Soaring demand sparks change at Invercargill's Total Mobility
Total Mobility is a nationwide service that has existed since the 1980s, providing transport options for eligible users.
But use of Invercargill's offering has spiked in recent years putting financial strain on the council.
A report prepared for a meeting this week said costs were unsustainable with budgets being overspent to the tune of $80,000 - $100,000 every month.
The problem began when government increased the trip subsidy to 75% during Covid, prompting some taxi firms to absorb the remaining 25% of the fare.
Trip numbers doubled as a result with some patrons taking up to 225 a month.
A series of proposed steps aim to address that issue, beginning with a change to operator contracts so that the remaining 25% of the fare is always charged.
If that doesn't work, the council will limit the number of trips to 30 per month before dropping the subsidy to 50% - dependent on technological possibility.
Council manager strategic asset planning Doug Rodgers said changes would be brought in at three-month staging because time was of the essence.
"I'm loathed to make it any longer for the pure reason that we could get six months into this programme without any changes and essentially the bucket will be empty," he said.
"And that is a pretty severe impact on the user."
Rodgers said a combination of increased subsidy and operators not charging had resulted in a free service: "and who's not going to take that up?"
The reason it was hitting ratepayers in the pocket was because the original 50% subsidy was made up of 60% funding from the National Land Transport Fund and 40% from the council.
The 25% top-up subsidy from Covid times was funded by the Crown.
Steady growth in the service meant the cost to council was forecast to jump from around $1.46 million in 2024/25 to around $2.1m for 2025/26.
Elected members shared a range of views during discussion.
Councillor Alex Crackett said it was important to find a happy medium or compromise, while Lesley Soper said a partial contribution from users had always been a part of the scheme's equity.
Mayor Nobby Clark feared proposed changes could create hardship for people who used the service to access employment, get groceries, attend appointments and go to the pool.
The subsidy for each Total Mobility trip is capped at an upper limit which varies between regions.
Not all southern users clocked up high trip numbers, with the report saying 63% used the service less than 10 times a month.
A back-up plan if technology doesn't support a scaled subsidy approach is to introduce a hard cap of 30 trips per month.
A last resort, once all options have been tried, is to bring a report back to committee proposing the subsidy be returned to 50/50 for all trips.
Proposed changes are yet to be approved at full council.
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
an hour ago
- Otago Daily Times
Accountant jailed for nearly six years after $1.7m Covid fraud
A New Zealand man has been sentenced to almost six years in jail over a $1.7 million Covid-19 fraud. Luke Daniel Rivers, also known as Mai Qu, pleaded guilty to 29 charges, including wage subsidy and small business cashflow scheme fraud, and money laundering. The schemes were set up to help businesses through the disruption of Covid-19 lockdowns. Rivers was sentenced in the Auckland District Court. Ministry of Social Development (MSD) group general manager of client service delivery George van Ooyen said the fraud was premeditated, sophisticated and solely for personal financial gain. It involved the use of forged documents. "The volume of fake documents and the repeated nature of the conduct, point to a significant degree of premeditation and sophistication. "What he did is an abuse of the Covid-19 relief schemes, solely for personal financial gain. "The wage subsidy was a high trust scheme providing rapid payments up front for businesses to keep their employees in their jobs and provide some form of financial security." Inland Revenue (IRD) spokesperson Bernadette Newman said he used forged documents to get IRD numbers for people who had never been to New Zealand. "Rivers used his specialist knowledge as an accountant to game the system. And he used the identities of more than 200 other people to carry out his scheme - all to maximise the amount of funds he could apply for," she said. "He abused both the public trust in the accounting profession and his clients' trust in him to keep their information private. "His tax offending is effectively ongoing as he hasn't remedied his failure to file GST and income tax returns for his four companies." Van Ooyen said MSD was still working to uphold the integrity of the wage subsidy scheme. "We have active investigations ongoing. Court outcomes and debt recovery will continue beyond this." "As of today, 46 people have now been sentenced with a further 49 people still before the courts. "We've also made civil recovery decisions in relation to 52 businesses. More than 25,000 repayments have been made, totalling $830.4 million." Newman said IRD had prosecuted 14 people for fraud involving Covid supports. "Eleven cases are progressing through the court system, five cases where defendants are awaiting sentence, and a number of active investigations around other Covid-19 support fraud cases. "Increased funding this year means IR can do more audits and debt collection work, and investigations into specific sectors can continue."
