The Otago Regional Council (ORC) has palmed off developing an electric bus charging depot in Queenstown to the private market.
In a statement yesterday, council chairwoman Cr Hilary Calvert said due to the significant ‘‘complexity, cost and commercial risks associated with the delivery of infrastructure’’, the council would not lead the Queenstown depot’s development.
‘‘The report presented to council showed that developing infrastructure like depot facilities is not an area where the public sector typically performs efficiently, particularly in high-value, constrained property markets such as Queenstown.
‘‘Council considers that private operators are better placed to deliver the necessary infrastructure, drawing on their specialist capability, industry experience and commercial flexibility.’’
Subsequently, the council would now leave the provision of charging and depot facilities to the market.
‘‘This approach aligns with council’s intent to reduce long-term financial exposure for ratepayers while ensuring that future public transport contracts remain competitive and that service quality expectations continue to be met.’’
Cr Calvert said the council would continue to provide ‘‘strong oversight’’ through its public transport planning and procurement processes, ensuring private-sector delivery of depot infrastructure supported the transition to a low-emission bus fleet ‘‘and delivers good outcomes for the Queenstown community’’.
An indicative business case, prepared by independent advisory company Rationale, said the council was on a timeline for the electric bus depot and charging facilities to be operational by November 2029 — the next contract renewal date.
The proposed depot would support the transition to a zero-emission public transport fleet by 2035 — under the government’s Emissions Reduction Plan, all buses procured after July 1 last year must be zero-emission.
The 65-page Rationale report ultimately recommended the council enter a lease arrangement with Queenstown Airport Corporation to develop a 10,000sqm bus depot and charging facilities on land at the corner of Grant Rd and Hawthorne Dr.
It also recommended the regional council further consider a joint contract procurement for infrastructure delivery and service operation, transferring the delivery risk to the private transport operator.
The council considered the matter behind closed doors late last month.
