to reduced government co-funding which resulted in proposed improvement plans being pared back,” ORC chief executive Richard Saunders said.

Councillors disappointed, unhappy

Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) deputy mayor Quentin Smith told the Wānaka App he was “very disappointed” a business case cannot be progressed for the Upper Clutha.

“Simply put it is completely due to the regressive policy of this government under the GPS (Government Policy Statement) for transport that does not allow funding of new PT [public transport] services and the policy on bus fair box recovery rates making it near impossible to successfully establish a new service at this time,” he said.

“With projected levels of service in Wānaka and particularly Albert Town Bridge rapidly declining over the next five years with no bridge replacement or PT in sight, things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better.”

Read more: Holiday gridlock at bridge won’t move NZTA

ORC councillor Alexa Forbes told the Wānaka App she was “very unhappy” with the change.

“We are in a situation now that even when we commit our local share funding (both ORC and QLDC) we cannot trust that [NZ Transport Agency] will come to the party with their share.

“This makes planning next to impossible,” she said.

Alexa said the transport challenges in the district are well known “but government is turning a blind eye and has snapped its wallet shut when it comes to locally agreed solutions”.

 

The government is focusing on “road building and pothole fixing rather than public or active transport”, she said, which “will not help this district”.

“We have long known we need an integrated public and active transport system that is convenient, safe and reliable.”

Public transport in Southern Lakes

ORC still plans, however, to expand bus services in Queenstown, increasing the frequency of services, improving connections, and adding an Arrowtown ‘direct’ route via Malaghans Road for 2025.

Quentin said the central government policies not only put the Upper Clutha at risk, “the policies put at risk all the ground made with the $2 bus in Queenstown”.

“The policies will very likely make it significantly more expensive than $2, reduce patronage and increase congestion in the rapidly failing Queenstown Roading network.”

ORC said it also plans to investigate a transport option for commuters from Alexandra and Cromwell to Queenstown, to recognise “the volume of traffic between Central Otago and Queenstown, including commuters”. This would replace the previously proposed trial for these towns.

Two public transport shuttle bus trials (in 2022 and 2023) showed an express service between Hāwea and Wānaka gained in numbers while use of an intra-city loop remained lower. Analysis of survey data showed that approximately 60 percent of respondents would otherwise have travelled by car.

Read more: Useful data gathered from public transport trial

Transport cuts will reduce rates increase - ORC

Cuts to planned public transport upgrades contributed to a lower than forecast rates increase, ORC said this week.

 

The regional council has forecast an overall rates increase of 7.8 percent in the 2025/26 year, less than the 13.8 percent previously forecast.

Other changes include “reprioritisation of environmental implementation funding, reduced inflation costs and work to gain efficiencies”, Richard said.

Despite these cuts, an increase to rates was still needed to help fund ORC’s work, he said, including a new large-scale environmental fund.

Alexa said she urged everyone to submit to the Regional Public Transport Plan “to express their frustration about the lack of focus from central government on this issue”.

ORC’s annual plan provides information about ORC’s work programme for the coming year and what that will cost. Find more information here.