A $78 million commitment to fast-track public transport improvements in Christchurch, the fastest-growing large city in New Zealand, has come to naught, the city council says.
Last March, then transport minister Michael Wood announced money had been reprioritised from the cancelled Auckland northern pathway project – which formed part of the wider NZ Upgrade programme – to accelerate a Christchurch bus plan.
The Public Transport Futures plan, endorsed by all the local councils, includes new bus lanes, frequency improvements, infrastructure such as bus shelters, and real-time displays.
'Fundamentally changed'
When the announcement was made, Wood said the $78m injection would enable PT Futures to be delivered in 5-6 years, around half the time initially intended.
None of the funding was forthcoming by the time the government changed.
Last week, the head of transport and waste management at the city council, Lynette Ellis, provided an update on the status of the $78m, telling councillors she had no means of accessing the money.
Ellis told BusinessDesk the promised funding, which sat outside the national land transport fund (NLTF), was never actioned.
“It was anticipated that it would possibly be funded through the NZ Upgrade programme, which would have required a business case application, and this programme has been fundamentally changed by the new government,” she said.
As part of his reset of the upgrade programme announced last month, transport minister Simeon Brown gave the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) a hard funding cap to deliver the promised roads, which he rebranded as "roads of regional significance".
A promised upgrade of Brougham St, a key Christchurch arterial, was deprioritised as part of the reset. Brown instructed NZTA to finish pre-implementation work on the project, but there’s now no funding certainty.
Referring to conversations she’d had with the transport agency about the bus improvement project, Ellis said: “NZTA said it does not have the $78m that minister Wood announced, and there is no funding for the PT Futures outside the national land transport programme.”
She added that the council was still working on a business case relating to PT Futures; however, this was just to apply for the usual co-funding from NZTA.
Growing pains
Data from the 2023 Census released last week shows Christchurch city grew 6.1% between 2018 and 2023 to 391,383 – faster than Auckland (5.4%) and Wellington city (0%).
Greater Christchurch, which comprises the city council area and Selwyn and Waimakariri, grew 9.5% over the period to 535,773.
Asked for his reaction to the public transport and Brougham St upgrade funding being pulled, Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger referenced the large investments made into the city after the earthquakes, which he said affected funding decisions today.
“It is important that Christchurch gets its fair share of public transport funding. I have raised this with the minister when we have spoken in the past,” Mauger said.
“But it is clear that the government, like the council, is facing huge pressure from rising inflation, interest rates and insurance premiums – this means there is not the same money to go around.”
Councillor Sara Templeton said housing minister Chris Bishop had instructed the city council to proceed with a plan change enabling greater housing density, but transport funding was needed alongside this to plan for growth.
“The lack of transport funding for one of the fastest growing urban areas in the country is short-sighted and will leave our infrastructure inadequate for predicted future growth,” she said.
“There is significant transport funding available across the country, and the choice to fund public and active transport in Ōtautahi would bring much better value for government and the economy than many of the other projects tagged for funding.”
In a statement, the transport minister said NZTA had told him the city council had yet to provide a business case to access Crown funding for PT Futures.
The transport agency would consider this once it was received, he said.