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Fuel costs are continuing to bite, as Canterbury’s regional council grapples with an increase in demand for bus services.
Staff have estimated the council’s fuel costs could increase by 7% compared to earlier in the year, while demand for public transport continued to grow, Environment Canterbury (ECan) public transport core service lead Cr Joe Davies said.
Bus patronage across July and August was up 1.4% compared to the same period last year, with August alone seeing a 3% jump.
Funding agreements with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency were adjusted every three months to allow for fluctuations in cost, but there were always delays.
“We won’t see any impacts from the recent fuel price rise until the end of the next quarter, as we apply the NZTA indexing quarterly in arrears,’’ Cr Davies said.
“The June quarter index will be available shortly, which will cover the March to June 2026 period.”
Public transport is considered an essential service under the Government’s fuel response plan, meaning ECan is committed to keep the buses running, even if the fuel crisis worsens, Cr Davies said.
“If fuel rationing were to occur, we would follow similar approaches to other events we’ve dealt with in recent years that have caused significant disruption to the network, including earthquakes, flooding, heavy snow events, driver shortages, and COVID-19.”
Measures include reducing off-peak services, making the most of electric vehicles, running a reduced timetable, and prioritising core routes and hospital-bound services.
“Should a fuel rationing scenario occur, we would work closely with operators and Government departments to ensure resources are allocated appropriately,” Cr Davies said.
“COVID-19 showed that our communities were able to successfully function with reduced travel expectations, over both short and extended periods.”
In June the council voted to fund an increase in services for the number 1 (Rangiora to Cashmere) and 5 (Rolleston to New Brighton) routes from public transport reserves, due to the growing demand.
But councillors had since voted to delay any decision around increasing the frequency of buses until November, when the council had a better idea of what funding might be available.
“The indications we've received so far are that Government funding may not be available for these improvements,” Cr Davies said.
NZTA acting national manager of local government and system planning Richard Osborne said the agency endorsed ECan’s business case for the service uplift for routes 1 and 5 in August.
But there was no additional funding available in the existing funding period — 2024/27 National Land Transport Fund (NLTF).
“NZTA’s endorsement of the business case means it is well positioned for the 2027/30 investment bid process, although this does not guarantee that the bid will be prioritised.”
Mr Osborne said funding was made available in Budget 2026 for targeted fuel pricing support and NZTA had distributed $5.5m to councils to support public transport.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
