The Dunedin event, which gives special needs children the opportunity to ride in large trucks, was set to run on October 31, having already been postponed from August 29.
Organiser Greg Inch said the committee was "gutted" the event was now cancelled outright due to Covid-19 restrictions, but it had to make a responsible decision.
The committee had done everything it could to scale down the event and remove difficult aspects such as the traditional concluding barbecue, but Mr Inch said one non-negotiable aspect was allowing the children to ride in the trucks.
"If we just drove the trucks around the route, that’s not what we’re about," he said.
"That’s like having a rugby game and having one team turn up and just pass the ball between each other."
He was overwhelmed with transport companies’ support of the event; they had pledged without exception to back the committee’s decision either way, he said.
