Busfare cuts at early stages

DUNEDIN’S bus fares are due to get cheaper, but until next week Dunedin city councillors will not have considered where the money will come from.

How much cheaper the fares will be will not be decided for months.

On Tuesday, funding discussions — on whether to reduce other budgets, increase the required rates take to fund a $600,000 subsidy, or leave the funding as an ‘‘unbudgeted spend’’ next year — will begin, the Dunedin City Council’s February 11 meeting agenda states.

At the predraft budget annual plan meeting at the end of last month, councillors voted to add the bus subsidies, following the Queenstown Lakes District Council’s lead, to its predraft annual plan for 202021.

‘‘This is an interim step that lets us increase bus use in the short term while the [Otago Regional Council] reviews the regional public transport plan in its entirety,’’ Dunedin Mayor Aaron Hawkins said.

What subsided fares would ‘‘look like’’ would not be considered until May, he said.

The report to council says staff had already started discussions with the regional council on how cheaper fares could be achieved and those discussions were ongoing.

A consultation finding shows 78% of respondents would support ratesfunded cheaper bus fares.

However, the report notes a low response rate — 79 people provided feedback.

The report states that including the $600,000 bus fare subsidy in the 202021 operating budget and increasing the rates take by the same ‘‘would mean that the draft budget would have a 6.9% increase’’.

Previous reports indicated a 6.5% rates increase — the council yesterday could not explain the difference.