NZ Herald
an hour ago
- NZ Herald
Covid wage-subsidy cheat Luke Daniel Rivers cooked up fake employees to steal nearly $1 million
He spent a term at a local grammar school but couldn't afford the fees, so he went to work, then studied and became an accountant. He changed his name by statutory declaration in June 2004, believing an English-sounding name would enhance his career prospects. In July 2006, he got a new Inland Revenue Department (IRD) number under the name of Luke Rivers. However, he did not tell the tax department he still held another tax number under his birth name. Prosecutor Fiona Culliney said the offending Rivers was charged with started in 2011, when he evaded child support by filing multiple tax returns misrepresenting his income. But when the Covid-19 pandemic presented a new opportunity, the scale of his offending escalated. As the Government rolled out wage subsidies and small-business support schemes, Rivers cooked up an elaborate con. He pocketed about $906,000 and attempted to swindle a further $724,105.60. The fantasy world of his fraud scheme included the names of three Indian 'employees' who had never been in New Zealand. He made 28 applications on behalf of eight companies he controlled, with a dozen of those applications fraudulent. Luke Daniel Rivers's fraudulent applications for wage subsidies named three "employees" who had never been to NZ. Photo / Dean Purcell In the small-business cashflow scheme he acquired about $29,000 and made failed applications for a further $41,600. The court heard Rivers was the sole director and shareholder of Your Payroll Limited, Your Refund Limited, Accounting 4 Me Limited and Save On Mortgage Limited. In multiple wage-subsidy applications he named himself as a full-time employee. Rivers was charged in June 2023 and initially denied the allegations. By October that year, it seemed a trial lasting four or five weeks would happen. But in April this year, Rivers admitted 29 charges. Culliney said Rivers' offending was prolonged and involved the abuse of his position as a chartered accountant. 'On that basis, [the chances of] a discount for character, if any's available, must be very slim.' The court heard Rivers cited his Chinese culture and 'expectations on him to be financially successful' as influencing the offending. 'He's well-educated and a successful businessman,' Culliney said. 'This is a particularly sophisticated and deliberate scheme of fraud. It's opportunistic in the sense that the country was in crisis, but it wasn't a situation where it was easy enough to dip into client funds.' In November 2020, Rivers opened an Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) account in Singapore and sent $100,000 to it. In June 2021, he opened an account with Standard Chartered bank under a Chinese name. In total, $696,243.50 was sent to that account. In December 2020, he sent $250,000 to the OCBC account on the same day he received that money from the Government. Defence counsel Baden Meyer said Rivers was not a demonstrative man, but he was remorseful. The defendant had already repaid $1 million. 'The payment of reparation …. is a practical demonstration of his remorse," Meyer said. Chartered accountant Luke Daniel Rivers used his skills to cheat the wage subsidy scheme. Photo / Dean Purcell The prosecution said seven years' jail should be the starting point, and the defence said six years. Judge Kathryn Maxwell said the amount of money in the fraud was an aggravating factor. She said Rivers' use of two IRD numbers allowed him to misrepresent his income for seven years. He forged documents to get three IRD numbers for the Indian people and also made false employment returns. Rivers used real people's names and details to give the wage-subsidy applications a veneer of legitimacy. Rivers abused subsidies which were established to support businesses in need at a time of high stress, Judge Maxwell said. 'It is, more broadly, fraud against taxpayers as a whole.' Rivers received a 10% discount for the reparations he made and a 5% discount for his guilty pleas. He was sentenced to five years and 11 months' imprisonment. Judge Maxwell told him: 'You did not take what you needed. There was a smorgasbord of dishonesty and considerable personal gain.'
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
The Cat's Out Of The Bag: Elm Marketing Acquires Talk Visual
Press Release – Elm Marketing The acquisition strengthens Elms offering and adds experienced creative talent to its growing team, with Talk Visuals long-time staff members Cat and Kam joining Elm Marketing as part of the transition. Invercargill-based creative agency Elm Marketing has officially acquired Talk Visual, a well-regarded creative studio specialising in branding, design, and visual storytelling for local businesses. The acquisition strengthens Elm's offering and adds experienced creative talent to its growing team, with Talk Visual's long-time staff members Cat and Kam joining Elm Marketing as part of the transition. 'This move feels incredibly natural,' says Emma Lindsay, founder of Elm Marketing. 'We've admired Haylee's work for years, and when she approached us ahead of her move overseas, it quickly became clear that the values and vision of our two businesses were strongly aligned.' Haylee, the founder of Talk Visual, had always planned to reach the 10-year milestone before embarking on her next adventure. With her business in a strong position, she wanted to ensure her team and clients were left in capable hands. 'It's important to us that the transition is seamless,' adds Lindsay. 'Haylee has worked closely with us over the past few months to ensure no projects are disrupted and that clients continue to feel well supported.' This acquisition is part of Elm Marketing's continued growth journey. Over the past five years, the agency has grown from a small consultancy into a full-service creative studio, supporting clients across branding, marketing strategy, digital design, and content. 'This is a really exciting step forward for us,' says Justine Horgan, Director at Elm Marketing. 'We're growing fast, and this acquisition adds more creative firepower to our team — but just as importantly, it brings on board great people who care deeply about their clients. That alignment matters.' For existing Talk Visual clients, little will change — the faces they know remain involved, and their creative work will now be supported by Elm Marketing's wider team and resources. 'We're really proud to carry forward what Haylee built,' says Lindsay. 'And we're excited about what this next chapter makes possible.'
