It is back to the drawing board on proposed bus services in the Selwyn district as Canterbury’s regional council ECan struggles with growing demand and limited funds, chairperson Craig Pauling says.
Residents have expressed the need for more public transport in housing growth areas, including Selwyn in Canterbury, but submissions to Environment Canterbury’s 2025/26 annual plan indicated Selwyn residents did not want to pay the proposed targeted rate for it.
Meanwhile, nearly $1 billion of Government transport funds has been allocated to a single project, the Woodend Bypass, while just $220m was allocated to public transport.
The council has also been under pressure from NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi to increase bus fares amid growing demand and a reduction in public transport funding in the 2024/27 National Land Transport Programme (NLTP).
