Canterbury bus fares to increase from July
Canterbury bus users will face a fare hike from July.
Environment Canterbury decided to increase the standard adult fare from $2 to $3 in the Greater Christchurch area, at a meeting on Wednesday.
The council has been under pressure from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to increase bus fares, but councillors wanted to keep bus rides affordable.
ECan chairperson Craig Pauling said he was aware the fare increase will have an impact on individuals and families who use public transport frequently.
''We know that any change to the household budget will have an impact, however after spending many hours going over the numbers, we're pleased that we can provide reliable and accessible public transport for a maximum Metrocard adult fare of $3.''
Mr Pauling said the bus fare increase was intended to coincide with the roll out of the national ticketing solution (Motu Move) in Canterbury, but this has been delayed.
While standard adult fares will increase to $3, child (5-18-years) and community service card holder fares will increase from $1 to $1.50, total mobility card holder fares from $1 to $2 and youth fares (19-24-years) to $2.50.
Tertiary student fares are being phased out, but ECan customer experience and marketing manager Thomas McNaughton said students may be eligible for a community services card.
He said ECan staff had met with the University of Canterbury Students' Association, which was keen to promote the benefits of having a community services card.
NZTA has set targets of increasing the private contribution of bus fares to 18 percent for the 2024/25 financial year, 25% for 2025/26 and 38% for 2026/27.
But ECan accepted a staff proposal in March to increase the private share to 12% this year, followed by 13% and 14% increases each year after.
The existing $2 and $1 bus fares contribute just 11.7% to the cost of fares
ECan deputy chairperson Deon Swiggs said he was ''grumpy'' about the pressure coming from central Government, but the council needed to get on with fare changes give the community more certainty.
The flat fare structure could change to a two-zone or three-zone fare structure, depending on what option is adopted in the 2025/26 annual plan.
Under the annual plan proposal, Waimakariri bus users would pay $3 to travel within the Waimakariri district and $4 to travel into Christchurch.
The third zone, if adopted, would apply in the Selwyn district.
These changes, if approved, would take effect in February.
Bus patronage has returned to pre-earthquake levels, but service capacity was still 18% below pre-earthquake levels in terms of buses and kilometres travelled.
ECan has attempted to overcome its challenges by adding electric buses to its core routes, including the Orbiter, number 3 (Airport to Sumner) and number 7 (Queenspark to Halswell) bus routes.
It is proposing to invest in the number 1 (Rangiora to Cashmere) and number 5 (Rolleston to New Brighton) bus routes, if it gets the support from NZTA.
David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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