Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury), along with other public transport authorities, has received information from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) about increasing the private revenue share, which is gained from our fares, on-bus advertising and other avenues. 

The information outlines NZTA’s proposed private revenue share targets for each public transport authority over the next three years. Environment Canterbury’s current share year-to-date is 13.9 per cent. NZTA is proposing this increases to 18 per cent for this current financial year, then to 25 per cent over the 2025-26 financial year, rising again to 38 per cent in 2026-27. 

“While we recognise that targets are an important part of ensuring success of the public transport network, we are engaging with NZTA about this proposal and their expectations. We have to be realistic about what we can deliver as the proposed targets would be extremely challenging for us to meet, given our current public transport delivery model,” Chair Craig Pauling said.

“Council has a number of initiatives planned to improve private revenue and service outcomes. Private revenue opportunities other than fares will be made more accessible when we transition to the national ticketing solution Motu Move. As the first to implement this solution in Aotearoa, we are focused on this as our first priority, as well as delivering service improvements to our community.

“If these were to be the confirmed targets, we believe they would result in significant disruption to Canterbury’s public transport system. This is why we are focused on reaching agreement with NZTA on the targets and timeframes,” Chair Pauling added. 

Like other public transport authorities, Environment Canterbury has had to balance increasing costs and traffic congestion in recent years with the need to reduce our carbon footprint and increase patronage and use of public transport, on a sustainable network. Our current fare trial has successfully demonstrated how lower fares can achieve these goals, with Metro’s Greater Christchurch network reaching record patronage numbers since post-earthquake.

“Cost increases affecting our services over recent years include driver wages, safety improvements, the decarbonisation of our fleet, as well as inflation. We believe we have struck a good balance between responding to these changes and others from central government and our community, while continuing to deliver an important service for our customers,” 

A future fare structure following the end of the two-year trial is expected to be considered as part of the development of Environment Canterbury’s Annual Plan 2025/26, with public consultation on options next year before any final decisions are made.

“Engagement with NZTA around private revenue share is ongoing and constructive, and we look forward to finding a way through this,” Chair Pauling said.

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