At an Otago Regional Council meeting this week the council agreed to reduce the fare cap by 10%.
The scheme provides subsidised door-to-door transport for those with long-term impairments who are unable to safely and reliably use conventional public transport.
The government subsidy level for the service rose from 50% to 75% in 2022, leading to significant increases in usage and right across the country.
This had led to increased costs incurred at the local and national level, with the regional council forecasting an overspend of $1.3million in three years.
The government had introduced changes in December last year to reduce the increased costs.
It would reduce the subsidy from 75% to 65% and reduce fare caps by 10%.
The council’s decision this week would lead to a fare cap reduction from $50 to $45.
Cr Alan Somerville said the best solution was to support the level of demand at present, but funding was an issue at the national level.
The council was in a difficult position and needed to be responsible to play its part in trying to find a national solution.
He said the council should try to apply some pressure at a national level and write to the Minister of Transport, asking for the scheme to be reviewed and better resourced to fully meet its purpose for all communities.
Cr Michael Laws, who usually took the right-leaning side on decisions at the council, often in opposition to Cr Somerville, said mobility for people in the future was a huge issue.
It was only going to get worse with the population getting older, pressure on people to stay in homes rather than rest-homes and a growing number of people severely disadvantaged.
The scheme was wrongly being used for social and recreational purposes, but it would be impossible to measure it by each separate transaction, he said.
The changes introduced would cost a lot of money for many people and he said there was something wrong with what was being done.
Cr Laws said he was more than happy to support Cr Somerville’s proposal to send a letter to the minister.
Council chairwoman Hilary Calvert said the council was too slow to get on to the changes with the government making its decision six months ago.
After an impassioned plea by disability advocate Chris Ford earlier in the meeting, she said perhaps the disability community should be asked if they had any ideas about the scheme and how it should be managed.
