Ratepayers set to pay for North Shore's new bus services

Residents of Auckland's northern suburbs will soon have up to 40 per cent more peak-hour bus services to choose from, but at a hefty cost to regional ratepayers and the Government.

The new Auckland Regional Transport Authority intends adding about 475 more trips a day to North Shore's existing network, ready to feed into the $290 million Northern Busway as it develops over the next three years between Albany and the harbour bridge.

This represents a 28 per cent daily boost to existing North Shore and Hibiscus Coast bus services from early July, and up to 40 per cent in the morning and afternoon peaks, although contracts have yet to be finalised.

Authority chief executive Alan Thompson says the network will be expanded to more than 1200 local and loop trips a day, and to 945 across the harbour bridge, although some lightly-patronised areas will lose services.

He said that in the face of sharp cost rises, the authority's responsibility was to provide the best value services based on prices, performance and public demand.

"This has required some rationalisation of the existing contract services, but we are confident the new services will meet the needs of North Shore bus users and fulfil ARTA's obligations to the busway project," Mr Thompson said.

He confirmed that even quotes for existing services were 25 per cent higher than previously. Bus companies cited rising costs such as for fuel and labour in trying to justify these.

It is understood this order of increase on top of the 40 per cent extra peak services is likely to boost the overall annual cost of North Shore bus services by up to 75 per cent, to around $20 million, of which the Government and Auckland Regional Council will each pay half.

But Mr Thompson said his organisation, in consultation with the council and Land Transport New Zealand, had extended the contract round by three months while trying to pare costs with some success.

Council chairman Mike Lee said his organisation was in an invidious position, being under intense pressure to improve public transport but without resorting to the levels of rates rises which led to the electoral defeat of his predecessor, Gwen Bull.

Mr Lee said approving the extra bus services was the first major budget approval the council had given the new transport authority "and it is not a decision we have taken lightly".

He acknowledged concern about the flow-on impact of such cost increases and said the council would ask the Government to rework procurement policies to give both funding partners better value in buying passenger services for the public. He was unable to suggest how this may be done, however, short of buying back what used to be the publicly-owned regional bus fleet.

Mr Thompson said he hoped increasing patronage, through new bus stations already being built along the route would raise extra revenue to offset some of the cost rise.